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I bought a car from a dealer that didn't disclose it was in an accident - what should I do?
I bought a used car last November from a MINI main dealer. The car was only five months old and had covered 5000 miles. A few months ago, I noticed the paint on the rear didn't look quite right and asked the garage that I purchased it from to inspect it. They were slow to respond but eventually acknowledged an issue. I phoned their associated body shop who confirmed they had repaired it on two occasions before I had purchased the car. The dealer has since disclosed it was in an accident before I bought it. They seem to be willing to inspect it further and take steps to rectify it. But when I suggested that they should have disclosed it before I purchased it, and that it was misleading and ingenious not to have done so, they stated that there was no requirement for them to do so because it had been repaired to MINI approved standards. I'm concerned this will go to the value of the car and I would not have bought the car had I known its history. Do you have any advice on recourse?
Asked on 14 October 2017 by MD
Answered by
Honest John
The dealer committed an offence. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations May 2008 (CPRs) incorporate The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 and contain 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. These create 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 here: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights /
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