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Rejecting a car

Home page 2023 Forums Buying a Car Rejecting a car

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    • #118073
      Skiff
      Guest

      Hello,
      To explain in more detail we are previous lease car owners of a Peugeot 2008, we were happy with it & 2 years into the deal.
      We were contacted via the dealership offering a better deal on the new Jeep Renegades that had come into the showroom.
      We had been into the showroom multiple times informing them of our requirements i.e. needs to be economical, good performance, needed to meet monthly budget, which is why we had been in multiple times.
      We (my wife & I) both test drove a Jeep (now known different specification), we were told they were an excellent car, nipping fast/economical & what we wanted so we agreed. We then managed to secure a reasonably decent deal we felt & off we went happy to await our new purchase a Jeep Renegade 1.6L E-torQ 110hp (2WD) Car sold.
      We even had our photograph taken with the salesman upon collection of the car, we were happy.
      During the first week of having the car it became apparent the engine did not seem fit for the size of the car, the performance was poor & the petrol consumption was shocking (still is).
      Therefore contacted salesman to inform him of this, he advised bringing it in for check, to ensure no faults, as he could not understand the problem.
      Guess what no faults identified & told to try & break engine in up to 1000 miles to see if it loosens up, if still having problems to recontact.
      Had numerous contact from salesman RE he had been on Jeep course after selling us the car & had running info for us i.e. Shift gear when it tells you, which we also said it had problems telling you to shift inappropriately at different speeds etc.
      Then took it in for it’s 1 month check & advised salesman & service desk still the same no difference. Again advised to break it in, get it to 1000 miles & see what it was like. During the visit the salesman made contact with the trainer from Jeep course who spoke to us over the phone & advised if we were still not happy to get the salesman to contact the Jeep’s technical dept.

      Unfortunately, we did not feel any of the above was a good enough resolution to our complaints.

      And as a resolve to this issue we Requested the dealership to provide us with a car that is economical, has good performance & has a reasonable monthly payment for our budget. That is all we have ever asked for.
      And we also told them that the Jeep will need replacing as it is not what we were sold or expecting & we do not want to keep it for the 4 years lease.

      The car clearly has a design fault with its weedy petrol engine that is less than efficient and slower at powering the size of the car, therefore making it:-
      a) Not of satisfactory quality,
      b) Not fit for purpose, and
      c) Obviously defective
      And certainly not what we were sold.
      Under the consumer rights act 2015 we feel we are we correct & still within 6 months to return the car.

      The dealership have tried to get us to accept new deals on lesser value cars i.e. Peugeot 208, but are adding the negative equity from this cars sale on to our new finance deal, meaning we are a further approx £3000 out of pocket over the 4 year lease.

      Have you any recommendations, please help?

    • #118074
      Peter Schofield
      Guest

      Hi Stuart

      I’m hoping you can help. I bought a Volvo V40 diesel brand new last July. Within 2 months of ownership in September the engine management light came on. I booked it in with the dealer for repair they removed the O2 sensor cleaned it and put in back in.

      In December the car displayed the same fault again. I gave them another opportunity to repair it and they replaced the EGR valve and sensor. 24 hours after collecting it from the dealership the car displayed the fault again and cut power to the engine. I called Volvo assistance who followed me into the dealership with the car in limp mode.

      On the 7th August 2017 the issue has presented itself again. I’ve raised a formal complaint to the CEO of Volvo and have an email advising that it is a known fault and there is no permanent fix. They’ve advised me I can book into the dealer again for a temporary repair.

      The car is financed with Santander and I want to exercise my final right to reject under the consumer rights act because I strongly believe the car is not of satisfactory quality and free from defects. I’m not driving the car because I don’t feel safe using it.

      I’m now 13 months into ownership. Can I pursue a right to reject on the grounds that the defect is known to the manufacturer and has not been fixed on multiple attempts and I’ve now been advised can’t be fixed permanently?

      Best wishes

      Pete

      • #118153
        stuart 2022Stuart Masson
        Participant

        Hi Peter. Trying to reject the car under the Consumer Rights Act after 13 months is generally pretty difficult, although not impossible. You will need to engage professional legal assistance to have any chance of succeeding.

    • #118152
      stuart 2022Stuart Masson
      Participant

      If the Jeep is performing correctly, you are unlikely to be able to reject it under the Consumer Rights Act. Having a “weedy” engine is not a design fault, as it may be perfectly acceptable to other buyers.
      Given that you didn’t drive a vehicle with the engine that you bought, you will probably find it difficult to convince anyone that the car is faulty – unless it is performing significantly worse than another identical vehicle in the same specification.
      The dealer is broadly correct that the car could take a while to run in (several thousand miles, depending on the engine and your driving circumstances). Early on, the car’s ECU will limit how much performance is available and gradually it will loosen the reins, so to speak. Fuel consumption will also improve, although not by massive amounts.
      You would have to try and prove that you were mis-sold a vehicle that did not meet your requirements, and that will require a paper trail between you and the dealership that clearly shows what you asked for. Verbal claims and counter-claims won’t count at all.

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