Legal right to reject?
Discussion
Morning all,
Currently on hold with my local citizens' advice bureau, so thought I'd reach out for some internet wisdom!
In December 2015 I bought a used car with a 12 month warranty, from a main dealership. It's a second car, not particularly practical in the winter, so didn't immediately get a lot of use. on 19th January 2016 it became clear there was an issue with the coolant system pressurising when the engine was warm and under load, expelling coolant from the expansion tank. The car was collected by the dealership for repair, and was returned to me on 9th February 2016. They'd done bled and refilled the coolant system, checked that sensors and thermostats were working, and fixed the broken electric radiator fan.
The repair was unsuccessful; the same symptoms remained. I had the car recovered to the dealership on 28th February 2016 and suggested they do a compression\leak down test on the engine. They did so and discovered a head gasket failure on the exhaust side - exhaust gases were entering and pressurising the coolant system. The head was taken off the engine, appropriate work carried out, and the car was returned to me on 21st April 2016.
On 9th May, about 30 miles after this work had been carried out, the car suddenly refused to build any revs, misfired and sounded like a bag of spanners. I pulled over and had the car recovered to my house (it was evening and the dealership were closed). On 10th May I wrote a letter stating that I'd wanted to exercise my legal right to reject the car and requesting they collect it, and send me a cheque within 14 days.
The car was collected on 11th May. Today I received a call stating that they'd found the issue, it's a failed sensor, so this can be fixed and returned to me. I stated that I'd lost confidence in the car and in the dealership's ability to repair it and so was still looking to reject the vehicle. I was told that as this sensor issue is a new issue, they do not have to "buy the car back" from me, and they could either repair it and return it to me, or sell it on my behalf. I told them neither of those options were acceptable, and I'd seek some legal advice.
So, they currently don't think they have to refund me. From my understanding of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 they do - they've had 2 opportunities to make the car roadworthy, and it isn't. The current issue may well just be a sensor, but my concern is around the number of issues discovered so far and the amount of time the car is spending out of my hands.
Thoughts on how this would be viewed if taken to court?
Currently on hold with my local citizens' advice bureau, so thought I'd reach out for some internet wisdom!
In December 2015 I bought a used car with a 12 month warranty, from a main dealership. It's a second car, not particularly practical in the winter, so didn't immediately get a lot of use. on 19th January 2016 it became clear there was an issue with the coolant system pressurising when the engine was warm and under load, expelling coolant from the expansion tank. The car was collected by the dealership for repair, and was returned to me on 9th February 2016. They'd done bled and refilled the coolant system, checked that sensors and thermostats were working, and fixed the broken electric radiator fan.
The repair was unsuccessful; the same symptoms remained. I had the car recovered to the dealership on 28th February 2016 and suggested they do a compression\leak down test on the engine. They did so and discovered a head gasket failure on the exhaust side - exhaust gases were entering and pressurising the coolant system. The head was taken off the engine, appropriate work carried out, and the car was returned to me on 21st April 2016.
On 9th May, about 30 miles after this work had been carried out, the car suddenly refused to build any revs, misfired and sounded like a bag of spanners. I pulled over and had the car recovered to my house (it was evening and the dealership were closed). On 10th May I wrote a letter stating that I'd wanted to exercise my legal right to reject the car and requesting they collect it, and send me a cheque within 14 days.
The car was collected on 11th May. Today I received a call stating that they'd found the issue, it's a failed sensor, so this can be fixed and returned to me. I stated that I'd lost confidence in the car and in the dealership's ability to repair it and so was still looking to reject the vehicle. I was told that as this sensor issue is a new issue, they do not have to "buy the car back" from me, and they could either repair it and return it to me, or sell it on my behalf. I told them neither of those options were acceptable, and I'd seek some legal advice.
So, they currently don't think they have to refund me. From my understanding of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 they do - they've had 2 opportunities to make the car roadworthy, and it isn't. The current issue may well just be a sensor, but my concern is around the number of issues discovered so far and the amount of time the car is spending out of my hands.
Thoughts on how this would be viewed if taken to court?
marshalla said:
Age of car ? Price paid ? Mileage at time of purchase ? Mileage at time faults appeared ?
Only done around 1,000 miles since purchase - first fault was probably after 500 of them (the problem didn't manifest itself until we had some dryer weather, an opportunity to put some heat into the engine and therefore an opportunity to stretch its legs a bit)The diagram attached should help understand the CRA more easily (it was after October 2015 so SOGA no longer applies).
I personally would get your bum moving on this one sharpish as the 6 months for proof is not long from lapsing.
I would also get anything in future in writing, furthermore I would identify what "sensor" was causing the issue as if it is related to the original fault then clearly there is additional weight to your rejection.
Can you provide more information on the car itself as in some cases the whole premium car aspect can be enough as to the level expectation in the car (with it being used).
Personal Viewpoint on the CRA:
I do think personally the CRA at least has brought in some degree of additional certainty of reasonableness that SOGA never had, but the 30 day rule is pretty much useless.
I personally would get your bum moving on this one sharpish as the 6 months for proof is not long from lapsing.
I would also get anything in future in writing, furthermore I would identify what "sensor" was causing the issue as if it is related to the original fault then clearly there is additional weight to your rejection.
Can you provide more information on the car itself as in some cases the whole premium car aspect can be enough as to the level expectation in the car (with it being used).
Personal Viewpoint on the CRA:
I do think personally the CRA at least has brought in some degree of additional certainty of reasonableness that SOGA never had, but the 30 day rule is pretty much useless.
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