Paid deposit on used car, went to pick it up, found faults
Discussion
A colleague of mine at work (yes really, not me!) went to view a car last weekend. She had a test drive in it, liked it and put down a deposit. The agreed price was £2295 and the deposit £500.
She went to collect it yesterday with her husband and he has found some faults with it that were not pointed out to her and she missed when looking at the car. Her husband didn't go to view the car with her when she put down the deposit.
The faults are a broken door lock, broken boot lock and the radio has no reception. There is also no locking wheel nut key. As a consequence they have refused the car for the moment. The dealer isn't playing ball. He will not refund the deposit and said that she should have spotted the faults when she looked at the car.
I feel really sorry for her and don't really know what her rights are in this instance. She is clearly scared she might lose her deposit. Does the SOGA help her or would she have been expected to notice these faults? The car is a 2003 on a 52 plate.
She went to collect it yesterday with her husband and he has found some faults with it that were not pointed out to her and she missed when looking at the car. Her husband didn't go to view the car with her when she put down the deposit.
The faults are a broken door lock, broken boot lock and the radio has no reception. There is also no locking wheel nut key. As a consequence they have refused the car for the moment. The dealer isn't playing ball. He will not refund the deposit and said that she should have spotted the faults when she looked at the car.
I feel really sorry for her and don't really know what her rights are in this instance. She is clearly scared she might lose her deposit. Does the SOGA help her or would she have been expected to notice these faults? The car is a 2003 on a 52 plate.
OFT Guidance for second-hand car dealers (http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/676408/oft1241.pdf) states:
5.25 You must give consumers the information they need to make an informed choice, before a sale is made. You must not omit or hide such information, or provide it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Any problems or issues you are, or ought to be, aware of, after taking all reasonable steps, such as for example:
– if the vehicle has been written off as an insurance loss or has suffered accident damage10
– if the vehicle was imported into the UK from outside of the European Union (grey import)
– if there are any MOT Advisory items
– discrepancies in the mileage or service history of the vehicle
– faults with the vehicle that have not been rectified.
In this case I'd suggest as these faults weren't pointed out, the dealer is in breach of this code (I mean how many of us check a car for the locking wheel key or check all the locks)?
If the dealer refuses to correct the faults and still won't refund the deposit, talk to the CAB.
5.25 You must give consumers the information they need to make an informed choice, before a sale is made. You must not omit or hide such information, or provide it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Any problems or issues you are, or ought to be, aware of, after taking all reasonable steps, such as for example:
– if the vehicle has been written off as an insurance loss or has suffered accident damage10
– if the vehicle was imported into the UK from outside of the European Union (grey import)
– if there are any MOT Advisory items
– discrepancies in the mileage or service history of the vehicle
– faults with the vehicle that have not been rectified.
In this case I'd suggest as these faults weren't pointed out, the dealer is in breach of this code (I mean how many of us check a car for the locking wheel key or check all the locks)?
If the dealer refuses to correct the faults and still won't refund the deposit, talk to the CAB.
There's probably more to this story, why have they asked for the deposit back rather than just getting the dealer to fix those couple of minor snags first.
Is it more that the hubby just didn't like the car and has been picking over the car looking for a reason to get the deposit back?
It would be wise to give the dealer time to get the locks and radio working and a set of locking wheel nuts.
I've always found 2nd hand cars of this age have the odd niggle to sort, dealer should be given the chance to put it right.
Is it more that the hubby just didn't like the car and has been picking over the car looking for a reason to get the deposit back?
It would be wise to give the dealer time to get the locks and radio working and a set of locking wheel nuts.
I've always found 2nd hand cars of this age have the odd niggle to sort, dealer should be given the chance to put it right.
S10GTA said:
It's a 10 year old car, its not going to be perfect. I think she is being a bit unreasonable.
My 528i is "not perfect"; it's got stone chips, a few dings, there's a spanner missing from the toolkit, the seats are worn, you could use the steering wheel as a mirror if it were not steering-wheel-shaped. All of which I think are perfectly acceptable for a car with 100K and 13 years on it.But there's a bit of a difference between "not perfect" and "multiple buggered locks and a fecked radio", though, isn't there?
