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Rejecting a new car because of a fault

I bought a Citroen DS3 Racing brand new in May 2011 on finance. Within a few weeks it developed an issue where the car misfired and lost power on acceleration.

I notified the supplying dealer and they looked at it during it's 1,000 mile free check but couldn't find an issue. Since then the car has been looked at by my local Citroen dealer (not the supplying dealer) a further five times and Citroen UK's technical team attended on the last few occasions.

They have now stated it needs a new engine which won't be delivered until 21st December and would then not be fitted until January 2012. I refused to drive the car away as the misfire is dangerous and causes the car to loose power when pulling out of junctions, accelerating on the motorway etc.

Am I within my rights to reject the car and ask for a refund of my deposit and any monthly payments made so far? I have since found out there are a further 3 or 4 Citroen DS3 Racings in the UK waiting for replacement engines.

Asked on 7 November 2011 by Stefan Tapp

Answered by Honest John
Yes. You can't drive the car so unless they put you into an equivalent in the meantime you are entitled to your money back. But all this has to be done with the supplying dealer and the finance house, not a different dealer.

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