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Our new car is not as described

Home page 2023 Forums Buying a Car Our new car is not as described

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    • #87022
      Clarabell33
      Guest

      Advice needed please! We’ve just bought a 2nd hand car from a dealer. It was advertised on the website as having low mileage for its age (2 yrs), so we test drove it, liked it and bought it.
      we were in a hurry because we were concerned that our old car needed replacing and didn’t want to be without one – and stupidly didn’t double check the mileage on the car. We got it home to realise it was double that which it had been advertised at (31k not 16k).
      The documents we’d later signed after we’d paid our deposit did have the correct mileage on them, but the initial printouts the dealers had given us after the test drive when we were still thinking about it had theh incorrect mileage on and I remember checking it on them.
      We feel we’ve made a mistake in buying this car at the price we did – or possibly at all. We know we should have checked and feel stupid – but what can we do? Anything? Do we have any rights?
      Thanks for any advice you can give us.

    • #87023
      Clarabell33
      Guest

      Oh yes, and we’ve just realised that the wrong mileage is on the warranty documents as well!

    • #87040
      stuart 2022Stuart Masson
      Participant

      If you have the original advertisement and any material from the dealership that shows the mileage as being 16k, then you may be able to go back to the dealer and negotiate some compensation for the mileage being higher than advertised. Visit legalbeagles.info which has some great consumer advice.

      You should definitely get the warranty documentation corrected and re-issued by the dealership, and then you should also double-check with the warranty company that this has been done correctly so that it doesn’t cause any problems if you ever need to make a claim.

      If you’re hoping to be able to give the car back and get a refund, you’re likely to be well out of luck. By your own admission, the contract shows the correct mileage. If you didn’t check the details of the contract before signing it, that’s not the dealership’s fault. They could swear on a bible that there was an error in the advertising and that was pointed out to you by the salesman, and you can swear blind that he never said any such thing, so it all comes down to the contract.

    • #87045
      Clarabell33
      Guest

      Thanks for the advice. We’ll check out legalbeagals.info tonight as we will be speaking to the dealers tomorrow.
      In terms of paperwork, it’s only the signed invoice which has the correct mileage on it: the advertisments and warranty (which is signed twice on 2 separate pages and has the incorrect figure on twice) are all showing the wrong figures.
      Anyway, we’ll check out the site and see where we get.
      Thanks again.

    • #110906
      Tariq Khan
      Guest

      Hello, I have purchased a car from Bristol street motors which had the incorrect mileage when I purchased the vehicle. The difference is just over 1600 miles, the dealership has offered me £150 compensation and is stating that the difference was actually £50. I have had a number of issues with them since purchasing the vehicle, as they never settled my previous finance and this meant I was paying 2 lots of finance which is illegal from my understanding. I believe I should be offered more for all the inconvenience I have gone through since December, please see there latest email below…

      “Good Morning Tariq,

      I have been doing some calculations based on the mileage difference. I have valued the vehicle with the advertised mileage and also with the actual mileage the difference in valuation terms is £50, 49000 miles value is £4850 and with 51532 miles the value is £4800.

      I am willing however to refund an amount of £150.00 to close this matter.

      Please advise if you are happy to go ahead and accept this as full and final settlement.”

      Can you please advise me on what I should do?

      • #111019
        stuart 2022Stuart Masson
        Participant

        Hi Tariq. I think you’re lucky to be getting any kind of compensation for a 1,600-mile error on a 51,000-mile car. Given that you signed the contract, the dealer could argue that you have no course for complaint.

        As for the other “number of issues”, that’s another matter.

    • #111126
      Gavin Johnstone
      Guest

      Hi I bought a chevrolet spark last year from arnold clark and whilst buying we were told it’s in excellent condition. After a year we got a letter saying all chevrolets had to be recalled as there was rusty faults on the car. We also got the car serviced and MOT’d at this point and under the car is rusty and practically hanging on by a thread. We have contacted arnold clark complaints and have been told there is nothing we can do unless we can prove the rust was there before we purchased the car. This we cannot do as we didn’t realise this until it was serviced and MOT’d in February 2017 and we didn’t have a view of under the car until then. I believe this to have been missold but arnold clark aren’t listening to us. They have covered there tracks and take no blame. Whilst at a different arnold clark garage the sales manager said we have practically been missold the car. Where do we go from here.
      Thanks

      • #111128
        stuart 2022Stuart Masson
        Participant

        Hi Gavin. Arnold Clark doesn’t have the best reputation for customer service, so I’m not surprised that you’re not getting anywhere.

