Returning a newly bought, used car?

[Time Waster]

A partially open window? 😅
Does it only happen when there is a child in the back.

No open window in the back.

If you can demonstrate that the fault was there when you bought it then you are entitled to a full refund, as the car was not of merchantable quality. May be worth calling your local trading standards officer for some advice, but don’t be fobbed off, asking you to take it to a dealer is just them buying some time.

I read somewheree that the 2015 act gave the right to refund due to any of three factors. Fault is enough for one of those factors. That is withint 30 days of point of sale. The 30 days is important I read because it puts the requirement to prove that the fault was not there nor developing when the sale was made on the dealer not vice versa on the buyer of the car.

Of course the rights under consumer laws I reckon in the face of difficult dealers require some form of enforcement or effort from the purchaser. Whether that is some form of mediation, ombudsnmen or small claims court. I think there are many dealers who would try to get a more favourable outcome for them by playing fast and loose with the consumer's rights. Things like engineeering an assessment by the garage they use to push the idea that there is nothing wrong with the car or by finding xome spurious issue and fixing that thus the car is good quality again. However, AIUI there is a right to refuse repair and still refuse it if it is repaired. Also you can take it back, find the issue is stil there and you get to go back to the 30 days right to refund. Less a slight reduction for the length of time it has been driven post "repair". That is from what I have read from various sources such as Which, CAB, etc.

Still, it takes a bit to confront the dealer if they are difficult.

 

[Gunk]

I think there are many dealers who would try to get a more favourable outcome for them by playing fast and loose with the consumer's rights

It’s very common, however one of my closest friends and his son own a dealership, if they have any issues like this they just buy the car back. Poor Google and Trustpilot reviews can kill a business these days.

 

[Time Waster]

That's what I would have thought is the thing now..I mean not worth it as a small dealer, people do look at reviews and avoid small dealers if there's even one iffy review. Not worth the risk.

One small dealership we went to were very much in that camp. They told me that they can't afford to supply cars that are not right. They said straight that if a month you have any doubts they'll take the car back for a full refund. Unfortunately their cars in stock weren't quite right for us. Not sure now. I think that dealer's vibes make me think it's better compromising on the car if it's a good dealership.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

My wife recently bought a pre-owned car from a small dealer. Haven’t visited many that one was by far the best in terms of pre, during and post purchase customer services that I’ve ever experienced. He was honest and says he goes above and beyond to avoid any bad reviews.

It was a popular model of car she bought so she could afford to be choosy from the dozens up for sale, so it wasn’t a compromise, but in her case she found the right dealer and car combination so is very happy.