Support & Advice

I bought a car from a dealer but within the first 30 days there is a problem - what can I do?

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, when a fault develops in a recently purchased vehicle, you must stop using the vehicle immediately and make the dealer aware of this in order to give them the opportunity to diagnose the fault.

I recently bought a car but don’t think it’s right for me so have changed my mind - can I return the vehicle to the dealer and get my money back?

You cannot reject your car simply because you have changed your mind - you can only reject it if a fault occurs.

My vehicle has a fault which has been diagnosed - what are my options?

Within the first 30 days of purchasing the vehicle, you have the option to reject the vehicle and obtain a full refund on your purchase. Alternatively, you can give the dealer one opportunity to repair the vehicle - failure to repair the vehicle will entitle you to a refund. If a fault comes to light after 30 days but before 6 months have passed then you are entitled to a repair, replacement or refund. It is assumed in law that the fault was present at the time of purchase unless the seller can prove otherwise. During this period, unless you have agreed otherwise, the seller (dealer) has only one opportunity to repair (or replace) the faulty vehicle after which, if they fail to repair it, you are entitled to a refund. In the event of a refund following a failed attempt at repair during the first six months the seller is permitted to make a 'reasonable' adjustment to the amount refunded to take account of the use that you have had of the vehicle since you bought it.

I reported the fault to the dealer but have not heard back - what do I do now?

Under no circumstances should you ever take the vehicle to a garage of your choice to have any work completed on it without prior authorisation from the dealer. If you have contacted the dealer and haven’t heard back within a reasonable time, then we would recommend you contact the dealer again, both verbally and in writing. You would need to advise them that if they do not repair the vehicle within a reasonable time, then you may have no other choice other than to take it to another garage and the dealer may be liable for the cost of the repairs.

The dealer is too far away from me to return it to them to have any repair work completed - Can I take it to my local garage to complete the repair work?

Under no circumstances should you ever take the vehicle to a garage of your choice to have any work completed on it without prior authorisation from the dealer. As stated in the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the dealer should always be given the first opportunity to repair the vehicle and would not be liable for any costs you have incurred by taking the vehicle to an alternative garage without the dealers’ prior knowledge and consent.

My own garage has diagnosed a fault, however when the vehicle was returned to the dealer, they inspected the car and could not find a fault - What happens now?

In the event that you find yourself in a position whereby you have noticed a fault with a vehicle and have given the dealer an opportunity to inspect the vehicle but they can not identify any faults, you would need to arrange for an independent inspection to be carried out on the vehicle. An independent inspection should be completed on the vehicle by a third party not linked to either the dealer or customer - An AA inspection, for example, would be deemed as an independent inspection. We would recommend that both parties agree on the independent garage/service that will be carrying out the inspection prior to anything being confirmed. The cost incurred for carrying out an independent inspection would need to be agreed between yourself and the dealer, however it may be likely that you would need to pay for the inspection initially and if a fault is found, then recompense for the inspection should be sought from the dealer.

The vehicle can not be driven back to the dealer because of the fault - how can I get the car back?

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, within 30 days of purchasing the vehicle, if there is a fault and the car cannot be driven to the dealer, it is the responsibility of the dealer to recover the vehicle at no cost to the customer.

Something seemed wrong with my car so I took it to a local garage who looked at it and repaired the fault. I have tried to send the dealer the bill for repair works but they are refusing to pay - Should they pay the bill?

Under no circumstances should you ever take the vehicle to a garage of your choice to have any work completed on it without prior authorisation from the dealer. As stated in the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the dealer should always be given the first opportunity to repair the vehicle and would not be liable for any costs you have incurred by taking the vehicle to an alternative garage without the dealers’ prior knowledge and consent. In this instance, the dealer was not given the first opportunity to diagnose the fault in order to repair it, therefore the dealer is not liable to pay the bill.