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Discovered bodywork damage on manufacturer approved used car - should the dealer repair it?
I bought a manufacturer-approved used car in January of this year, from a dealer some distance away. Recently giving it a good clean, I discovered that the car has previously been in a minor bump (small crease at the base of the B-pillar, minor damage to the leading edge of the rear door, and a botched paint repair to the edge of the sill, all in the same area), which wasn't disclosed by the dealer. The salesman had confirmed condition in an email: "I could not find any other faults in the bodywork or paintwork either. This will be confirmed on cleaning but should anything be an issue, I will have it sorted so the car is as close to A1 condition for you". I don't want this damage to become an issue to me later; do I have any recourse to get this repaired under the Supply of Goods Act? I'm concerned that the dealer will blame me for the damage.
Asked on 29 June 2017 by Pentland
Answered by
Honest John
Under the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 the dealer was bound to tell you about this damage and is liable to rectify it. See: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/ Specifically: 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.
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