Forum menu
Hi all,
you may remember that my car was smoking quite a bit and using oil. Ive been in touch with the garage I bought it from and they agreed to have it back and repair it as I had had it under 6 months (More like two months at the time)
I toook the car back to them on the Saturday and was told by the managing director it was going off to a garage on the Monday to be repaired. He said it could be about two weeks which I wasnt happy about but agreed too.
Fast forward to today which is just over the two week point and its still not fixed and Im not getting any joy from them.
Apparently it didnt go to a garage but a mobile mechanic looked at it and diagnosed a faulty turbo which was then sent off (sounds like it was sat for just under a week not being looked at)
Turbo was sent off early last week and after trying to speak to the manager today I got a message back saying the turbo has been sent off and they are waiting for it to come back.
They haven't even mentioned the other two issues that needed looking at which was a faulty headlight levelling motor and knocking from the front suspension. They also don't respond to my emails asking about them either?
At this point I don't know when I'm getting my car back.
How long would you say is reasonable to give them to repair it before I say enough and ask for my money back?
They have no motivation to repair it, they already have your money. Say you want to return it as not fit for purpose and get a refund.
For me it's not so much the time of two weeks but the lack of communication. Have they given you a courtesy car?
1 week maximum if they are waiting for parts.
Say you want to return it as not fit for purpose and get a refund.
This. They are taking you for a mug. What happens when you get it back and it still smokes?
They have to fix it without unreasonable inconvenience to yourself. I'd suggest that "reasonable" in this case would hang on whether you'd been given a courtesy car or been left carless for a fortnight.
I wasnt given a courtesy car and was in effect left car less.
I fortunately had my wifes car to use but she needs that back.
No car given to use.
The communication has been poor and confusing. I was told face to face it was going to a garage to be repaired and then get told a mobile mechanic has diagnosed it??
Just as a note I've had it over the 30 day period and have owned it since mid may and covered 1500 miles.
Can I still push for a refund?
What 30 day period?
The 30 day short term right to reject and expect a full refund. I wasnt sure if because Ive owned the car for longer than that period it made a difference?
I was told
Not relevant(*). They're on the hook for fixing it, "how" is their problem and what you've been told isn't your concern. This is a binary situation, "will it be repaired satisfactorily [yes|no]?"
Buying a car from a trader you have the same rights under CRA as buying new. A fault in the first six months is deemed to be inherent unless they can prove otherwise - also not relevant here as they've admitted liability.
Under CRA you are obliged to give them one opportunity to make good - ie, repair or replace. You're entitled to a refund if a) an attempted repair is unsuccessful, b) a repair would cause significant inconvenience to yourself or c) a repair would take an unreasonable amount of time.
Obviously, "significant" and "reasonable" are subjective terms. But I would argue that them leaving you without a car for two weeks falls foul of b). I would consider that a repair taking much longer than their own estimate of two weeks - and even more so now when the current time frame being offered is "we don't know" - would fall foul of c). And if they're unable to fix it at all then that definitely falls foul of a).
I would suggest that either they commit to an acceptable timeframe for the repair and give you a courtesy car in the interim (don't accept "we don't have any," if they haven't got a forecourt full of vehicles then always there's plenty of hire companies), or they start the refund process. Bear in mind that in the case of a used car, a refund may be subject to a (here's that word again) reasonable reduction based on the amount of time you've had use of the vehicle.
(* - Not relevant that is unless you're intending to accuse them of "misleading actions" under section 226 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024; I wouldn't suggest this as a serious course of redress but it'd be hilarious to drop into conversation...😁)
The 30 day short term right to reject and expect a full refund. I wasnt sure if because Ive owned the car for longer than that period it made a difference?
The difference is that within 30 days you can immediately ask for a refund on faulty goods. Outwith that time, you have to give them at least one opportunity to fix it as above.
No news or communication still.
On the advice of citizens advise I sent them a recorded letter yesterday saying that I would like a refund due to the inconvenience and unreasonable timeframe. They should hopefully get that today.
They have replied today saying they won’t let me reject it as it will be ready to collect on Monday.
Problem is that they won’t confirm if all threes issues have been sorted.
He is trying to insinuate it’s my fault that it’s taken so long as I didn’t let them know I was bringing it back to them so they had to wait for a booking slot at a garage in St Helens called Thorndel.
I have an email trail dated 22jul of me replying to his email saying to bring it in. I replied saying I would take it in on the Saturday. He actually came out and had a look at the car when I got there.
Kind of stuck now. I’m just worried they haven’t fixed everything
Its matters not what they say - what matters is your legal rights.
Thats their one chance to repair. YOu need to collect it and see if it is repaired. If it is then you are golden, if its not then you reject it for a refund. check the "which" site for details
I spoke to the manager today and he told me the turbo has either been replaced or repaired and that should sort the oil and smoke issue.
