When you buy a car, whether brand new or second hand, you benefit from the protection of certain statutory consumer rights as provided for under the Sale of Goods Act. However there is some variation in these rights depending on how you buy the car and who you buy it from.
Your statutory rights
First and foremost, whoever sells you the car must ensure they have the right to sell it and can pass on full ownership to you. If it turns out that the car is stolen or belongs to a finance company, you will not automatically then own it, even if you have already handed over the cash.
Secondly, the seller must ensure that the car is exactly as described. Therefore if it has air con, CD player etc, then these features must not only exist, but they must also work; if it is in excellent condition, it should be relatively free from marks, scratches, dents and rust; if certain parts have been replaced, they must not then break down after a short time and so on. The description of the car also includes make, model and accurate mileage
Thirdly (and this is where your rights differ), if you have bought the car from a dealer, the car must be of satisfactory quality. Satisfactory quality is defined as what a ‘reasonable person’ would regard as acceptable, taking into account factors such as price paid, fitness for purpose specified, appearance and finish, safety and durability. If it becomes apparent that the car was not of the quality you were led to expect, you are quite within your rights to go back to the dealer, even after some weeks or even months of use. If it was the case that you were invited to carry out a thorough inspection of the car before purchase, and then you go back to complain about something which that inspection should have revealed, you will have no legal rights in that regard.
If you have bought the car from a private seller, who does not normally trade in cars, then there is no legal obligation on the seller to provide a car of satisfactory quality, and it is therefore a much riskier purchase. For this reason, there are more consumer complaints about the purchase of second hand cars than any other, so exercise significant caution – buyer beware!
The seller’s responsibility
In the event that you have to take a car back to the seller on the basis of a breach in one of your statutory rights, the seller cannot try to refer you to the manufacturer under the context of a guarantee or warranty – and particularly not when it involves additional cost to you. Any warranties or insurance policies offered by the seller are additional to these rights and cannot replace them.
Beware of car dealers posing as private sellers. They do this to evade their legal rights as regards satisfactory quality. If the individual trying to sell the car cannot provide paperwork to prove that he/she is the actual owner of the car and has been so for a while, then they may be a dealer trying to get rid of a dodgy car.
If there is a problem
These are your statutory consumer rights. If any of them are breached you are within your rights to go back to the seller, who will then be legally required to remedy the situation in a number of different ways, depending on your situation and the nature of the complaint. The law requires you to act reasonably too, so if the problem is minor and can be repaired easily, within reasonable time, at no additional cost to you and without causing any significant inconvenience, then the dealer can insist on a repair as a first option. But remember that this will not stop you from taking it back if the repair is unsatisfactory or there is something else wrong with the car.
If the car cannot be repaired, if the repair is unsatisfactory, or takes an unreasonable length of time, your next option would be to have it replaced. If this is undesirable or impossible, then you can request a refund, although if some time has passed, you should be aware that any the refund given may well take account of any use you have had of the car since you took possession of it.
In situations where you would like to keep the car and undertake to carry out the repairs yourself, you have another option, which is to request a discount on the price paid.
Buying a car at auction
You may well get the best deal, but there is the risk of reduced consumer protection if something goes wrong. Look out for disclaimers such as ‘sold as seen’ and enquire as to how this affects your statutory rights as regards quality issues. You may not have an opportunity to examine the car or take it for a test drive, and any bid you make will become a legally binding contract at the fall of the hammer!
Buying a car on the internet
When buying a car on the internet, you have just as many rights as if you had bought the car after having seen an ad in the newspaper, provided this is from a dealer. If you go ahead with the purchase, not having had any face to face contact with the dealer, you will also benefit from rights provided under the Distance Selling regulations, which include a 7-day cooling off period.
If however you buy the car as a private sale from an individual, who doesn’t trade in cars for a living, you won’t benefit from the legal requirement of the seller to provide a car of satisfactory quality. It could be a heap of junk, and you would have no legal recourse.
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I recently purchased a 5year old car and when I drive I noticed a sent and paint of drivers door this was not pointed out to me when I purchased car
Hi. I have recently bought a second hand Motor from a car dealer. I have now just been made aware of the difference in Value to what i paid, to what the car is truly valued at. Which is a lot than i paid..
Where do i stand legaly.
Regards
I bought a car with private plates on paid signed and sealed drove car away sent forms to register car etc then garage phoned to say previous owners eanted private plate back can they fo this mu fetails on log book and reg on all insurance documents and log book where do i stand
I bought a car for 15.000 from car dealer, 6 months later police inform me that I had bought a stolen car and take it away, what are my rights
My daughter bought a second hand car she had it one day and knew it’s head gasget has gone the car dealer gave us the mony back but won’t pick the car so it’s stuck in my drive. We have contacted loads of times but ignores us what should we do
I bought a BMW X3 2mths ago from a small independent garage, a few wks ago i had to have work done on it that cost me £210, today i’ve paid £153 for a new starting motor, i have 1mths warranty left on it, am i entitled to a refund from the garage if i took it upon myself to get the repairs done?
My son bought a bmw from a garage and within 2 days the front brakes needed to be changed and the back ones will need changing soon the car was supposed to be AA approved we have been in touch with the garage and they not going to do anything about it
My sister has recently brought a seconhand car the registration matched up with the logbook but when she came to insure the vehicle no insurance company will insure it as its showing the reg to be a different car can you advise
Hi Catriona,
I have bought an Audi TT Used from a main dealership using PCP, however now Im thinking financially I might not be able to cope with paying for it. I paid £2000 deposit and I was wondering if I could pull out of the deal and get the deposit back. 2 things
1) The cable is not working for the iphone link in the glove compartment and their are some issues with the spoiler on the back
2) I showed A young lady in another audi dealer what paperwork I received and she told me that because I hadnt been made aware of the alloy protection I had been sold, nor did I have the original order form, nor did I have anything saying that I was aware of the finance agreement, nor a demands and needs document I might possibly have a case??
Please let me know if this could enable me to cancel??
Thanks,
Trevor
I agreed a price for a van and gave the garage a deposit…then they contacted me to say there had been a.mistake with the price and they cannot sell it at the price we agreed….so they are refunding the deposit. Have they got to honour the agreement and price??? They say no they havent.
I purchased from Gold Coast Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, ( James Frezelles Motors ) a new Grand Cherokee Laredo 4 W/d Jeep for $48,000 in January 2012 that had a 3 year warranty. In May of this year, (5years and 5 months after buying it new, and I had only traveled 39,150 k’s ), the gearbox failed and had to be replaced. Jeep had No spare gearboxes in Australia. (Can you believe that? ) The Coffs Harbour Dealer kept my Jeep for nearly 8 weeks and didn’t provide me with a loan car for all that period. Jeep finally found one of only 2 in America and the Coffs Harbour Dealer installed it and made me pay $5,000 before they would give me my car back. I went to Fair Trading, without success and I took it to Ncat Tribunal in Coffs Harbour without success. I won’t be buying another Jeep. They don’t have spares and they wouldn’t allow me to talk to them and no written correspondence from them. Very very unhappy!
Hi,
I put a deposit Of £500 down for a car but have not purchased it yet but I’ve already received the log book. So, do I legally own this car now and do I have to pay the remainder?