Heating fault reason to refuse car?
Discussion
I bought a relatively new 2nd hand car yesterday (only 2 years old) from a dealer. I've realised in the hours drive home that I really hate it (generally uncomfortable and rather sluggish on the acceleration - something I really didn't notice in a 5 minute test drive). I've also discovered that there is a fault with the heating (too cold and barely blowing in the footwell, but won't turn off on the dash). I'm wondering if this alone is reason to refuse the car and get a refund? It seems to be a bit of a legal grey area and whist the CAB say you can refuse for any fault, Honest John says only major faults. I'm not sure what would constitute major faults in this circumstance. I have a warranty and I'm sure the dealer would rather repair it than take it back but as the dealership is miles away it'd be totally inconvenient anyway. Regardless, I'm really just looking for an excuse to return it! What do you think?
Flipjango said:
But that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking if faulty heating IS a reason to return the car? Clearly I'm looking for a reason to return the car, and it may well be fortuitous that there is a fault, but there actually is a fault regardless of this.
I disagree, you have bought a car that has a minor fault and are seeking to return it, not because of the fault but because you have changed your mind about the car. You had the opportunity to drive it for more than 5 mins or walk away, but YOU decided 5 mins was long enough.Basically you have to give the dealer the opportunity to fix it, as the car is probably still under warranty, I'm sure that it will get fixed.
Why oh why do people only spend 5 mins driving a car the shell out £1000's - madness. The only person to blame I am afraid is you.
Flipjango said:
What do you think?
Trying to turn a minor issue into a major one to facilitate return isn't going to work.If you feel that you really don't want the vehicle approach the dealer, fess up & see what the best deal you can get is, but don't expect it to be no or minimal loss though - why should it.
Another option would be again approaching the dealer & seeing if you can arrange a swap with something else from their stock - it won't be free, but is likely to be far less painful than just trying to return for refund.
Fair play for being honest though and admitting that you just don't like the car. I can't imagine that you will be able to reject it just for the heating fault. Like it has already been suggested, your best course of action may be to see if you can swap it for something else on the dealers forecourt.
blueg33 said:
Why oh why do people only spend 5 mins driving a car the shell out £1000's - madness. The only person to blame I am afraid is you.
Well, to be pedantic, I actually did an extended test drive (in fact more than one) in a brand new version of the same car and had been comparing models for ages and had spent a lot of time deciding which car I wanted. The plan had been to buy a brand new one. Then my car broke down beyond economic repair and as I have mobility problems and live in the countryside, I can't function without a car, so I rushed around trying to find a 2nd hand one so that I could buy it quickly. I did test drive the specific car, but was really only looking for faults and flaws by this point as I thought I'd already done my research and had very little time to find something. So, I made a rather rushed decision under a very stressful situation and bought the first decent one I found. But seems there must have been a few minor changes between the 2017 and 2019 models, even though they superficially seemed the same. Due to my physical problems subtle differences in position that might not seem important to anyone else are massively problematic to me but often don't start to present until I've been in a seat for a longer period of time. Wish I hadn't made the decision I did, but I did and here we are. Doesn't remove the fact that the car has a fault though, which it does. I've actually already approached the dealer and explained the situation and asked if there is any way of taking/selling it back to them - the v5 hasn't been submitted yet, so I'm hopeful that they might be agreeable. But I'm just interested in seeing what I would have in my back pocket should they refuse, hence my question.
NDNDNDND said:
Out of curiosity, why can't the OP simply return the car because he doesn't want it any more?
Moral objections aside, is there a legal reason why he can't simply reject the car within say, 14 days for a full refund?
I did wonder the same. Most things you buy have a 30 day return policy (white goods, TVs, etc). Is a car really that different? Interested to learn on that one. Moral objections aside, is there a legal reason why he can't simply reject the car within say, 14 days for a full refund?
To the OP, I have some symphathy but reckon honesty is best policy. Go back, have a friendly chat and a coffee. Point out the car really isn't suited to you and you are worried about this fault... See what they say, they maybe very reasonable and give you some good options. If they don't, then can complicate things, don't see any reason to until then.
NDNDNDND said:
Out of curiosity, why can't the OP simply return the car because he doesn't want it any more?
Moral objections aside, is there a legal reason why he can't simply reject the car within say, 14 days for a full refund?
You can’t do that, frankly it would be ridiculous if you could. Moral objections aside, is there a legal reason why he can't simply reject the car within say, 14 days for a full refund?
You can reject a car if a significant fault is found within 30 days so is a faulty heater system on a two year old car significant? Arguably but the OP could potentially have a hard time persuading the dealer of this.
Flipjango said:
Wacky Racer said:
Never buy any car from a dealer many miles away from you if at all possible. Been there, done that. Never again.
Every dealer is miles from here. We live in the middle of nowhere. If you really don't like the car, why not be honest with the dealer, they may let you change it for another one if they have a decent choice in your price range.
They are not all sharks in my experience.
Nickp82 said:
You can’t do that, frankly it would be ridiculous if you could.
Quite! There's some utter b
ks posted on here at times. Return a car just cos you've changed your mind. What next? Take your house back cos of a drippy tap? Talk about how the nanny state has conditioned people's thinking. Where's mexman and butter face.... this thread needs perspective. NDNDNDND said:
Out of curiosity, why can't the OP simply return the car because he doesn't want it any more?
Moral objections aside, is there a legal reason why he can't simply reject the car within say, 14 days for a full refund?
This has legs you know! You could do it every 14 days and you'd never have to pay for a car! Yeah I know it's a bit time consuming, but I reckon you could get at least a years free motoring without having to travel out of your county, probably 2 years if a dealer would change the car more than once....Moral objections aside, is there a legal reason why he can't simply reject the car within say, 14 days for a full refund?
I found this article on the subject:
https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/bought-a-car-and-ch...
It seems the only circumstances in which you can reject a car within 14 days is under distance selling regulations, which don't seem to apply to the OP.
When you purchase a car in person you enter into a binding contract to purchase the car, and your only chance of rejecting the car is if the dealer has a specific rejection policy.
Sorry OP, it sounds like you're going to be relying on the goodwill of the dealer, unless you can find a rejection clause in your favour in your paperwork.
Perhaps you can leverage the heater problem, but I imagine your only chance there is to allow the dealer the opportunity to fix it.
Good luck, I hope you manage to get something sorted.
https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/bought-a-car-and-ch...
It seems the only circumstances in which you can reject a car within 14 days is under distance selling regulations, which don't seem to apply to the OP.
When you purchase a car in person you enter into a binding contract to purchase the car, and your only chance of rejecting the car is if the dealer has a specific rejection policy.
Sorry OP, it sounds like you're going to be relying on the goodwill of the dealer, unless you can find a rejection clause in your favour in your paperwork.
Perhaps you can leverage the heater problem, but I imagine your only chance there is to allow the dealer the opportunity to fix it.
Good luck, I hope you manage to get something sorted.
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