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Should the dealer replace a chipped windscreen on a secondhand car my son has bought?
My son recently agreed to purchase a secondhand car from a large reputable main dealer. Before taking delivery but after signing and paying for it he noticed a significant chip in the windscreen that had not been pointed out to him and he had not noticed before. The dealer told him the car had passed its MoT and the chip was not in a critical area. He refused to replace the windscreen. He has now agreed to repair the windscreen, but my son had the windscreen checked elsewhere and they told him it should not be repaired but replaced. He was provided with seven days free insurance cover with the car and dealer told him this did not include windscreen cover. In fact it does. Is the dealer responsible for pointing out all imperfections with the car prior to sale, or is it still buyer beware?
Asked on 21 September 2013 by BG, Bournemouth
Answered by
Honest John
Yes, he is now. The law changed a couple of years ago. See: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/. Specifically:
“The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) contains a general prohibition against unfair commercial practices and, in particular prohibitions against misleading actions, misleading omissions and aggressive commercial practices. The Regulations are enforceable through the civil and criminal courts. This 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. A recent case precedent over Misleading Omissions (different ‘omission’ entirely) under Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008/1378 was Regina (House of Cars) v Derby Car and Van Contacts Ltd, Derby Crown Court before HHJ Burgess on 12-6-2012."
“The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) contains a general prohibition against unfair commercial practices and, in particular prohibitions against misleading actions, misleading omissions and aggressive commercial practices. The Regulations are enforceable through the civil and criminal courts. This 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. A recent case precedent over Misleading Omissions (different ‘omission’ entirely) under Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008/1378 was Regina (House of Cars) v Derby Car and Van Contacts Ltd, Derby Crown Court before HHJ Burgess on 12-6-2012."
Tags:
consumer rights
windscreen
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