Rejecting a New Car

Honest John Back Room » Legal matters
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Wed 29 Dec 2010 10:07
Rejecting a New Car - Laird Lugton

Hello all, I bought a new car from a dealer 200 miles away in early December. On the drive home with less than a 100 miles on the clock the engine management light came on. The RAC came out, could tell there was a fault but couldn't read it. However in consultation with the manufacturer cleared it for the trip home.

The car then went into the local franchised dealer for investigation. They had to phone the manufacturer for advice and re installed some engine management software.

This hasn't cured the problem as this morning the engine management light came on again. It is going to go back into the franchised dealer next week.

I've had a look at HJ's article on rejecting a new car. In there it states that the dealer must have three chances to repair the car. Does this mean I have to drive the 200 miles to that dealer to be repaired or will being repaired under warranty at a local franchised dealer be acceptable?

I don't want to reject the car as I really like it, however I don't want to be stuck with a lemon either....

Regards,

LL

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Wed 29 Dec 2010 13:51
Rejecting a New Car - Cris_on_the_gas

Your rights under the Sale of Goods Act for rejection is with the supplying dealer not the Manufacturer. Have contacted them at all yet. Although a bind really you should be giving them the opportunity to resolve the issue ASAP, yes appreciate this is a 200 mile journey. Getting mixed message from you as you seem to want to know about rejecting the car but than state you'd rather keep it. What car is it ?

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Wed 29 Dec 2010 14:08
Rejecting a New Car - Laird Lugton

Thanks for the reply.

I'm aware that my contract is with the dealer and not the manufacturer. My question was does warranty work to repair this fault by another dealer constitute repairs as detailed in Honest Johns advice where he states the customer has to give the dealer 3 chances to repair the vehicle.

For instance if you buy a car in Cornwall but live in Shetland it would not be feasible to take it back to Cornwall on three occasions. However if you bought the car at a franchised dealer in Cornwall and then took it to a franchised dealer in Shetland would this constitute an attempt at repair for the purposes of rejection?. The mechanics have all be trained to the same standard and all warranty repairs can be done at any franchised location.

I do wish to keep this car as we spent enough time choosing it and rejecting it is going to involve an awful lot of hassle and wasted time which could be spent more productively. However I am not going to wait indefinitely for the car to be repaired.

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Wed 29 Dec 2010 16:15
Rejecting a New Car - LucyBC
It is about giving the supplying dealer to make his own arrangements for having the car fixed - not for having him do the work.

Given what you say you have a good claim for a repair but it is very doubtful you have the grounds to reject the car (at least at this stage).

Normally what happens in these cases is that someone local to you trusted by both will do a preliminary investigation of the fault and report the problem back. Then agreement is reached as to how to proceed.

What you should *not* do is book the car in, authorise repairs and then send the dealer the bill without reference to him expecting him to pay for it... Well, that's what everyone thought until the McGrath case:

"Court rules dealer must pay buyer's garage bill for unreported repairs":
See: tinyurl.com/35q5bm7
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Wed 29 Dec 2010 16:45
Rejecting a New Car - Laird Lugton

Thanks for the reply.

The dealer I bought the car knows there was a problem from the outset and since under the manufacturers warranty was fine with me taking it to the local franchised dealer close to where I live.

There would be no bills as it's a brand new car and everything is covered under the manufacturers warranty.

Honest John states that it's normal for the dealer to have three attempts at repair. So are you saying I should inform the dealer of the problem and let him sort out the repair even though I could take the car to my local dealer and have a repair done under warranty?

Regards,

LL

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Thu 30 Dec 2010 08:21
Rejecting a New Car - LucyBC

The "three chances" used to be the guidance for a second hand car and also to stop people rejecting new vehicles for trivial reasons - and is still a good model which should be followed. It is not however set in law and if your engine management light came on three times you would probably not have grounds to reject the car unless it was an indication of something very serious.

Generally speaking for a rejection there has to be one catstprophic failure soon after the vehicle was sold or a series of serious failures early in the ownership.

A warranty repair on a new car it can be undertaken at any main dealer but it is a courtesy - and probably a requirement so early in the ownership period - to inform the selling dealer what is going on as they are liable under the Sale of Goods Act. SOGA is the bedrock of your legal protection.

Your warranty sits on top of this and if it settles the issue all to the good.

What you cannot do - new or used - is involve the selling dealer in any costs without informing them and their agreeing them.

Edited by LucyBC on 30/12/2010 at 08:30

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