BMW E39 530i sport - Advice needed on rejecting a car!!! - bigcraigy
Hello everyone.

I require a little advice on where I stand and how I go about rejecting a second hand car.
Story is, I bought a second hand 2001 BMW 530i sport Auto on August the 8th this year with 70,719 miles and paid £2995. 7 weeks and 540 miles later the automatic gearbox has failed,it's lost drive in 3rd and 4th. Had a mechanic recover it this morning to find the issue and he's found teeth from the gears in with the oil and says it needs replacing or rebuilding.
I would like to know where I stand with the dealer I bought it from. Can I reject it and get a refund or is that a bit unreasonable of me???. Can I get them to repair it??
What is the best way of approaching them about this matter, the dealer is only 10 mins away. Would it be worth going and having a face to face chat see what they say or would a letter be the best way???

Thanks
Craig
BMW E39 530i sport - Advice needed on rejecting a car!!! - thunderbird
Can I reject it and get a refund or is that a bit unreasonable of me???. Can I get them to repair it?? What is the best way of approaching them about this matter, the dealer is only 10 mins away.

You have had a mechanic recover the car and strip it. Afraid that has pretty much scuppered any chance of rejecting the car or getting it fixed FOC. You must always give the seller the first opportunity (unless you have a very good reason - if you are a million miles away is one). You are only 10 minutes away thus no excuse.

BMW E39 530i sport - Advice needed on rejecting a car!!! - Armitage Shanks {p}

Face to face is better really. The dealer has to prove that the fault was not present when he sold the car. On the basis that you have driven it for 7 weeks and 500 miles,it seems that the fault was not present at the point of sale.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 01/10/2013 at 09:02

BMW E39 530i sport - Advice needed on rejecting a car!!! - pd

I think you'll struggle a bit due to it being a 12 year old car and you've had it for nearly 2 months.

Best you can probably hope for is a contribution from the dealer. Have a polite, calm and sensible discussion with them. You've been unlucky but these things happen on old cars.

BMW E39 530i sport - Advice needed on rejecting a car!!! - harry55

Hi. A suggestion here. How did you pay for the car - cash only? or did you pay at least £100 by credit card or debit card? If yes to credit card, you can try section 75 of the consumer credit act. If debit card, there is a little known (and less powerful) chargeback process, but dependent on the card issuer.

there are various factors to take into account including time taken to reject vehicle? expert witness (mechanic or RAC/AA inspection and written report of faults? as well as the sale of good act - the item, the car, being as described, of merchantable quality, etc.

i rejected a vehicle in 24 hours under sale of goods act. The 'dealer' refused and luckily I had part paid by credit card. I used s.75, local trading standards and copies of my correspondence including an independent garage report. My credit card company came up trumps (with some pressure from the top) as well as local pressure from trading standards threatening an investigation (ie. an invoice saying "sold as seen" which is not legal from a trader).

Next time, I will pay more and buy from a reputable dealer. It saves the hassle and stress.