Bought approved used car with defect. Dealer wants to cancel
Discussion
I recently bought an 18mth old approved used car from a main dealer, at distance and unseen for approx £40k. The dealer sent me a ‘walk around’ video and said the car was perfect (unsurprising with only 6k miles) aside from a small scuff on a wheel which he would repair.
I’d been looking for a car with this particular spec for quite some time so was pleased to do the deal and paid a deposit via CC over the phone. The balance was paid by bacs and finance.
A couple of days after the car was delivered I took it to a detailer for ceramic coating. When the detailer inspected the paint he told me it had been repaired - quite badly. The repair extends from halfway along the drivers door back to the rear quarter and c-pillar. There is a slight crease in the drivers door, some ‘orange peel’ and overspray over the whole car. Because the repairers have masked to the edges of the panels (there’s a rough line where the tape was) the detailer says that the clear coat is likely to flake and he’s not happy to work on it.
I told the dealer about this and he was very apologetic and asked me to get a quote for rectification so they could sort it. The quote came back at over £3k+vat. He was shocked at the cost and having spoken to the DP said that they would cancel the sale, take the car back and refund me.
So far so good - seems like a fair result. However, having looked for an alternative car the closest equivalent is £6.5k more expensive (albeit a few months newer). Defects aside, I like the car and am disappointed that they won’t repair and pissed off that it will cost me £6k+ more to get an equivalent.
I assume the dealer will try to resell the car without rectifying the defects.
I’ll obviously discuss all this with the dealer, but wondered if there was any advice the learned ones of PH could give?
I’d been looking for a car with this particular spec for quite some time so was pleased to do the deal and paid a deposit via CC over the phone. The balance was paid by bacs and finance.
A couple of days after the car was delivered I took it to a detailer for ceramic coating. When the detailer inspected the paint he told me it had been repaired - quite badly. The repair extends from halfway along the drivers door back to the rear quarter and c-pillar. There is a slight crease in the drivers door, some ‘orange peel’ and overspray over the whole car. Because the repairers have masked to the edges of the panels (there’s a rough line where the tape was) the detailer says that the clear coat is likely to flake and he’s not happy to work on it.
I told the dealer about this and he was very apologetic and asked me to get a quote for rectification so they could sort it. The quote came back at over £3k+vat. He was shocked at the cost and having spoken to the DP said that they would cancel the sale, take the car back and refund me.
So far so good - seems like a fair result. However, having looked for an alternative car the closest equivalent is £6.5k more expensive (albeit a few months newer). Defects aside, I like the car and am disappointed that they won’t repair and pissed off that it will cost me £6k+ more to get an equivalent.
I assume the dealer will try to resell the car without rectifying the defects.
I’ll obviously discuss all this with the dealer, but wondered if there was any advice the learned ones of PH could give?
I suppose, working purely on the maths, it's cheaper to get a good quality job done on the car you have if it's going to cost twice as much to return it and purchase another one.
Sounds like a no win for you as the dealer has offered the refund.
Might be worth negotiating some money from the dealer as they won't really want it back. Something would be better than nothing.
Sounds like a no win for you as the dealer has offered the refund.
Might be worth negotiating some money from the dealer as they won't really want it back. Something would be better than nothing.
ro250 said:
I suppose, working purely on the maths, it's cheaper to get a good quality job done on the car you have if it's going to cost twice as much to return it and purchase another one.
Sounds like a no win for you as the dealer has offered the refund.
Might be worth negotiating some money from the dealer as they won't really want it back. Something would be better than nothing.
That sounds reasonable, I’ll suggest that and see what they’re prepared to do. Thanks.Sounds like a no win for you as the dealer has offered the refund.
Might be worth negotiating some money from the dealer as they won't really want it back. Something would be better than nothing.
Zetec-S said:
Offer to buy the car, ask the dealer to contribute a bit towards the £3k repair? (as they already indicated they were prepared to pay for the repair, albeit without realising the extent)
Surely cheaper than trying to find another car at £6k more...
