720S Rejection

720S Rejection

Author
Discussion

rmaGL

Original Poster:

45 posts

133 months

Tuesday 1st September 2020
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Hi Guys,

Would appreciate some thoughts on whether i should go down the rejection route - here is the story.

Bought a new 720s from a Mclaren dealership in September 19 on finance (santander via the dealer), and had a rear end collision in December - car recovered and sent over to the main Mclaren body shop for repairs.

on a few occassions, Mclaren sent the wrong parts which ended up significantly delaying the repair works, i only got the car back in the first week of August '20. More than 7 months later.

Yesterday (less than a month since ive had it back) it sprung a coolant leak, and dumped a lot of fluid on my drive. ITs been recovered back to the supplying dealer today.

I am at the end of my tether with this car, i dont trust it, McLaren dont seem to be able to handle any sort of after sales services effectively at all.

Through this time, i have still been paying the monthly payments etc.

Do you reckon there is grounds for rejection?

anonymous-user

54 months

Tuesday 1st September 2020
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I guess you need to lay down the full facts of dates, when the insurance companies settled, when approval for repairs to commence was given and when did McLaren start the repairs etc. Bearing in mind there has been a major pause on work due to the Pandemic.

If the leak has been possibly caused by faulty repair work due to crash, you would need to take it up with the insurer. If the leak is a warranty repair, it would only be reasonable to let them have an attempt to fix it.

davek_964

8,812 posts

175 months

Tuesday 1st September 2020
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I'm not sure you have a strong case for rejecting a car that's been in an accident?

7 months is a long time when things are normal - but they haven't been. My car was stuck in lockdown for 4 months because everything shut down - that accounts for over 50% of the time you were waiting. And things are still not really back to normal.

Coolant loss might be related to a poor repair, but it's a known issue on these cars due to crap hose clips.

I realise it's a pain - I had enough issues with my car when I bought it - but I think some of this was not McLaren's fault

petjam

489 posts

146 months

Tuesday 1st September 2020
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Having recently just rejected a McLaren I am quite up on the various laws and I don't think your case would qualify for rejection.

You could seek some form of compensation from them but that won't be easy. McLaren have also let a large number of their customer service team go due to Covid so there are only a couple of them left, that will also make it take longer.

Did your insurance company provide a loaner whilst it was being fixed? Was it you who was at fault?

Ferruccio

1,835 posts

119 months

Tuesday 1st September 2020
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From a legal perspective, I’d be very surprised if you got anywhere with a judge on those facts,

Taffy66

5,964 posts

102 months

Tuesday 1st September 2020
quotequote all
From a legal POV i doubt you'll be successful unless McLaren admits fault and sets you right..Rejection of a new car normally is within the first six months of ownership where the problem is serious enough to classify the car as 'unfit for purpose,..Even within this time period the supplying dealer has the right to correct this fault..If the same fault occurs again quite soon after, then you are within your rights as a consumer to enact the 'rejection clause' as stipulated in the Consumer rights act..
Not sure if this is the case if the car has been involved in an accident where the repair was very lengthy and sub optimal..McLaren needs to do the right thing IMO even if just to restore some your lost confidence in the brand..Good luck..

Petrus1983

8,688 posts

162 months

Tuesday 1st September 2020
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If there were no (recorded) issues pre accident I can’t see how you can reject the car on an overall basis. You may be unhappy with the speed of the fix, and now the quality of the fix, but neither of those are anything to do with what would give you a right to reject the car.

petjam

489 posts

146 months

Tuesday 1st September 2020
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Taffy66 said:
From a legal POV i doubt you'll be successful unless McLaren admits fault and sets you right..Rejection of a new car normally is within the first six months of ownership where the problem is serious enough to classify the car as 'unfit for purpose,..Even within this time period the supplying dealer has the right to correct this fault..If the same fault occurs again quite soon after, then you are within your rights as a consumer to enact the 'rejection clause' as stipulated in the Consumer rights act..
Not sure if this is the case if the car has been involved in an accident where the repair was very lengthy and sub optimal..McLaren needs to do the right thing IMO even if just to restore some your lost confidence in the brand..Good luck..
This is incorrect, in the first 30 days you can reject the car for not being of satisfactory quality. Satisfactory quality is determined by what an ordinary person (i.e. not a specialist) considers satisfactory, the supplying dealer also gets no chance to repair if you choose to reject.

This obviously doesn't apply to the above as the car is a year old.

They only get the chance to rectify after the first 30 days.

Taffy66

5,964 posts

102 months

Tuesday 1st September 2020
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petjam said:
This is incorrect, in the first 30 days you can reject the car for not being of satisfactory quality. Satisfactory quality is determined by what an ordinary person (i.e. not a specialist) considers satisfactory, the supplying dealer also gets no chance to repair if you choose to reject.

This obviously doesn't apply to the above as the car is a year old.