I then asked him about the other two issues and he made out he didn’t know anything about them.
I then pointed out I’d sent an initial email to him listing all the issues which he had replied too.
I also told him I had left an a4 note on the centre console listing all the issues too.
He has now said he will get it into his local garage to get them looked at.
Feel like he was hoping I would just take it back with the oil issue fixed.
At this stage I feel he just taking the piss now.
Refund.
Thats refund time in my book. They have had their one chance to repair and failed
The problem is is that technically this is still there first opportunity to repair it as I haven’t been to collect it yet.
Or does that not matter now.
Christ knows how long it will take to sort the next two issues.
You need to insist on a loan car at the very least. If for no other reason than to focus their attention on getting your car fixed quickly.
The problem is is that technically this is still there first opportunity to repair it as I haven’t been to collect it yet.
You have returned it with a list of faults and given them the opportunity to resolve them, fulfilling your obligations under CRA.
They have failed to fix these faults. Therefore you are now legally entitled to a refund, adjusted to allow for the amount of time you've had use of the vehicle.(*)
I've said this before but, I've had a good deal of success over the years with the line "just to be clear, can you confirm that you are refusing to honour my statutory rights?"
(* - There is an argument for "do you actually want a refund and have to go through the rigmarole of sourcing a replacement, or do you just want it sorting out?" But I think in your case I'd be pursuing a refund simply because of the breakdown in trust with the dealership, irrespective of the status of the vehicle itself. If they hadn't given you a dicking and outright lied repeatedly throughout this process then I'd perhaps be more inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt; as it stands right now, the question preying on my mind would be "what happens the next time there's a fault?")
They said it would be fixed on Monday. That's the end of their attempt to fix it, and it's not fixed. So you're entitled to a refund.
He has now said he will get it into his local garage to get them looked at.
Any dealer that doesn't have their own garage is an absolute nightmare when things go wrong. You gave him a chance - go for the refund
The other faults probably won't be fixed. Its now a battle of wills to see who gives up first . The garage are hoping that a recon turbo , fitted for around £1200 will cure the smog issue.
Then once its back with you , you will accept that the other issues wont be fixed , and that you cant live without the car for another month so you will just put up with faults for a quiet life.
The garage will probably be making no profit on the sale after fitting a recon turbo , so they will drag their heels as much as they possibly can to avoid any further costs to themselves which will turn this sale into a significant loss . Which doesnt help when you still have to pay Rent and Rates and wages , gas, electric and phone bills etc every month. So dont expect a great deal of help from the trader . Shame as its probably going to end up with some animosity and you'll need to find another used car and hope the next ones not got any unseen faults as well
I could probably live with the knocking as it had only just started so will more than likely just be drop links or something.
The headlight is a different issue though as I believe that as its an LED unit its sealed and costs around 800-1000 for a new one.
I will try citizens advice in the morning.
Not convicned I want the car back as Ive lost faith i it and the garage.
although 'lost faith in the car and garage' is understandable that's not a reason in itself to reject.
Your reason is that it had faults that were deemed to be present* on purchase as it's within 6mo, that's statutory.
In honesty, given you have documented in the form of email the three faults and they didn't fix them when you asked then you're in your rights to now reject, but the time to do that would have been two days ago when they'd been given opportunity and didn't take it. That was your chance to get out on the instinct that you've lost faith.
By giving a second chance to deal with the suspension and light I think you've lost that chance now and you need them to fail to repair it this time before that's realistically an option. Arguing they had their chance, didn't take it, you gave them a second chance but now want to backtrack to 'had your chance, muffed it' might technically be correct but much harder to argue.
* They *might* be able to argue suspension, on the basis it's sort of wear and tear and who knows what roads / etc. you drove it on in the time you had it. The headlight motor might have just gone wrong but that's the benefit of buying from a trader, to get this 6mo statutory cover, they'd have to 'prove' that it wasn't there at time of purchase. I'd still be intent that it was faulty at the time, just hadn't shown yet.
although 'lost faith in the car and garage' is understandable that's not a reason in itself to reject.
Your reason is that it had faults that were deemed to be present* on purchase as it's within 6mo, that's statutory.
In honesty, given you have documented in the form of email the three faults and they didn't fix them when you asked then you're in your rights to now reject, but the time to do that would have been two days ago when they'd been given opportunity and didn't take it. That was your chance to get out on the instinct that you've lost faith.
By giving a second chance to deal with the suspension and light I think you've lost that chance now and you need them to fail to repair it this time before that's realistically an option. Arguing they had their chance, didn't take it, you gave them a second chance but now want to backtrack to 'had your chance, muffed it' might technically be correct but much harder to argue.