        If it’s a manufacturer recall then the dealer is likely to be able to wash their hands of any responsibility. I don’t know if you will have any luck trying to get anywhere with Chevrolet now that they have completely shut down operations in the UK. You would probably need to go via a Vauxhall dealer (who are responsible for looking after Chevrolet customers now) to see if there is any recourse available for Chevrolet owners.

    • #117460
      Lisa
      Guest

      Hi
      Bought a car on finance from a garage.All paper work says mileage 59992. After 6 months of ongoing problems finally it broke down. Independent inspection revealed fault at point of sale,dealer refused to pay so finance company have paid.
      But…during all this we discovered that it had MOT 6 months before I bought it with 65000 on the clock ! Traced the previous owner who states he traded it in to this dealer with at least 70000 on it 4 months before I bought it.
      Trading standards reckon I can demand a replacement refund or compensation within 6 years. But I’m not getting anywhere

      • #117472
        stuart 2022Stuart Masson
        Participant

        Hi Lisa. If you have a solid paper trail then you should be able to make a strong case. However, I would recommend speaking to a solicitor and engaging proper legal assistance to help you, otherwise the dealer will probably try and stall you or ignore you forever.

    • #123198
      Anthon
      Guest

      Hi I am about to sign a document for pcp plan on a used car. The car is circa £30-40k, I noticed on all the paper work that it has the wrong millage. This could have effected my millage plan (11p per extra mile) on the pcp contract. I want this car, but should I say unless they give discount, or a few freebies, like the gap and tyre cover to be thrown in for free, then i dont want the car? I have already paid a deposit.

      • #123269
        stuart 2022Stuart Masson
        Participant

        Hi Anthon. You are well within your rights to insist that the contract is updated to reflect the correct mileage. They are far more likely to do that than give you freebies.

    • #123424
      Stephanie
      Guest

      Hi looking for advice. I purchased a brand new 17 plate Range Rover evoque in June, I have nothing but issues with the car and I don’t feel it is fit for purpose. My car has done 2500 miles and now requiring a service. My car cuts out when I hit 70mph every time and I do motorway driving for work. I have constantly got to clean my exhaust filter 3 times a week, which should be clearing itself with the motorway driving. I have taken it back to Land Rover and they said yeh it needs a service. I’ve now opened a case with them with Land Rover direct as I stated as per trading standards as my car is not fit to drive properly and I don’t feel safe in it I want a new one or out of my contract.

      • #123507
        stuart 2022Stuart Masson
        Participant

        Hi Stephanie. Not fit for purpose is a subjective allegation, so you need to have considerable evidence to support your claim. I would suggest you get professional legal advice before pushing to reject the car under the Consumer Rights Act.

    • #131171
      Debbie Louise Peter
      Guest

      Hi
      I just bought a used Fiat 500 which was advertised as having Phone Connectivity etc. I went to see it and bought the car. When I got it home I was unable to connect my phone as none of the phone buttons in the car worked. I took it back to the dealer who tried to connect it. Still didn’t work. Contacted Fiat directly who advised it needed a new part costing £400 plus labour on top. Send details to the small dealer I bought the car from and nothing. Please can you confirm that they are Definately responsible for sorting out the phone connection in the car. It was advertised as having it and this is one of the main reasons I bought the car as I need this.
      Thanks

      • #131294
        stuart 2022Stuart Masson
        Participant

        Hi Debbie. If you have evidence that the car was advertised with this particular feature (ie – a copy of the original advertisement), then you have the right to either demand that it is fitted or reject the car as ‘not as advertised’.

        For more information, have a read of our article on rejecting a car.

    • #171486
      Shelley
      Guest

      Hi, my husband and I recently viewed (on a Friday late afternoon) and test drove a used car advertised with 1 previous owner, we really liked it and had all intention of purchasing it, we told the dealer we were very interested and he asked us to put £500 down as a deposit, we did not sign a sale agreement. On the drive home (I don’t know why but) my husband started looking up various things on the internet and he found information on the vehicle saying it had possibly 3 previous owners and finance outstanding. He immediately panicked and phoned the guy to see what was going on, he said something along the lines of yeah it’s 1 plus 1 owners and the finance is a company they use which gets paid off once the car is sold. I believe this is fairly common but I feel they should have explained this at the time we agreed to buy the car, also we weren’t convinced with what 1+1 meant but the guy was a proper sales man. We also discovered there was a manufacturer recall on the vehicle. With this my husband decided that too much didn’t seem right and had lost trust in the seller so on Monday he phoned to cancel and request a refund, after a bit of chat from the seller about how the number of owners doesn’t matter (its more the not telling us in the first place that bothered us) he was told this was fine and we would be refunded. Over a week a 2 emails later nothing. We probably wouldn’t have viewed the car if the original advert had stated 3 owners and if we had, we could have made an informed decision about buying it. Where do we stand in getting our money back please?

