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Dealer won't pay for faulty car - what are my rights?
We are a couple who are not very car savvy and certainly not mechanically minded. Three months ago, we bought an eight year old Peugeot 207 with 70,000 miles on the clock from a car supermarket. At the time of the test drive, a number of potential issues were brought to the salesman's attention such as a clutch pedal with high biting point and two very worn tyres.
We were told not to worry as the car would get a "intermediate service" and MoT prior to purchase and that the car came with a three month warranty - if anything went wrong "just take the car to any VAT registered garage and get it repaired under the warranty" was the jovial salesman's line. It was also stressed not to take car back to them as they didn't do repairs on site.
Within the first 3 months of low mileage use:
* The exhaust had to be replaced - numerous clips were had rusted through leaving the exhaust resting on the axle;
* The clutch had to be replaced - friction plate problem;
* Two tyres needed replacing as were illegal tread depth;
* The belt and belt tensioner needed replacing.
The warranty company declined to cover all items bar the belt tensioner - all other items were "wear and tear" and not covered. We phoned the dealership at the time of having repairs done at our cost at a local garage and they were not interested beyond reluctantly providing a name to address a letter to.
We wrote to them stating facts, dates, prices and quoting Sales Of Goods act - in particular the points of satisfactory quality and fit for the purpose. We requested simply that the dealership cover the items which the warranty company had declined.
We've just received a letter back from the dealership essentially washing their hands of the whole matter, saying we should have returned the car to them when the problems occurred and not offering anything - they simply state that all failures were wear and tear and to be expected of a car of this age & mileage. Can anyone advise if this is a fair expectation? Do we have any rights or do we need to put all of this down to a bad experience?
We were told not to worry as the car would get a "intermediate service" and MoT prior to purchase and that the car came with a three month warranty - if anything went wrong "just take the car to any VAT registered garage and get it repaired under the warranty" was the jovial salesman's line. It was also stressed not to take car back to them as they didn't do repairs on site.
Within the first 3 months of low mileage use:
* The exhaust had to be replaced - numerous clips were had rusted through leaving the exhaust resting on the axle;
* The clutch had to be replaced - friction plate problem;
* Two tyres needed replacing as were illegal tread depth;
* The belt and belt tensioner needed replacing.
The warranty company declined to cover all items bar the belt tensioner - all other items were "wear and tear" and not covered. We phoned the dealership at the time of having repairs done at our cost at a local garage and they were not interested beyond reluctantly providing a name to address a letter to.
We wrote to them stating facts, dates, prices and quoting Sales Of Goods act - in particular the points of satisfactory quality and fit for the purpose. We requested simply that the dealership cover the items which the warranty company had declined.
We've just received a letter back from the dealership essentially washing their hands of the whole matter, saying we should have returned the car to them when the problems occurred and not offering anything - they simply state that all failures were wear and tear and to be expected of a car of this age & mileage. Can anyone advise if this is a fair expectation? Do we have any rights or do we need to put all of this down to a bad experience?
Asked on 1 July 2014 by BeeMar
Answered by
Honest John
Your remedy it to warn the dealer first, then, if he doesn't pay up, sue for all the costs using the small claims track of the county court. The dealer is liable for any fault that could be present or developing on the date of sale for six months from the date of sale. Law here: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/
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