I am not quite sure what the issue is here and why this might be a legal problem? The service history was not mentioned in the advert. The dealer said that the records could be accessed once the V5 was changed, it then turns out there was no service record. You then claim the dealer is giving you the runaround.

The dealer made no claim as to service history, the dealer also told you that the records could only be accessed following the V5 change. You went ahead and purchased the car without any caveat or commitment from the dealer as to service history. Presumably the dealer was as little informed about the service history as you and when it was discovered that was as much news to him as you? You seem to have assumed there was a main dealer service history, and then admit above your further assumption with regard to independent servicing. Why did you assume and not verify to your satisfaction before committing to the deal?

Having bought the car on that basis you now imply that the dealer is in some way acting improperly by not seeking out any service history that may exist. Why should he do so now? He did not misrepresent the vehicle or mislead you, you did not make the deal contingent on the supply of service information. You bought the car on the basis of what you saw without conditions, the deal is done and his responsibility to you is discharged.

He may as a matter of goodwill seek to assist your further enquiries, but I don’t see he is under any obligation to do so. You say you think you may have bought a wrong ‘un. Why? Is it not in good order and in some way faulty? If it is low mileage and four years old it may have been on an extended service regime and only have needed one service anyway. Perhaps the answer is to get it serviced now and enjoy driving it.

Perhaps I have got the wrong end of the stick, but I can’t see that the dealer has acted improperly here. If service history was an important factor in your buying decision then perhaps a little more rigour on your part in checking this detail before you bought the car was desirable. If the car is otherwise OK then maybe accept the reality and move on.

Becoming a common issue this with many manufacturers mistakenly doing away with service books and with most being taken on longterm hire too many people aren’t bothering to maintain their cars at all as they’ll never own them and you can no longer have a quick look in the glovebox to determine if it has been mechanically neglected or not. Moral of the story is never buy a car without proof of regular servicing.

That said, I have personally called local main dealers to pull service records on cars for myself and others and almost all were very obliging. There’s no data protection issue to simply give a reg no and receive a reply stating that the service record is up to date. In this case the OP should’ve pushed the dealer to supply proof or called the local main dealer themselves.

There’s no case to answer if the dealer has never said the car came with a full history and even if they did verbally you’d need proof. If however it’s an approved used car from a main dealer I’d approach Merc customer services to intervene. Otherwise it’s a lesson learned.

Edited by SLO76 on 12/01/2021 at 22:57