If these faults weren't pointed out up front, then I think it's entirely reasonable to reject the car and recover the deposit, and I (in my layman's mind, at least) think the law supports my opinion.
ETA: And, for a £2K car, I'd be expecting all the doors to lock and the radio to work.
Edit: perhaps now this post might make some kind of sense. I'm nothing if not optimistic.
Edited by CommanderJameson on Monday 7th January 09:00
S10GTA said:
It's a 10 year old car, its not going to be perfect. I think she is being a bit unreasonable.
It might be 10 years old, and I would expect cosmetic issues related to its age such as parking dings, scratches, interior wear etc - but I would expect most fundamental parts of the car to be still functioning correctly.Certainly also if there was a problem with a boot lock (which may or may not prevent the vehicle from being secured - we don't know that), I would expect the selling garage to either remedy that prior to collection, or point out the fault and justify that the selling prices takes the fault into account.
Also if there is no locking wheel nut key present, I assume the garage hasn't taken the wheels off to check condition of the brakes etc?
Sounds like they're trying to palm off a snotter - insist the faults are rectified or demand a refund on the deposit.
She was sent to look for a car and she found one, she didnt check everything or ask if there were faults and then put down a deposit, Was the car described as perfect?
I bet she was told about the insignificant faults and still liked the car, its not until hubby turned up that there was an issue.
All I can think is tough luck for putting the deposit down and sending her to do a job that she was not capable of doing.
My OH knows nothing about cars, no way on earth would I send her with cash to place a deposit, I would ask her to choose one, then I would go look at it with her before placing deposit for fear of her picking a lemon.
I bet she was told about the insignificant faults and still liked the car, its not until hubby turned up that there was an issue.
All I can think is tough luck for putting the deposit down and sending her to do a job that she was not capable of doing.
My OH knows nothing about cars, no way on earth would I send her with cash to place a deposit, I would ask her to choose one, then I would go look at it with her before placing deposit for fear of her picking a lemon.
Speaking as a motor trader here, and under the SOGA, the dealer MUST disclose any faults.
The dealer didnt - whether he was aware of them or not - therefore he should either repair them or refund the deposit.
Changes are the locks just need a good doing with WD40 as most people just use the blipper these days.
Also, the radio sounds like an easy fix - loose aerial lead?
The dealer didnt - whether he was aware of them or not - therefore he should either repair them or refund the deposit.
Changes are the locks just need a good doing with WD40 as most people just use the blipper these days.
Also, the radio sounds like an easy fix - loose aerial lead?
daemon said:
Speaking as a motor trader here, and under the SOGA, the dealer MUST disclose any faults.
The dealer didnt - whether he was aware of them or not - therefore he should either repair them or refund the deposit.
Changes are the locks just need a good doing with WD40 as most people just use the blipper these days.
Also, the radio sounds like an easy fix - loose aerial lead?
The dealer didnt - whether he was aware of them or not - therefore he should either repair them or refund the deposit.
Changes are the locks just need a good doing with WD40 as most people just use the blipper these days.
Also, the radio sounds like an easy fix - loose aerial lead?
Chances are the dealer didn't know about the faults.And if they've waded in demanding a refund they've probably got his back up. He should fix it, but a refund is unreasonable IMO.
Bill said:
Chances are the dealer didn't know about the faults.And if they've waded in demanding a refund they've probably got his back up. He should fix it, but a refund is unreasonable IMO.
CommanderJameson said:
Bill said:
Chances are the dealer didn't know about the faults.And if they've waded in demanding a refund they've probably got his back up. He should fix it, but a refund is unreasonable IMO.
nellyleelephant said:
Tough luck isn't it?
She looked at the car, missed the faults, decided to buy it. Bit much to ask for the deposit back I would have thought.
This.She looked at the car, missed the faults, decided to buy it. Bit much to ask for the deposit back I would have thought.
Exactly what my father did on a DB7 cabrio.
Been a f
king nightmare trying to resolve it. In the end the greater good was to let the awkward/notorious dealer supply some token gesture parts, the paperwork they fked up and then sort the rest ourselves.Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff