Claims Against Car Dealers
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Faulty Cars
We have numerous cases of faulty vehicles being purchased from car dealers or privately and subsequently refusing to repair or refund the money paid for the vehicle.
Below is just one – some of the details have been changed to retain privacy.
The claimant purchased a vehicle from the defendant in March 2018 which was described as having done 87,000 miles. When the vehicle was MOT’d in May 2018 it was discovered that the recorded mileage of the vehicle was 165,000 miles not 87,000 miles. The defendant had deliberately showed a false print out of the MOT. The vehicle also shortly after the MOT suffered a serious fault with the gearbox and timing chain made a knocking sound. As the defendant sold the vehicle in such unsatisfactory standard and unfit for purpose with the description of the vehicle being incorrect, has breached the provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. We assisted the claimant and they obtained a full refund for the vehicle. The amount claimed is £11,000 plus interest of £362 and court fees.
Buying A Car Privately
The warning ‘Caveat Emptor’ – BUYER BEWARE is applicable when you purchase a car privately. That means that the seller has no obligation to point out any faults that he did not know about and the onus is upon the purchaser to have an inspection carried out to discover any such faults.
However you need to know your rights when buying a used car from a dealer. These are covered under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
As long as the seller does not describe the car falsely or say something is true and it is not (such as saying it has never been in an accident when he knows it has) you will find it difficult to enforce your rights against this private seller.
Buying A Car From A Dealer
There are rights that a consumer has when purchasing a new or used vehicle from a dealer as long as these rights are exercised within the required time.
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides such time limits from when you can demand a full refund to when the onus is on you to prove that the fault existed when you bought the vehicle.
However, if the car was bought on finance you may well have a claim with the finance company that technically owns the vehicle.
Similarly, if you purchased the car on a credit card you may be able to claim a refund under S75 of the Consumer Credit Act and if bought on a debit card your bank may be willing to consider a chargeback.