Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

[GPaice]

Hi,

I bought a used car with 38,000miles on it back in August. The car was serviced by the dealer/garage prior to the sale. I took out a years warranty with the purchase.
The car drove very well and there has been no issues until Monday 23 October (2 months after purchase). The turbo blew and requires a new one. The Garage have said it is through no fault of my own and would just seem to be bad luck.
The company i have the warranty with is seperate to the dealership. They say the most they will pay for this is £500. They won't even committ to that and want to send out an engineer. The garge is telling me the cost will be over £1000.
Can you tell me if i have any rights under the Consumers Rights Act 2015 or the Sale of Goods Act to have the remaining balance paid by the dealership (who are also the garage planning on fixing it).
Any help would be much appreciated

[Kati]

Re: Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

tagging [MENTION=71570]R0b[/MENTION] [MENTION=39710]des8[/MENTION] xx

[R0b]

Re: Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

Do you still have a copy of the advertisement if there was one and if so what did it say? Have you written to the dealer yet and if so what response has been given?

Buying a used car from a dealer and enforcing your rights under the CRA can be difficult sometimes especially with used cars. The dealership has an obligation to ensure that the car is of satisfactory quality and should have carried out a thorough check to ensure it was suitable to drive, but also if there were any issues with the vehicle that needed rectifying at some future date then this ought to have been brought to your attention which could have enabled you to make an informed decision.

The dealer is probably likely to argue that the car was of satisfactory quality at the time of sale and this is down to the user's driving style rather than their fault. I assume turbo should last for the majority if not the lifetime of a vehicle (Des might be able to answer this one) so having got the car at 38,000 miles and assuming you've only done a few thousand in the last two months then it would seem odd that the turbo has just gone (unless this could be down to the previous owner's driving style).

In order to have any credit to your claim for repairs, you might need to obtain an independent report on the turbo to confirm the current condition and whether it was less or more likely that the damage to it would have been caused before you actually obtained the car. I think the dealer might dig their heels in on this one and if you wanted to go to court about it then you would certainly need some evidence to back up your theory otherwise its essentially hearsay.

Did you make any deposit or part payment by credit card? If you did, then you might be able to recover / claim the difference from the credit card company to fund the repairs.

Finally, have you checked the terms of your warranty, usually repairs like turbos can be excluded but if they are offering something, maybe their terms say they could offer more and they are simply trying to get out of paying the full amount.

I'm sure Des can correct me or fill in any gaps i've missed.

[GPaice]

Re: Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

Hi R0b,

Thanks for responding.
I can still find the advert on line. Below is a copy and paste of the description of the car:


Description
a nice example of this 1 owner A Class mercedes finished in amilfi white with only 38,000 miles and a full service record, very economical and only £20 a year Rfl, very nice to drive, please call to reserve this car or to arrange a viewing. THANKS FOR LOOKING AT THE CARS WE HAVE FOR SALE. BEFORE WE SELL ANY OF OUR CARS THEY MUST PASS A RIGOROUS 217 POINT INSPECTION WHICH IS SECOND TO NONE. THE ADVANTAGES OF BUYING FROM US ++++++++ALL CARS COME WITH 1 YEARS MOT+++++++ALL CARS COME WITH 1 YEARS SERVICE++++++++ALL CARS COME WITH A WARRANTY WHICH CAN BE EXTENDED UP TO 3 YEARS ++++++WE OFFER NATIONWIDE DELIVERY AVAILABLE.++++++TRY US WITH ANY P/X ANYTHING WELCOME++++++WE ALSO OFFER A LOW RATE FINANCE

Nothing was highlighted to me after the service to suggest there were any issues.
The garage are telling me it is nothing that could have been detected and assure me it is down to bad luck rather than driving style.

The AA state on their website:

Faults, repairs and refunds

Under the new act, if a fault renders the product not of satisfactory quality, not fit for purpose or not as described, then the buyer is entitled to reject it within the first 30 days.
Between 30 days and 6 months

If a fault comes to light after 30 days but before 6 months you’re entitled to a repair, replacement or refund.

• It’s assumed in law that the fault was present at the time of purchase unless the seller can prove otherwise.
• Unless you’ve agreed otherwise, the seller (dealer) has only one opportunity to repair (or replace) the faulty vehicle after which, if they fail to repair it, you’re entitled to a refund.
• In the event of a refund following a failed attempt at repair during the first six months the seller may make a 'reasonable' adjustment to the amount refunded to take account of the use that you’ve had of the vehicle.

