Beware Dodgy Warranties

[SandyCat]

Just read this on an independent dealers website. I wonder if he knows he is acting outside the UK trading standards??

"Our warranty terms & conditions are as follows.....We give one month/1000 miles warranty (whichever comes first) with every retail car sold,we also offer 3,6 or 12 months parts & labour warranty.Our warranties are given as a gesture of goodwill & are 50/50,in other words they cost you nothing to buy but should the need arise for a repair and that repair costs say £100 then we split the cost with you 50/50 for two reasons,firstly to enable us not to charge for the warranty & get you back on the road asap & secondly to discourage the darker side of used car buyers that think they can destroy the gearbox or engine expecting us to foot the bill without financial cost to them,the 50/50 warranty will obviously make them think twice about such activities if they know that they are paying too.If you are a genuine used car buyer the statement above will obviously not affect you."

Used cars sold by traders to the public must come with at least 3 months warranty. In fact under the consumer credit act it could be read that they come with 6 months warranty but dealers rarely offer that and only refer to the 3 months.

But this dealer seems to think it's OK to give 1 month as a favour to you then anything over that is split 50/50 with you. Er...no ! No-one in their right mind would buy a car from them but a lot of people don't read the terms and don't know the law.

[jeebowhite]

he may need reminding of your rights under the sales of goods act. The premise being that any fault on the vehicle identified within 6 months of purchase (used vehicles) entail a rationale understanding by law that the vehicle was inherently faulty.

It is then due to the retailer to prove that the fault was not present at the time of purchase and therefeore requires them to have the vehicle independantly inspected to prove this. Most dealers appreciate its much cheaper to just repair the vehicle and saves face with the customer :)

[MattDRX]

The law is actually 6 months fit for purpose, their warranty may cover more things in that month than just that such as trims etc.

Nothing to do with consumer credit act, that's finance only.

It's sale of goods act, but be careful playing it sometimes, if it's a big repair the dealer can just offer a refund and flog the car to someone else and it'll cost them less and you carless and effectively no where to go, it's replacement, repair or refund and in reality it does sort of side with the retailer to offer whichever is reasonably practical.

[jeebowhite]

couldnt agree more! thats why they have preferred garages if they dont have one themselves!

[SandyCat]

I agree Matt but my point was that this seller is acting outside the law in saying they split the repair cost 50/50 after just one month. So if the engine fell out they would try and get you to pay half which isn't on and I am surprised they have not been forced to change their website before now.

[alexp999]

Its like most businesses, they write their policies such that if followed, it would be less than your statutory rights.

They do this so that most of the time Joe public goes along with it and they are quids in, then when someone stands up for their rights (sometimes you might have to put up a considerable fight), they will usually go with the cheapest option the law allows.

It is sad really, I really think your basic consumer rights should be taught in schools.

[GrahamJC]

I used to teach consumers rights to the 16 plus age group and quite agree with you. It suits dealers to mislead you into

believing that your only rights exist under warranties whereas these only add to your existing rights under sale of goods

legislation and the law relating to misrepresentation (especially useful when you buy from a private seller). I would be

quite happy to write an occasional piece on the law (in plain English) together with practical advice if it would be of any

interest to FOC members!