I’ve already bought the car. Had it for about 3 weeks. But yes, a contribution to repair could be a good solution.Surely cheaper than trying to find another car at £6k more...
joropug said:
I would take the offer personally you don’t know how bad the accident was.
Perhaps that’s why it was cheaper.
I don’t think it was particularly serious. Dealer said the the PO owner claimed it had been keyed - I think more likely that it was scraped on a bollard or something. Perhaps that’s why it was cheaper.
Never been in that position, the ‘WBAC Boom’ wasn’t a thing when I bought a sight unseen AUC from a dealer hundreds of miles away 8 or 9 years ago and discovered it had a couple of new panels/poor paint colour match when it arrived. So I was happy to hand that car back.
I’d have a conversation with the manager at the dealership so he knows you really like the car and want to keep it, then see what he suggests.
I’d assume that the bodyshop costs to a dealership won’t be as big as the costs to joe public, so if they have a good bodyshop then keeping the costs ‘in-house’ may be a more attractive route for him… however the downsides to you are the distance, inconvenience and trust that his bodyshop will rectify the problem properly.
This reply has been no help really, so apologies, but I’m interested to see what can be/is done in this situation.
I’d have a conversation with the manager at the dealership so he knows you really like the car and want to keep it, then see what he suggests.
I’d assume that the bodyshop costs to a dealership won’t be as big as the costs to joe public, so if they have a good bodyshop then keeping the costs ‘in-house’ may be a more attractive route for him… however the downsides to you are the distance, inconvenience and trust that his bodyshop will rectify the problem properly.
This reply has been no help really, so apologies, but I’m interested to see what can be/is done in this situation.
RS Grant said:
Never been in that position, the ‘WBAC Boom’ wasn’t a thing when I bought a sight unseen AUC from a dealer hundreds of miles away 8 or 9 years ago and discovered it had a couple of new panels/poor paint colour match when it arrived. So I was happy to hand that car back.
I’d have a conversation with the manager at the dealership so he knows you really like the car and want to keep it, then see what he suggests.
I’d assume that the bodyshop costs to a dealership won’t be as big as the costs to joe public, so if they have a good bodyshop then keeping the costs ‘in-house’ may be a more attractive route for him… however the downsides to you are the distance, inconvenience and trust that his bodyshop will rectify the problem properly.
This reply has been no help really, so apologies, but I’m interested to see what can be/is done in this situation.
Haha! Yes, the ‘boom’ hasn’t helped and they’ll probably resell for more than I paid!I’d have a conversation with the manager at the dealership so he knows you really like the car and want to keep it, then see what he suggests.
I’d assume that the bodyshop costs to a dealership won’t be as big as the costs to joe public, so if they have a good bodyshop then keeping the costs ‘in-house’ may be a more attractive route for him… however the downsides to you are the distance, inconvenience and trust that his bodyshop will rectify the problem properly.
This reply has been no help really, so apologies, but I’m interested to see what can be/is done in this situation.
joropug said:
I would take the offer personally you don’t know how bad the accident was.
.
Me too. I would be wondering every time I drove it whether the damage was more extensive, whether the repair is good enough long term, will moisture get under the new paint and cause it to bubble..
blueg33 said:
joropug said:
I would take the offer personally you don’t know how bad the accident was.
.
Me too. I would be wondering every time I drove it whether the damage was more extensive, whether the repair is good enough long term, will moisture get under the new paint and cause it to bubble..
£3,000 plus Vat to strip off trims, repair and repaint the rear quarter and door?
That sounds like insurance prices, unless they want to put a new door on.
Sounds like £1,000 worth max to me if they can repair the crease in the door.
And I'm guessing the crease isn't that bad otherwise you'd have seen it before the detailer pointed it out?
Sounds like you want the car, get another quote.
That sounds like insurance prices, unless they want to put a new door on.
Sounds like £1,000 worth max to me if they can repair the crease in the door.
And I'm guessing the crease isn't that bad otherwise you'd have seen it before the detailer pointed it out?
Sounds like you want the car, get another quote.
