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Car has hidden accident history - can I get a refund?
I bought a used Audi A4 saloon 2.0 TDI five months ago from a car supermarket. Two weeks ago the car developed a fault whereby the multimedia interface would turn itself off. I took the vehicle to my local Audi dealer who spent a long time trying to identify the fault. During the work, the dealer removed the trim in the boot as this houses the control unit. In doing this they identified that the control unit had suffered water damage.
It became evident that this was due to the car having had its rear panel replaced and this being completed to a poor standard. There is evidence of rust and further damage to the interior of the panel. Obviously, when I paid for the car, I never told it had been in an accident.
Can I reject the vehicle for not being of suitable quality and get a refund? Or do I let the car supermarket fix the car. If I let them fix it, I have concerns that I don't know he details of the accident that the vehicle was involved in and therefore that further problems could exist later on.
It became evident that this was due to the car having had its rear panel replaced and this being completed to a poor standard. There is evidence of rust and further damage to the interior of the panel. Obviously, when I paid for the car, I never told it had been in an accident.
Can I reject the vehicle for not being of suitable quality and get a refund? Or do I let the car supermarket fix the car. If I let them fix it, I have concerns that I don't know he details of the accident that the vehicle was involved in and therefore that further problems could exist later on.
Asked on 4 December 2013 by pmcarter
Answered by
Honest John
Yes, the car supermarket is liable for this under The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which creates an offence of misleading omissions which would not previously have been an offence if the consumer had not asked the right questions.
So if a salesman knows a car has, for example, been badly damaged and repaired and does not tell the customer, he could later be held liable if the customer subsequently discovered that the car had been damaged and repaired. See: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/
The car supermarket might counter this by contending that it did not know, but remains liable for selling a car that was "not in satisfactory condition" under the ruling in Clegg v Olle Andersson (trading as Nordic Marine) House of Lords 11-3-2003. If agreement is reached to reject the car, then you must still pay for your usage of it for the six months of ownership.
So if a salesman knows a car has, for example, been badly damaged and repaired and does not tell the customer, he could later be held liable if the customer subsequently discovered that the car had been damaged and repaired. See: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/
The car supermarket might counter this by contending that it did not know, but remains liable for selling a car that was "not in satisfactory condition" under the ruling in Clegg v Olle Andersson (trading as Nordic Marine) House of Lords 11-3-2003. If agreement is reached to reject the car, then you must still pay for your usage of it for the six months of ownership.
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