This scenario has been repeated on here many times and almost warrants a "what to do when sold a lemon" 'Forum' all of it's own.
I learned a lot when I bought one of my current Mercs from a large, well known dealer - Not MB!!
The car was not "as described" or 'fit for purpose'. The dealer was originally, sympathetic and appeared helpful, until the the true £ cost of putting it right emerged (the chassis was twisted).
Eventually offering to taje the car back and refund my money, minus 20% as, "I had driven the car and had use of it for some weeks".
My neighbour is a Barrister and took a very legal and simplistic view. Which was and is the position of the courts - namely:
* Any goods sold must be fit for the purpose that they are intended for - or a car must act like a car not a steam train. A food oven should heat Food not be used to heat car parts etc.
* This applies for a period of (it was six months) after the tie of purchase and is independent of any warranty!! So, the dealer cannot fob you off onto the warranty company.
* A dealer cannot argue "How could I have known" as equally "how could you have known" They sold it they accept the law of selling, which is a contract.
* The dealer has to be given the opportunity to rectify any fault or have their agent rectify any fault, or allow you to use your agent at an agreed cost to rectify any fault. So, do not just simply drop the car into the nearest mate and ask him to fix it regardless of cost, expecting the dealer to pay for it. You would lose in court and in our wallet. You must agree on how the repairs are carried out. If you cant agree then you go to court.
* you must not be left out of pocket as a result of the transaction. You should be returned to the state you were at the time of purchase (no betterment and no minor expense claims).
When you go to buy a car. Have a look around and think. "If this goes wrong?" can or, will this dealer meet the conditions above? If you have any doubt at that point, walk away. Remember most dealers know the law and can be very adept at how they interpret it to their benefit. They do not see themselves as having any emotional attachment to you, your family, your wife, etc. The are there solely to make money and once they have your money they move on and you are forgotten.
Yes, there are exceptions and ones who genuinely want to help. But they still do not want to lose money and you are now trying to help them do exactly this, so it is a game of chess with claim and counter claim.
The bottom line is. If you you would not trust the dealer when it goes South, do not do the deal. If you do the deal!! You will enter a world of pain of regret that will ensure that you do not enjoy your new purchase and probably get to hate it.
You then up on here (as I did) writing posts to warn others, who (for the most part) will not listen. Why do they not listen? Because they get emotionally involved with the car that they have seen!! Its the car they want. The car they picture themselves driving down the road, drawing admiring glances and nice comments. Most of all.... That happened to you and not them.
In my case: It cost me money to demonstrate that the car was damaged then repaired badly, in the dealers short ownership. His claims "not to have known it was damaged" demonstrated the worst of the worst. The man was and is a liar. He lied when he advertised the car as "perfect" lied when I took it with him on a test drive. Lied when I told him about my concerns in spending such a large sum of money that I was struggling to afford, lied when contacted by my friend (the barrister). Lied to his wife, who tearfully called me up pleading with me to stop trying to ruin her husband who "was an honest man". Well honest men do not buy cars at auction, crash them, have them badly repaired, then advertise them for sale at + market value, describing them as perfect examples. Some car dealers will and do behave like this. When (in my case) the dealer was confronted with the inevitable evidence of his bodged repairs, he then tried to claim that he "improved the cars value" by respraying some panels and fitting some new suspension components and wheels (also found to be reps). No, he described the very clean underside, as signs of the car having been "lovingly looked after" and the paint as "a genuine effort to improve an already lovely car".
I would argue that this dealer is not alone. A friend who was (now retired) a "very large" dealer of 4x4's for many years. He is also very wealthy. He is wealthy at your expense, as he knew every single trick in the book to maximise his profit whilst getting the very last drop of your cash at the point of sale. He also knew who he could make a stand against and who he would lose to. Or, as he put it, who has the deepest pockets and the longest fight in them. Not many will have that desire or that cash reserve. Most preferring just to get their car fixed and back on their drive.