The dealer has fully fulfilled all his obligations by offering a refund.
You can't force him to make the repair if he's offered to put you back in the position you were before the sale.
Your only option to keep the car is to either pay for the repair yourself or ask for a contribution. However, given how scarce used stock (allegedly) is, depending on the car, you may find that he could just sell it very easily to someone else as-is so will not contribute anything. Especially if it's now several thousand away from an equivalent car......
I bought an AUC and had it detailed - the detailer told me this repair had happened and that repair, orange peel, overspray. I couldn't see it when I bought it and I couldn't see it without it really being pointed out when he showed me. I concluded that life was too short to worry about things I couldn't notice so just got them to do what they could and enjoyed the car.
You can't force him to make the repair if he's offered to put you back in the position you were before the sale.
Your only option to keep the car is to either pay for the repair yourself or ask for a contribution. However, given how scarce used stock (allegedly) is, depending on the car, you may find that he could just sell it very easily to someone else as-is so will not contribute anything. Especially if it's now several thousand away from an equivalent car......
I bought an AUC and had it detailed - the detailer told me this repair had happened and that repair, orange peel, overspray. I couldn't see it when I bought it and I couldn't see it without it really being pointed out when he showed me. I concluded that life was too short to worry about things I couldn't notice so just got them to do what they could and enjoyed the car.
Trevor555 said:
£3,000 plus Vat to strip off trims, repair and repaint the rear quarter and door?
That sounds like insurance prices, unless they want to put a new door on.
Sounds like £1,000 worth max to me if they can repair the crease in the door.
And I'm guessing the crease isn't that bad otherwise you'd have seen it before the detailer pointed it out?
Sounds like you want the car, get another quote.
You’re probably right, it “could” be done for £1000 but that’s probably why we’re in the situation we’re in now! That sounds like insurance prices, unless they want to put a new door on.
Sounds like £1,000 worth max to me if they can repair the crease in the door.
And I'm guessing the crease isn't that bad otherwise you'd have seen it before the detailer pointed it out?
Sounds like you want the car, get another quote.
Muzzer79 said:
The dealer has fully fulfilled all his obligations by offering a refund.
You can't force him to make the repair if he's offered to put you back in the position you were before the sale.
Your only option to keep the car is to either pay for the repair yourself or ask for a contribution. However, given how scarce used stock (allegedly) is, depending on the car, you may find that he could just sell it very easily to someone else as-is so will not contribute anything. Especially if it's now several thousand away from an equivalent car......
I bought an AUC and had it detailed - the detailer told me this repair had happened and that repair, orange peel, overspray. I couldn't see it when I bought it and I couldn't see it without it really being pointed out when he showed me. I concluded that life was too short to worry about things I couldn't notice so just got them to do what they could and enjoyed the car.
This is more along the lines of the replies I was expecting You can't force him to make the repair if he's offered to put you back in the position you were before the sale.
Your only option to keep the car is to either pay for the repair yourself or ask for a contribution. However, given how scarce used stock (allegedly) is, depending on the car, you may find that he could just sell it very easily to someone else as-is so will not contribute anything. Especially if it's now several thousand away from an equivalent car......
I bought an AUC and had it detailed - the detailer told me this repair had happened and that repair, orange peel, overspray. I couldn't see it when I bought it and I couldn't see it without it really being pointed out when he showed me. I concluded that life was too short to worry about things I couldn't notice so just got them to do what they could and enjoyed the car.
…but you’re wrong. 
I would keep perspective on the 'accident' and subsequent repair.
It's an AUC. They have to be near perfect. These cars are often marked and any dents/scratches/marks have to be blown over. Often, this is done quickly, cheaply and not to a detailer's standard, but it's not uncommon.
It doesn't mean it's been in a demolition derby.
It's an AUC. They have to be near perfect. These cars are often marked and any dents/scratches/marks have to be blown over. Often, this is done quickly, cheaply and not to a detailer's standard, but it's not uncommon.
It doesn't mean it's been in a demolition derby.
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