They only get the chance to rectify after the first 30 days.
You are correct in that you can reject anything within the first thirty days of ownership without having to give the dealer a chance to set it right..However in the Consumer rights act there is also a provision to reject a new car after the first month and before six months have elapsed..The difference here is the dealer is legally allowed one opportunity to find fault and repair..If the fault can't be solved at this point and /or re-occurs afterwards then the buyer can simply reject the car..
The dealer is allowed to make a small deduction based on the mileage but otherwise you are entitled for a full refund including and finance costs..This is the law and indefensible..
If the fault is only first reported after the first six months then the buyer hasn't a let to stand on..In the OP's case i'm pretty confident he's not allowed to reject the car after being in an accident as the fault afterwards could simply be as a direct result of the impact and not when it came from the factory.

petjam

489 posts

146 months

Tuesday 1st September 2020
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Sorry but you are wrong. The fact that the item in question is a car is irrelevant. Within the first month it is straight forward, it changes after that.

Info is here: -

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/secti...

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/secti...

I just had McLaren and Santander doing their best to convince me otherwise, I stuck to the above and they eventually conceded.

Let's not clog up this guys' thread as it is irrelevant in this matter.

Far Cough

2,223 posts

168 months

Tuesday 1st September 2020
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Your well past rejection time and the accident was just very bad luck and timing. The car was fine until it got crashed into. The repair is not upto parr which has no reflection on the supplied new car. You could get a second opinion from Thorney maybe ? or it could be a simple hose that was not done up.

Did you have a like for like car provided whilst yours was off the road ???

WilliamWaiver

439 posts

45 months

Tuesday 1st September 2020
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Unfortunate circumstances but still not a valid reason to reject the car which you would have zero chance with anyway.
Feel for you bro but best grin and bare it.
Get it sorted properly and then drive it into the ground knowing you still have one of the best supercars out there for the money.
Not saying you are but sadly generally there are too many moaners and whingers trying to bail out at first opportunity without giving car a chance

rmaGL

Original Poster:

45 posts

133 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2020
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Thanks for the input guys, yes the COVID situation has been a factor in this, however for Mclaren to supply the part incorrectly on three occasions has contributed immensely to the delays. They have had issues with their suppliers incorrectly labelling the parts.

The communication, urgency and handling of this whole saga has left me extremely disappointed with McLaren. ITs a shame really, i've enjoyed the car, no regrets on buying this and would likely buy another one once McLaren has learnt on how to deal with their customers and how to back up their infrastructure to support these awesome cars.

a 720s is imho on a different level to the 488 and huracan perf, they both feel a distinct step back compared to the 720s. Main issues lie with HQ and their lackadaisical approach to post sales.

For those asking, it was a non fault accident, some one rear ended me whilst i was stationary at a red light. Not a huge amount of visible damage but did require replacing crash cans (which were the wrongly supplied parts)

This coolant leak now less than a month since they've handed it over has left me not trusting the car or the workmanship of the repair.

davek_964

8,812 posts

175 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2020
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rmaGL said:
This coolant leak now less than a month since they've handed it over has left me not trusting the car or the workmanship of the repair.
As I said, coolant leaks on McLaren aren't that rare and are a known issue blamed on cheap hose clips. So it could just be a coincidence.

Although I guess the argument that it was highly likely to dump it's coolant at some point even if you hadn't had an accident might not be the best defence of McLaren build quality!

fridaypassion

8,560 posts

228 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2020
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Not sure in rejection but I had a broadly similar situation with another manufacturer a couple of years back and I had a part refund equating to what the finance payments would have added up to for the time I was without it.

Pvapour

8,981 posts

253 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2020
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On the rejection within 30 days, would that mean reimbursement for all transport costs as well? i.e the customer had it delivered in the first place and also transported back to the dealer for the return.

Taffy66

5,964 posts

102 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2020
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This explains what your rights are under the Consumer rights act..

https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/rejecting-a-car/

Taffy66

5,964 posts

102 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2020
quotequote all
Pvapour said:
On the rejection within 30 days, would that mean reimbursement for all transport costs as well? i.e the customer had it delivered in the first place and also transported back to the dealer for the return.
Its the dealer's responsibility to collect the car not the buyer's.

TTmonkey

20,911 posts

247 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2020
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Is the coolant leak in anyway linked to the accident? I doubt it is. It’s a coolant leak. Happens.

So forgetting the accident, Which although not handled well by the manufacturers, you’ve had one technical problem. On a pretty bespoke sports car.

I’d suggest that if you want 100% reliability, buy a Honda. Not a McLaren. This must surely have been part of your decision making In buying it in the first place ....? I’m guessing it’s not your first such level of car?


The best mclaren will offer is probably a good deal in a new car taking some regard to your ownership issues.

It’s not like it’s your only car either I would guess? Not been using public transport these last 7 months?

Disappointing I’m sure but the world hasn’t ended..... still a fantastic car.

BadBull

1,924 posts

72 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2020
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Another McLaren tale of woe.