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I bought an extended warranty - why are the garage now refusing to repair my faulty car?
I purchased a vehicle off a garage which came with three months free warranty, but they offered a further three months for an extra £100. Without knowing, I'd purchased a six month warranty with Autogroup. The vehicle developed a serious problem at just 300 miles and three weeks of ownership - but the garage want nothing to do with the problem. It appears that an extended warranty was the garage's way of trying to get away from their legal responsibilities, which if I understand correctly would have been that any fault that occurs within the first six months of ownership is assumed to have been 'present or developing' at the time of sale, unless the vendor can prove otherwise. So it would be up to the vendor to replace at their own cost. I purchased an Autogroup warranty, but by doing so, did I forfeit the garage's own warranty which was three months long? Do the vendor in my case still have an obligation to fix or replace, entirely at their cost the damage to the vehicle after 3 weeks of selling the vehicle to me? Autogroup have rejected the claim for repair and I'd like to know if the the garage is liable.
Asked on 2 November 2017 by diezeltruck
Answered by
Honest John
The supplier is legally liable for any fault that could have been present or developing in the vehicle prior to purchase for six months from the date of purchase. He cannot transfer this liability to a warranty insurer because it is insurance fraud to insure against an existing fault. But any dealer who pretends otherwise is probably a crook and will fight yo all the way through Small Claims, then "have no assets" when the High Court Sheriffs arrive to seize them. Law here: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights
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