Hi !
I wonder if I could relate my experiences concerning a purchase of a Land Rover Discovery from a local main dealer, which was sold to me as a UK car but which later turned out to be an imported car thus 'voiding' the manufacturer's 3 yr warranty.
18 months ago I bought a late, low mileage (7k) one-owner Land Rover Discovery TD5 from a Land Rover Main Dealer (Let's call him DEALER 'A"). The car is a Y reg TD5 ES (Registered July 2001) spec car which I paid 27,100 pounds for, the price included the remainder of the 3 yr/60k manufacturer's warranty (as written on the sale ticket).
This provided warranty cover for me until July 2004....or so I was led to believe at the time.
The car has been great and had covered 40,000 trouble free miles until Sunday lunchtime when it suddenly ground to a halt with strange noises coming from under the bonnet with Oil light and battery light blinking.
No problem. I thought. Call Land Rover Assist...
"Sorry Sir" was the response " we have no record of your vehicle, or the chassis number, or your registration".
I managed to get the vehicle recovered to my house under a separate policy I have with First Direct and called the dealer (where I bought the car from) this morning to arrange collection/repair etc and query the LR Assured problem.
The reply I received went along the lines of:
" Sorry sir...we've checked our system and I'm afraid that your car appears to be an import (which wasn't known by us when we sold you the car). The original owner who part exchanged the car with us signed a declaration stating that the car wasn't an import but we have since found out from the original main dealer (DEALER 'B') who supplied the car that it was an import.....so you do not have the balance of the 3yr warranty"
I've complained to the General Manager at the dealership who has agreed to honour the remainder of my warranty but I am now stuck with an imported car when I was told at the time that it was a UK car.
I'm concerned that this will affect the value when I sell it on/trade it in and also means that I probably paid too much for the car on the forecourt initially, believing it to be a bona fide UK car and not an import. Had I known the car to be an import I would not have bought it.
Whether knowingly or otherwise I believe that I have been misled by the dealer when I bought the car.
Anyone know of/had something similar.....any thoughts suggestions on where I stand legally very welcome!
Cheers and Happy New Year (someone may as well have one)
Discovery Driver.
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Not an expert on this, but I would certainly suggest that you speak to the general manager and tell him that you now feel you have paid over the odds for the vehicle and it will be worth less at trade in as you wouldnt consider miss representing the vehicle so would like to be compensated accordingly. No idea on what difference it would have made to the price / trade in so you should do some research and have a figure in mind.
Be firm, and polite, but point out to them that they have misrepresented the vehicle and confirmed this in writing. Did they make any claims about vehicle history checks etc when you bought it? If so I would question if they ever bothered doing it.
As a final (or first) measure you may wish to call trading standards and ask for their help / assistance / advice on the situation.
Not sure if this is the case for all, but my car insurance came with a free legal advice line where you can seek advice.
Given that they have swallowed the warranty they appear to be willing to make amends so you may get somewhere - let us know how you get on.
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Thanks to all who have posted with their responses...constructive advice by all and very much appreciated.
I have involved trading standards and am also taking legal advice on where I stand so will let you know how I get on.
Thanks again all !
Discovery Driver
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>> the price included the remainder of the 3 yr/60k manufacturer's warranty (as written on the sale ticket).>>
If this has been written on your sales invoice, then the dealer has implied that this is a bona fide U.K vehicle and that you are entitled to the terms stated therein.
If they fail to honour this agreement, then not only are they liable for misrepresentation but also breach of contract.
If I were you, I would definitely inform your Local Trading Standards Office and furthermore I think the threat of publicity from a small claims court, should quickly bring the response that you are justly and legally due.
Please keep us posted as to your progress.
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Whilst you have obviously had a rough deal, you may be on dodgy ground if it goes to court.
Assuming the car is to UK spec the only difference between your 'Import' and a 'UK' car is the length of warranty, which the dealer is going to honour.
The dealer will claim he sold the car to you in good faith. He will also no doubt argue that being an import does not affect its second hand value. I am aware that is not the line he would take if you were trying to sell him the car.
You could try to get(in writing) valuations for both UK and Import from the AA or another dealer and then ask the dealer to refund you that amount. Threaten with publicity, court and Vinny Jones.
Good luck
C
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Individual dealer warranty is useless if you break down at the other end of the country or if, heaven forbid, the dealer goes belly up. Insist that they make representations to LR and pay for the reinstatement of the appropriate full warranty.
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D Driver, I believe the trade tend to value imports (personal/parallel imports that is) at 10 to 15% less than UK sourced cars, therefore I would expect a minimum of a free warranty (as has been promised to you) and a cash refund of 10 to 15% of the purchase price which equates to £2700 and £4050...
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