* They *might* be able to argue suspension, on the basis it's sort of wear and tear and who knows what roads / etc. you drove it on in the time you had it. The headlight motor might have just gone wrong but that's the benefit of buying from a trader, to get this 6mo statutory cover, they'd have to 'prove' that it wasn't there at time of purchase. I'd still be intent that it was faulty at the time, just hadn't shown yet.
But I did reject it and the dealer refused it as he said it was fully repaired. Then he ignored further emails asking if all repairs were done until I phoned him and asked outright. It was only at this point that he made out he didn't know about the other issues. This was at 16:00 yesterday.
I paid some by credit card so is it worth contacting them at this stage.
But I did reject it and the dealer refused it as he said it was fully repaired. Then he ignored further emails asking if all repairs were done until I phoned him and asked outright. It was only at this point that he made out he didn't know about the other issues. This was at 16:00 yesterday.
Ok, so not two days ago but yesterday. At that point if you'd said 'no fella, you were told both by email and by a note left in the car, you failed, so I'm rejecting as per my statutory rights' then it's crystal clear cut.
But you didn't, you've allowed him to get his local garage to look at it and so as I said, muddied the waters about whether you rejected or not.
Hindsight I know but if you wanted to reject, I'd have said so clearly and followed with an immediate email confirming.
Anyway - another day has passed, has he fixed it or even acted on your conversation yesterday? Because if not I see the window is open again to say that he's had more than enough chance now and you're done with it, you want a refund. Your 'agreement' to him having another look at it has to be considered immediate, not when he gets round to it....if he's in any way lax on that use it to your advantage.
But I did reject it and the dealer refused it as he said it was fully repaired. Then he ignored further emails asking if all repairs were done until I phoned him and asked outright. It was only at this point that he made out he didn't know about the other issues. This was at 16:00 yesterday.
Ok, so not two days ago but yesterday. At that point if you'd said 'no fella, you were told both by email and by a note left in the car, you failed, so I'm rejecting as per my statutory rights' then it's crystal clear cut.
But you didn't, you've allowed him to get his local garage to look at it and so as I said, muddied the waters about whether you rejected or not.
Hindsight I know but if you wanted to reject, I'd have said so clearly and followed with an immediate email confirming.
Anyway - another day has passed, has he fixed it or even acted on your conversation yesterday? Because if not I see the window is open again to say that he's had more than enough chance now and you're done with it, you want a refund. Your 'agreement' to him having another look at it has to be considered immediate, not when he gets round to it....if he's in any way lax on that use it to your advantage.
Ok I understand what you are saying now.
I will phone them tomorrow and say enough is enough I want to reject it.
I will phone them tomorrow and say enough is enough I want to reject it.
And if he says no again, use that line that Cougar suggests, (and then be prepared to outline your rights)
Then an email summarising the conversation.
Before you can reject tomorrow you need to know he hasn't fixed it. If he has then he's in his rights imo to reject your rejection, as he has on his side, after the 30 day period, the right to attempt repair. OK, he's had 2 bites at that where you gave him a second chance, actively or passively, but he was given a second chance.
If he hasn't done it yet but 'I'm waiting for a callback / it's booked in later this week / I'm sorting it out....' then tell him not to bother, you've had enough of waiting without your car and what Cougar said, etc.
In fact I'd be inclined to be there at opening time tomorrow and if he can't put the keys to your fixed car in your hand there and then, then as above. Sounds to me that if you do it by phone or email he can fob you off with 'it's on its way back' and buy himself another few hours.
I would do that but the issue is he is 3 hours away.
Is it sorted, or are you still being buggered about?
Not heard anything buddy and he hasn’t replied to my email last night rejecting it again.
Spoke to citizens advice and they said to do a section 75 chargeback on my credit card.
Please advise as not sure what to do now.
Garage has replied to my latest rejection email saying they wont agree to the rejection as the car is fixed and ready to collect.
They wont however despite me asking numerous time asking confirm that all 3 issues have been rectified.
Its a 6 hour round trip to collect the car and don't want to waste my time if it isn't done. Or would collecting it be the right thing to do even if it isn't repaired?
It seems there's 2 things here
1. Buy a car nearby next time
2. Only way you're going to know is to drive 3 hours.
Garage has replied to my latest rejection email saying they wont agree to the rejection as the car is fixed and ready to collect.
They wont however despite me asking numerous time asking confirm that all 3 issues have been rectified.
Its a 6 hour round trip to collect the car and don't want to waste my time if it isn't done. Or would collecting it be the right thing to do even if it isn't repaired?
Why are you not following Citizens Advice's answer? Phone them, if they don't confirm all faults are fixed then start the Section 75 chargeback