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New car turned out to be pre reg & an import.Help!
LAst week I picked up my new car from a well known car internet dealer. I saw the deal on line and then discussed the transaction with a sales person on the phone- never saw the vehicle until I went to collect it.
I was assured when putting in the order and on collection that it was brand new, uk registered car. The tax disc, log book, warranty and service record was not with the vehicle and I was assured that they would be posted on.
(Incidentally I also had a run in with the underwriter who wanted to change the amount originally agreed for PX for my own car. I refused due to a delay which had occured on the delivery of the new car. )
Nor was there any mention of the AA cover which usually comes with such vehicles. I later discovered this when I got home and was looking at the manual. i also realised that there was no cruise control/speed limiter on the vehicle which is standard UK spec. I telephoned the Manufacturer and gave them the chasis number. they told me that this car was manufactured last year, registered in March and made in Cyprus; ie the spec is Cyprus not UK and it is in fact an import.
Now of course I cant get anyone to return my calls at the dealers which is over 100 miles from my home. I e mailed the CEO and was told to speak to a manager. I am driving round in a car with no tax disc, no reg docs and no Breakdown Cover. Its an import which is not what I wanted and not what I was promised.
Re: New car turned out to be pre reg & an import.Help!
Well, if you were sold a brand new car and it is in fact not new, you would have every right to reject it and get a full refund.
BUT, there is a but, there usually is: the definition of "new" for a car is not when it was manufactured, it's whether you are the first registered owner or not. Cars are seldom brand new off the line when you first buy them, so that might not help you.
As for the import part, the car is UK registered, is it not? I mean, it does have UK number plates, presumably, or you would have noticed when you picked it up, so it is UK registered and they haven't, based on the information you give, lied to you.
Have you phoned the DVLA to find out if they can see if an application for tax has been made for the car?
What you most certainly should NOT do is "driving round in a car with no tax disc, no reg docs and no Breakdown Cover", without knowing if the paperwork is being processed, that is your responsability and if you get pulled and it turns out that paperwork is not sorted, you'll still be the one left with a fine. So I would suggest that this should be your main priority for now. ;-)
Apologies to people who I was in the process of helping, I may be gone some time.
Re: New car turned out to be pre reg & an import.Help!
Renault and the garage have now confirmed that it is pre reg and a parallel import, which is why it has UK plates. they have also confirmed that Breakdown Cover is not included. I am waiting to hear from DVLA re tax disc.
The garage maintain they told me all this and I say they did not.I specically did not want an import becuase of the resale value, and in fact I could have got it cheaper elsewhere if I had wanted an import. I wanted a UK spec car. It seems to be my word against theirs. What they actually said to me yesterday was that "all our cars are imports- they are made in France".
Yes Very Funny.
Apparently a manager will call me tomorrow to discuss further, but any ideas on where I stand?
Re: New car turned out to be pre reg & an import.Help!
Does their website mention anywhere that the cars they sell are parallel imports If not come back for further advice.....if it does then you are probably stuffed
Also as BW has said you should not be using it without the necessary docs...........& if you cream it without insurance you will be doubly worse off
Re: New car turned out to be pre reg & an import.Help!
No, there is no mention that they are an import site. The ad for the car says it is Brand New UK registered, You are the first registered keeper.
It is insured- i had to do that before I went to collect it.
Since the last post, I have received offer of £250 which is how much it would have cost to have the climate control as an extra at factory stage (is impossible to put it on now apparently) and the cost of three years AA cover.
This is an offer without prejudice and a gesture of goodwill.
Re: New car turned out to be pre reg & an import.Help!
Couple of things here
You didn't mention the make or model, but is highly unlikely it was made in Cyprus, what can happen is one of a few things.
The vehicle could have been ordered by a Cyprus dealer and then cancelled, this often happens, the car would then have sat in a pound somewhere and can then be registered and sold in the UK (Cyprus drives on the left like us) if the vehicle has never been registered before it is possible to put an up to date number on the vehicle, shouldn't really happen but it does, I have known vehicles to be up to 2 years old and registered as new.
The other possibility is that it is an import from Cyprus, but this could mean it could have originated in any country that drives on the left, a lot of 4x4 pickups come via this route.
Under the bonnet there should be a CE mark which will tell you its original manufactured destination.
To check if your vehicle is registered you can use the DVLA website
Just do a vehicle enquiry, you only need the registration and Make, it will give you;
Date of Liability (eg when tax runs out)
Date of First Registration
Year of Manufacture
Cylinder Capacity (cc)
CO2 Emissions
Fuel Type
Export Marker
Vehicle Status
Vehicle Colour
Vehicle Type Approval
Vehicle Excise Duty Rate for vehicle
Re: New car turned out to be pre reg & an import.Help!
DVLA have no record of it to date. As I said before the info re Cyprus and the date of manufacture being May 2007 came from the manufacturer when I gave them the chasis number. Cant check the CE mark, right now.
In the e mail offer without prejudice the seller confirms the car is an import. They therefore appear to be accepting liability for the fact that I was never told this.
should I accept the offer or return the car..........??
Re: New car turned out to be pre reg & an import.Help!
If they are saying 'without prejudice' they are NOT accepting liability they are saying they ain't liable & you can neither use any payment or their offer letter to claim they must have
Should you take it? It depends how much you will lose, how much are the extras on a UK spec, how much will it be undervalued & last but not least do you want the hassle of taking this to court???.
If so the fact that on their site they fail completely to notify prospective buyers that their cars are parallel imports does hold you in good stead should you claim.
Also the fact that they refer to UK registration & new in the way they do is clearly meant to mislead the customer into thinking it's just a normal product.
If they had told you, as they now claim, why would you now be kicking up a stink What reason would you have they could prove
My advice is speak to TS for advice who may be well aware of this companies dubious claims
Re: New car turned out to be pre reg & an import.Help!
Get a screen shot of their advert before they get a chance to change it.
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New car turned out to be pre reg & an import.Help!
. Its an import which is not what I wanted and not what I was promised.
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