If the car does not work, does it not fall under the terminology not fit for purpose?
If it was nothing the dealership/garage were able to pick up on during the service then i would have no way of knowing either. If it has occurred through no fault of my own or the previous owner, how can it be classed as fit for purpose.

Thanks again for your advice.

[R0b]

Re: Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

Take a printout of the advertisement so you have a copy which can be used if need be from a later date.

Yes the AA website is correct but I think what I was trying to get at is the part where it says "unless the seller proves otherwise" so for example, if the seller proves that it carried out sufficient checks before putting the vehicle on sale, then that could shift the burden over to you to then rebut that presumption, hence needing something more concrete.

If the garage are saying that it could not have been detected and said it was down to bad luck then that could be used as evidence to support your claim that the fault existed or was thereabouts on the verge of breaking down. If you got that in writing great, if not then you might want to cover that part in your letter to them by making specific reference to it and assuming they don't deny that point then it will further enhance your claim against them and it reverts to the garage to prove the turbo was not faulty at the time of sale.

Fit for purpose has a specific meaning, for example if you specifically say to the garage that you want a car with sat nav or Apple play and does this car that they are selling you have it. If the dealer confirms that it does and it turns out to be untrue then the car will not be fit for the specific purpose that was intended e.g. to use sat nav feature and/or Apple play.

Satisfactory quality is something different in that it relates to things like defects or problems that were not drawn to your attention at the time the car was purchased. So in this case, the breakdown of the turbo will fall under the unsatisfactory quality category rather than the fit for purpose category, unless the above also applies.

So just a couple of unanswered questions, did you pay for the car using your credit card whether part payment or in full?

[des8]

Re: Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

Hi
A mercedes turbo charger should last a lot longer than 38,000 miles...

If it doesn't I would go for "not of satisfactory quality", the standard to meet being "that of a reasonable person" and not dependent on what checks the trader did or did not carry out.
Trader is IMO responsible for repair and has nothing to do with a warranty.
No repair and you reject for a full refund, less a charge for usage

[GPaice]

Re: Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

Thanks agian,

I never paid for the car via Credit Card. I had taken out finance and paid it in one full payment from my debit card.
However, in the last 10mins everything has taken a turn in a whole other direction.......
I have phoned the warranty company directly to get a bit more info. They are telling me that the warranty i have covers the full cost of a Turbo BUT the garage themselves have put a £500 limit on the repair. If the gargae had not put this limit on, i would have had this work done free of charge. I was never issued any info on this £500 limit!

[des8]

Re: Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

So the trader was telling you the warranty would only cover upto 500, and they would require you to pay the balance of another 500 +?

Error or deliberate?

[GPaice]

Re: Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

Yes, they are saying to me that the Auto Trust warranty only covers me up to £500. However, the reality is, the Trader themselves set the limit of cover at £500. This allows them to buy the warranties cheaper.
If the option of "not of satisfactory quality" and a refund is possible, that would be the route i would rather go down, as i have lost all faith in the car now anyway.

[des8]

Re: Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

Well the trader has the right to attempt or repair at this stage.
If they refuse, or fail you then have the right to reject

[GPaice]

Re: Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

Yes, I'm possibly being a bit dramatic, i would have the car back if fixed and not at my cost. But they were quite adamant today that as it was a fault that they could not have picked up on during the service, they have no responsibility in regards to footing the bill.

[des8]

Re: Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

About time they learnt about their customers' rights!

So you now need to write to them with proof of posting:
1)state the details of the vehicle (reg no, date of purchase price paid
2)confirm the date the turbo gave up the ghost
3) confirm the vehicle was unsatisfactory as per the requirements of The Consumer Rights Act 2015 as indicated by the failure of the turbocharger.
3)confirm you required them to repair the vehicle but they have failed to do so within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience
4) you are therefore exercising your final right to reject the vehicle and require a full refund (no need to mention the charge for usage)
5) failure to comply within eg 14 days and you will initiate court proceedings,

Not sure how you paid for vehicle.
I think you meant deposit by debit card, and the rest was financed.
In which case send a copy of your letter to the finance house as they are also liable.


Or you could tell them that is what you will do if they continue to refuse to repair the car at no cost or inconvenience to yourself!

[GPaice]

Re: Consumers Rights on Used Car repairs

Thanks des8,

I will draft the letter tonight.
I took out a loan for the car which was deposited into my debit account and the full balance was paid at purchase.