Rejecting a car

[Guest]

Hi all,

I have bought a 2006 BMW 3 Convertible a week ago.

Prior to purchase, I have had a pre-purchase inspection done with no issues coming up apart from alignment which I was aware of.

When I collected the vehicle last week I noticed the parking sensors not working, which I mentioned to the dealer. He mentioned to get it checked out locally and let him know once checked out.

When I was driving off the court I noticed that suddenly the wing mirrors did not adjust, so I stopped and let him know. He manually adjusted them and let me know to get my garage to check it out.

I did have my garage look at this issue mid-week and I was advised that the fuse box was flooded with water and needed cleaning out as well as the fuses replaced. For the parking sensor, one of the sensors needed fixing. When I then contacted the dealer I was told there is nothing they can do to help me as the salesperson is out of the office until the weekend. With the fuse box being in it state did worry me I let my garage know to fix the issues and I will pay for them. (At that stage I was planning to get the money back from the dealer)

The next day I suddenly had an engine management light come on which the garage locally told me would be the fuel filter. They cleaned the fuel system and the light went off. Nevertheless, the next day it came on again and as the fuel filter was just changed at the beginning of the year (during its service) I believe there is a more serious issue.

To add on top of that, on Monday I noticed the car has an outstanding recall. I know that those are a free fix, but with all the issues I don't feel comfortable any more and I was wondering what grounds I have to reject the car? I know there is the option to reject for a full refund + road tax within the first 30 days but I am not sure if the EML light + the other issues + recalls would be enough to reject it, especially considering the age of the car.

[R0b]

Think your last sentence hits the nail on the head.

If the car was in a new or newish state, you certainly wouldn't expect the EML to come on immediately, but we are talking about a 14 year old car so naturally it is expected to have had some wear and tear along those years.

Mileage, age and the owner history could potentially impact your right to reject the vehicle. Having said that, the dealership has to sell you something that is roadworthy and given that the EML has come on shortly after you've driven it off the forecourt, you wouldn't expect that to happen even second hand.

Also, the pre-inspection report is your evidence. You said it noted no issues on there so that's your starting point to review what was supposed to be checked. If there's something on the that claims to be ok but in fact you're experiencing the opposite, that could also support your rejection. Usually in these circumstances, it would be best to get an independent report of the problems and then you can use that as a basis to reject and then claim the cost should the report find any serious faults.

[des8]

Was the prepurchase inspection carried out on your behalf by a third party or the dealership?

[MESSBAND]

Yes, it was carried out by an independent mechanic on my behalf.

I just found out that an engine management light would be a straight MOT failure, which in essence makes the car, not road worthy. I am hoping this would be enough ground to reject it. On top of the other issues mentioned.

I did have someone check the OBD scanner and it seems like it has to do with the two Lambda sensors which are picking up too much oxygen. This, in turn, points to a potential air leak somewhere. Funnily enough after reading the codes they have disappeared but I was told by the mechanic that they will re-appear after a while.

What do people think? I know it is a 14 year old car, nevertheless, one would expect it to be at least roadworthy (pass an MOT) and not have faults that would fail the MOT less than a week after purchase.

[des8]

Did you pay for that preinspection report, and was it carried out by a professional?

If so, besides the rejection you might have a claim against the engineer who carried out the inspection because some of those faults should have been obvious.
If the report had been accurate you may well have decided not to purchase the car