Know Your Rights Or Get Ripped Off.
Saturday, 5. March 2011
It seems that every week I read a similar story in Auto Express about a driver who has bought either a new or used car that has turned out to be a complete dog then struggled to get their money back. The fact is that the law is very clear on this point. If you buy faulty goods and a fault is found immediately or within the first 6 months you can return the goods and insist on a full refund. And the supplier must give you a full refund. On the other hand you can give the supplier the opportunity to either repair or replace the goods without losing your right to insist on a refund. In the latest case that Auto Express came to the rescue on a buyer of a new Hyundai i30 found the car starting to judder. The driver gave the dealership the opportunity to repair the fault which they attempted without success. The dealer and Hyundai offered a replacement but couldn’t guarantee that the fault would not exist in the replacement. This was 8 months later! The driver decided that he simply wanted his money back, which he received, after Auto Express stepped in – as a ‘gesture of goodwill.’ A gesture of bloody goodwill! It’s his legal right and he should also be entitled to compensation for the inconvenience. This infuriates me because dealers, supported by the manufacturers, feel they are above the law. It’s a disgrace but I really think that Auto Express should employ the services of a solicitor to bang off a formal letter each time they have a similar case to point out the driver’s legal entitlement and tell them to stick their ‘gestures of goodwill’ where the sun don’t shine. Have you experienced similar problems with a dealer not honouring your legal rights? Here’s a little graphic that I found on a Government website that may explain your rights a little easier than my wording:
By Graham Hill
Scott Young Says:
Interesting. So you have no legal rights if at time of sale you find no fault on the car? Yet you still have legal rights if it’s under 6 years (and out if warranty) and you find a fault? Under consumer rights act 2015? My car is a Renault Kadjar registered in March 2016. I bought it from a Renault dealer with 15k miles on clock for £13800. It currently has 28689 miles and 6 months out of warranty turbo blows up. It’s been annually serviced and last 2 were by Renault. Bill for me to pay is £2600 for parts and £900 labour. A very unexpected bill that you don’t expect when purchasing a low mileage car. I complained to Renault and so far they’ve upped it to 40% goodwill and the dealer offered 10% off labour. Still I think Renault need to find root cause as this could potentially be reoccurring if due to oil starvation or manufacturing defect. Renault should pay for parts at least. Does this fall under the consumers rights act 2015 as its under 6 years old as part has not reached expected life. Luckily I have alternative transport and I can wait until this is resolved. Turbos should last life time of car 150k. As long as car is maintained as per manufacturers recommendations and driven correctly.
Says:
Hi Scott, Sorry for the delay in responding, sadly a funeral to arrange and attend has taken me away from my day to day. To be clear, when you buy or finance a car your rights under the Consumer Rights Act begin from the moment you take delivery. The age of the car is immaterial. So take delivery and you have 30 days to reject the car if it is faulty, not fit for purpose or not as described. You can accept a discount or allow a repair after which, if the car isn’t fixed you can still reject the car.
After 30 days but within 6 months the law assumes that the car was faulty when the car was supplied, it is then up to the dealer to prove that it wasn’t. It’s unlikely that he will be able to prove that so he has the option to repair the car or refund you less a small amount for any use you’ve had of the car. Beyond 6 months since you took delivery the onus is on you to prove that the fault existed when you bought the car. You will need a qualified engineer’s inspection report to prove that. Do you have contents insurance for your home? If so do you have legal cover included? If so you can get in touch with them and ask advice (free of charge) from a lawyer. If not you can take out a legal cover policy with the RAC, it costs £15 per annum and that will give you access to a lawyer for some legal advice. Finally, if you have the car on finance you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, they may take a bit of time but they are normally sympathetic. Good luck if you’re still fighting this. Graham