Rejecting a car after 6 months?

[Naf]

Hi all i'm wondering if someone can help me. I purchased a brand new VW Golf GTD on 24/12/15 and the vehicle became faulty July 18 (2.5 years after purchase still had 6 months warranty remaining).

The vehicle discovered 2 faults 1 being creaking noise coming from the N/F/S wheel when steering locked to the left at slow maneuvering speeds and air vents blowing white powder.

I contacted the dealership and booked the car asap in July 18 however they said nothing was wrong with the car which, i gave them 3 attempts to repair the vehicle up to October 18 however they continued to say nothing was wrong with the car however on the other side they attempted to repair it.

after the last visit they started ignoring me so i contacted customer services and logged a complaint and they advised to have the car diagnosed by a second opinion however unfortunately due to being away for a month and availability i eventually was booked in by a VW franchise however the vehicle ran out of warranty but the faults were diagnosed which happen to be the suspension re the creaking noise and corroding aluminium from the evaporator coming from the air vents which seemed like powder (yes very healthy).

I reported this to customer services and they said unfortunately due to the warranty running out they can't do nothing, so i spoke to citizen advice / trading standards which they advised to send a letter to the original dealership to request repairs, so i sent a letter requesting repairs and if a response wasn't received i wold seek legal action, they came back to confirm the faults are present but would charge me to repair offering a minor gesture of goodwill towards the cost e.g. price £2400 reduced price £1700 however these faults should have been repaired under the warranty.

I then spoke to Citizen advice / Trading standards and they advised the sent a second letter now either requesting a replacement vehicle or using my final right to reject the vehicle as they are in breach of the consumer rights act 2015 which i chose to reject the vehicle due to all the distress they have caused me! i got the usual no response also i received receipt of delivery.

I made a complaint to customer services executive again and they then came back to me offering a free repair however this is not the course of remedy i am seeking as i want to now reject the car.

Citizen advice / Trading standards have advised i do not need to accept the free repair and to take them to court if i wish to reject the car.

What options do i have and how likely is it i can reject the car if i take court action?

Any help is appreciated and sorry for the long post!

[des8]

Hi and welcome.

As the car is outside the first six months following delivery, altho' you can reject the vehicle you will have to prove it was unsatisfactory on the day of delivery.
You will probably need something like a DEKRA report to substantiate your claim.

Without knowing full details I'd be inclined to accept the free repair (which is what you would have received under the warranty)

[Naf]

Where could I get a DEKRA report from? Also Trading standards did mention I’m covered under the consumer rights act regardless of the warranty? Upto 6 years

[des8]

Yes, you do have rights as a consumer for up to six years, but those rights are harder to enforce the further away you are from delivery date.and after the first six months it is for you to prove the item did not conform to contract when it was delivered.

Also bear in mind even if you are successful the seller is entitled to make a deduction for the usage you have had from the vehicle

DEKRA : https://www.dekra-expert.co.uk/vehic...gineers.report

[Naf]

Hi Des8,

so does the consumer rights act only cover delivery related issues and not manufacturer defects combined with multiple failed repair attempts?


yes I believe the deduction is based on the mileage and pence per mile?

[des8]

CRA 2015 requires goods to be of a satisfactory quality.
Satisfactory quality includes durability, so you will have to show the faults should not occur in such a young vehicle.

Your post above said you rejected the vehicle " due to all the distress they have caused me" .. not a valid reason!

You can exercise your final right to reject as they have failed to effect a repair already

[Naf]

Apologies apologies for the confusion when I said I rejected the vehicle due to the distress they caused me that was only stated out of the 2 options I had for either ‘replacement ‘ or ‘rejection’ of the vehicle.

The actual reason I’m wanting to reject the vehicle is on purely on the basis they have failed to effect multiple repairs on the vehicle.


Also not sure if someone could advise if I do take legal action I understand it will not be the small claims court as the claim value exceeds £10,000, I was advised that litigation in these matters cost around £15,000 - £25,000 is this right?

[Aukey]

des8 Can you still reject the car when it develops a fault 2.5 years after purchase for a creaking suspension and a corroded evaporator if they fail to repair it properly?

I was under the impression that wear and tear isn't covered by the CRA and the car has been ok for 2.5 years? I'm guessing the mileage may make a difference.

Op, how many miles has the car done?

[Naf]

Aukey HI at the time of reporting the faults after owning the car for 2.5 years it was at around 26k now just hit 39k.

[Naf]

Aukey also to mention I wouldn’t class it as wear and tear if the vehicle has defects under the 3 year warranty or am I wrong ?

[Aukey]

Depends whether it's classed as a defect i guess. I would imagine after 2.5 years where the suspension has covered 26k it wouldn't be classed as a defect because it creaks. Corroding Aluminium is just that, it corrodes.The amount of miles you did between first reporting it in July until October, if you were still using could make a difference as well i would have thought, as in reporting defects but still using the car.

Although they have said the car has a fault, whether it would be enough to reject the car is anyone's guess. Not being funny but just pointing out how it could be seen from a different point of view if you were to go down that route. I would be careful though as has been said, they can charge a deduction for mileage, even at 25p per mile, it will cost you a fair bit if you did win your claim.

Can you not argue that it was reported while it was in warranty? The same sort of thing as the clock stops under CRA in the first 30 days (iirc) until the repair is carried out successfully?

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[des8]

The statute of limitations gives the consumer the ability to initiate a court claim for 6 years.
It is that which allows a consumer to invoke his rights to reject or repair etc.
However the consumer does have to prove the fault or whatever was present at time of delivery, or was due to a manufacturing error.

It is fairly obvious that dealers etc are going to argue that any fault appearing 2.5 years down the line is due to wear and tear.
Regarding corroding aluminium, there is probably an argument to be made that such materials used in an air conditioning unit should be so treated that they don't corrode that quickly.
Suspension creaks when on full lock?, wouldn't expect that within 26000 miles, but we don't know how the vehicle has been treated throughout its life and why do you think it is suspension and not steering? Has it been diagnosed? could it just be worn ball joints?

I'd still go for the free repair if that is still on offer.
It is what you'd have got from the warranty, it's free of both cost and stress

[Aukey]

Cheers for clearing that up D es. He said it had been diagnosed in his first post as suspension. Who knows without looking, would have to take the garage's word for that.

If you like the car I would take the free repair, either way it could lose you a lot of money in the end otherwise.

[Naf]

Aukey My original argument was the fact I originally reported it within warranty but trading standards advised regardless of that you can reject the car on the basis they have failed to repair the vehicle to a satisfactory level under the CRA 2015.

[Naf]

des8 The diagnostics from VW retailer mentioned it is related to the suspension as per below,

This includes the N/S/F console bush, N/S/F top suspension mount and bearing and the air conditioning evaporator.