    • #171531
      stuart 2022Stuart Masson
      Participant

      Hi Shelley. Getting your money back isn’t going to be straightforward unless you have paperwork showing that the car is not as described. You said that you didn’t sign a sales agreement so you have no real way of proving that the £500 was even for the purchase of that vehicle.

    • #172984
      Stephanie
      Guest

      Bought a2nd hand Fiat 500S from a main Fiat agent, when they refused to fix my original Fiat 500 under warrantee (brakes). Guess I was conned into buying a newer car by the salesman. As per the purchase invoice it was declared by the dealer to have 8500 miles. Sometime later discovered that in fact it has done 13000 when I looked at the service document. The finance was done on the basis of it having done the 8500 miles. My mileage plan was supposed to be 10,000 miles per annum but I just discovered it was done by the salesman at 6000, and he was also supposed to transfer my service plan off the Fiat 500 car I was handing over. He didn’t do this. Also it was supposed to be a PCP deal but now found out it was a personal motor loan from Fiat with no guaranteed final value. I didn’t even sign the finance form. feel raped by the salesman who has now “left” the dealership. Where to I stand?

    • #173035
      Khan
      Guest

      Hi

      I have signed the used car vehicle order form with dealership where there was no requirement to pay the deposit. However PCP finance application was approved but awaiting my signature. Am I now legally bound to purchase the car? Or can I still change my mind?

      On the PCP finance document, it said that I can return the car and terminate the agreement when I have 50% of the total amount payable ( which also included the interest).

      Would I get the rebate back? Dealership tell me something like the interest was calculated on the full term of PCP and is part of the monthly installment which will be refunded for the remaining term when the car is handed back but PCP agreement does not saying anything like that.

      Please can you advise?
      Thanks
      K

    • #175199
      nick
      Guest

      hi there,
      I purchased a Nissan XTrail and it was advertised and invoiced as a 7 seater vehicle. When I came to use the additional seats it became apparent that it was only a 5 seater car, this is also confirmed in the V5. The advert and invoice from Evans Halshaw was for a 7 seater.

      They’ve admitted the error, said the would offer me £500 compensation or able to change the car at my expense which I think is unreasonable.

      Any advice of next steps would be brill.
      cheers

    • #175278
      Dag Hammar
      Guest

      Hi Nick.
      If you need a seven seater vehicle then however much compensation they offer you it will not make your five seater accommodate seven people.
      If you do not need seven seats then only you can decide if their offer of £500 is sufficient to placate you.
      You could go back to them and reject the vehicle and obtain a full refund of your money as the vehicle clearly has been both falsely advertised and mis-sold. Keep all paperwork that you have, including any adverts. Your position in law is on solid ground. If you part-exchanged a car do they still have it ?
      Two things as an aside, why on earth did you not check the Nissan thoroughly before accepting it ? Have you also checked to see if there is a spare wheel, wheel-brace and jack ? Owners manual in the glovebox ? The situation that you are now in speaks volumes about Evans Halshaw and perhaps they should be avoided in the future.

    • #177005
      Sue Nash
      Guest

      My daughter has just purchased a car from a Nissan dealership. In every bit of paperwork the mileage is stated as 9789. The car was delivered to her house and when she got home from work she checked it out and the mileage is 16307. The car is 2 years old and the dealer says he will give her £700. Bearing in mind all the hassle she has had as she is carless until this is sorted she would accept £1000. The dealer says he will do a full refund and collect the car. How does she stand legally? She wants the car and paid cash for it.

    • #185162
      pb
      Guest

      I purchased a car on hp finance on the advertisement it states full franchise service history. the dealer did not go through the service book with me just stated where it was in the car.
      I did not sign in the handover on viewing the service book. the service history is not fully franchaised. can I reject the car on this basis in first six months

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