The 14 Day Cooling Off Period When Buying A Car
Wednesday, 25. July 2018
As most of my customers know you don’t pay your initial rental until after the car has been delivered and you have had the opportunity to inspect it. There is a reason for this and it’s not because my funders are really good eggs and don’t like taking money off you before you receive your car.
I’m sure they would love to but that would mean that by taking money from you before delivery the transaction would fall inside the distance selling rules. That would give you 14 days during which for any reason whatsoever you could return the car and ask for a refund.
That would prove to be very costly so it’s avoided. Of course you can still return the car if it’s faulty or not as ordered but not because you changed your mind. However, many people now buy new and used cars online unseen which means that the transaction falls within the scope of the Distance Selling Rules provided the car was bought from a dealer or trader (not privately).
You have 14 days starting the day after delivery of the car to reject it as long as you haven’t physically seen the car. If the whole transaction is completed online then you just visit the dealer to collect the car it is still a distance sale.
However, some sellers will issue terms and conditions for you to sign or tick online. You must read them as some are now including a term that states that the contract is only concluded when you collect the car, i.e. on the trader’s premises.
This takes the transaction outside the Distance Selling Regulations, so no cooling off period after you’ve driven the car away. If you have bought the car from a private seller online the distance selling rules don’t apply so no cooling off period. By Graham Hill
