Car Dealer, rejected letter handed over - what is the next step?

[D0bie85]

- Will provide extra information as and when needed -

Returned the faulty car to the dealer with the car and a letter rejecting it (Consumer Rights 2015 Act, taken from this template) https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rig...r-aeziX3M7tYNw
Dealer wasn't having none of it - car isn't faulty, wear and tear etc etc... Left the car at the premises, I've now been contacted by the dealer saying that I'll be hearing from 'Legal Advisors'


What should be my next move?

Thank you

[des8]

Your next move, if you want pointers on the way forward, is to give us full information!

eg age & mileage, make & model of vehicle, price paid
Date of delivery and date of return
Idea of why vehicle is unsatisfactory/unfit for purpose/mis-described
Did your letter suggest a time line for refund &/or warn you would initiate court proceedings?

[D0bie85]

Your next move, if you want pointers on the way forward, is to give us full information!

eg age & mileage, make & model of vehicle, price paid
Date of delivery and date of return
Idea of why vehicle is unsatisfactory/unfit for purpose/mis-described
Did your letter suggest a time line for refund &/or warn you would initiate court proceedings?

Your next move, if you want pointers on the way forward, is to give us full information!

eg age & mileage, make & model of vehicle, price paid....... Age 2008, Mileage 62,000, Make Hyundai i30, Price paid £3900
Date of delivery and date of return.......Purchase date 1/10/2022, Return date 8/10/2022
Idea of why vehicle is unsatisfactory/unfit for purpose/mis-described.......Faulty clutch
Did your letter suggest a time line for refund &/or warn you would initiate court proceedings?.......Everything written in this template letter is exactly what I wrote https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rig...r-aeziX3M7tYNw

[des8]

Your letter before action allowed the dealer 14 days to refund the purchase price.
You need to wait for the 14 days to lapse before you initiate your court claim

[D0bie85]

I have now received an email (attached below). I did not drop the car back to the dealer the date states on the letter

[des8]

They are correct in that as you rejected the vehicle within thirty days of delivery the onus is upon you to prove the vehicle was unsatisfactory when delivered.
What was wrong with the clutch, and do you have any independent reports or other evidence confirming this?

[D0bie85]

They are correct in that as you rejected the vehicle within thirty days of delivery the onus is upon you to prove the vehicle was unsatisfactory when delivered.
What was wrong with the clutch, and do you have any independent reports or other evidence confirming this?

Very stiff to push down toward the floor and to keep it there, it had a very low biting point and the engine was very revvy when bringing the clutch up (needed to give a lot more gas than usual to stop it from juddering), also a noise upon lowering and raising the clutch.
The dealers mechanic also said that it was 'not right' and 'could be' a clutch bearing. I asked him to put this in writing for me but he said he didn't want to get involved

[des8]

So the dealer doesn't agree with your rejection and you have no proof ( the mechanic's comments are only hearsay).

A lot of what you complain about will be defended by the dealer saying it is perfectly normal and you just aren't used to the vehicle.
He might be wrong, but can you prove otherwise

Quite frankly IMO you need to recover the vehicle and get an independent report before proceeding further

[D0bie85]

So the dealer doesn't agree with your rejection and you have no proof ( the mechanic's comments are only hearsay).

A lot of what you complain about will be defended by the dealer saying it is perfectly normal and you just aren't used to the vehicle.
He might be wrong, but can you prove otherwise

Quite frankly IMO you need to recover the vehicle and get an independent report before proceeding further

the onus is on myself then to prove the vehicle is faulty? I didn't know that I had to prove this? I feel the vehicle is not of satisfactory quality and faulty. Does the below have any jurisdiction?


taken from: https://www.askthecarexpert.com/clutch-problem/



"In 2015, the Consumer Rights Act came into force. It says that when the car was sold it should be of a satisfactory quality (taking into account its age and mileage), fit for purpose and as described. It gives you the right to reject the car if you find a problem with it in the first 30 days of ownership.

If you alert the (trade) seller to the problem, they should accept there was a problem when the vehicle was sold. If they don’t accept there was a problem when the vehicle was sold, they have to prove this."



Thank you again

[des8]

That note is IMO misleading:

If vehicle is rejected within thirty days of delivery the onus is on the purchaser to prove the fault existed when purchased.
If vehicle is rejected during the next five months it is deemed that the fault existed when delivered and it is for dealer top prove otherwise

[D0bie85]

I feel totally lost here, my only option is to accept the car back? And then wait for the clutch to pack up?

[des8]

The suggestion is that you recover the car and (if you are still certain there is a problem) get an independent engineer's report (eg DEKRA).
If they confirm the problem you then go back to dealer repeating original rejection, but seeking also the cost of the report.

[D0bie85]

Hello, a little update for contributers..... the car has now totally stopped working - when the car does turn over and decides to start it doesn't let me put it in any gear, when i try to put it into reverse gear it makes a loud grinding/crunching sound, clutch pedal has no resistance and is totally loose, when it doesn't turn over after trying to start it it's like the car has stalled/jumping

I've a dekra technician booked to inspect the vehicle

[D0bie85]

Is it a standard dekra technician report or CPR35 report that i need?

[des8]

a standard technical report should be sufficient, but why have you left it so long and continued using the vehicle?

I bet the dealer will now complain you have made the situation worse and most of the damage is down to your continued use!