Legal Redress If Car Is Misrepresented Including Fuel Consumption

Monday, 14. July 2008

In my book ‘An Insider Guide To Car Finance’ I provide a great deal of legal advice, obviously if you find yourself in a dispute you should consult a qualified solicitor. However, by way of advice, in these times of high fuel costs suddenly the advertised MPG figures become all important. So what happens when the figures provided by the manufacturer/dealer are incorrect? I often receive complaints about this subject but as the cost of fuel was under reasonable control no one seemed willing to enforce their legal position, however that may well start to change. So in order to clarify your position I would suggest the following. Please note that these are my own views and interpretation of the law, if you have a dispute please take qualified legal advice. The purchase of a car is covered by the Sale of Goods Act 1979. This implies terms into the contract with the dealership. These terms include a condition that the car supplied will correspond with the description given of it and an implied term that the car should be of satisfactory quality and free from minor defects. If the advertising quotes were made by the seller and were so certain as to form a contractual description of the car, you could argue that the seller has misrepresented the position to you and/or has breached a condition of the contract, if the fuel economy is significantly different from that advertised. You may then be able to cancel the contract. The increased fuel consumption may be due to a fault which would constitute a breach of contract, however, you should give the dealer the opportunity to remedy it. If the fault continues you would be entitled to reject the car or to agree an alternative remedy with the dealer. Don’t forget, if you have a finance agreement you may also have a claim against the funder and you should certainly involve them if you feel the car has been misrepresented.