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Who is liable for undisclosed damage to our secondhand car?
My husband brought a 2014 Skoda Yeti in November 2016. Recently, a warning light came on while he was driving and a hissing noise was audible. The car was taken to our local Skoda dealer who found substantial damage underneath the front of the car with the radiator having been pushed back approximately two inches and a bracket attached to the chassis buckled. It was also apparent that cosmetic repairs had been done to the front of the car (a new bumper has been fitted) to disguise the fact the car had been involved in a collision of some kind. My husband was not told about the car being involved in an accident when he purchased the car from a reputable local dealer in fact he was assured that it was in perfect order and had had a full pre-sales check which obviously wasn't the case as the damage would have been apparent. Where does he stand? The car is undriveable without repairs, which are estimated to be over £1000.
Asked on 13 June 2017 by Sharon Thurland
Answered by
Honest John
If he was "assured" that the car was in perfect order and had had a full pre-sales check and this obviously wasn't the case then the dealer could be held liable under the 2008 CPRs: The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations May 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. More: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/
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