scratched paint work vauxhall corsa can i reject

[08plate]

Hello every one .
I have been reading more material on the internet then ever thought I would need to because of this problem.
Ordered a brand new of the production line corsa with factory fitted accessories in may 2008 . Collected it sataday28 June.
The original sale man (boy) was not available as he had gone of partying for the "weekend" so we went through the paper work with another sales man. When looking at the car on the forecourt we noticed 4 very faint almost non existent scratch like marks on drivers door.The sales man told us this was nothing and common on new cars as it happens when they come of the transporters. We said we weren't happy and some what annoyed that the car looked dirty and still had sticky residue from a sticker on the rear light cluster and thick grease all along the door seals and trim.
We were told that was because it had been on the forecourt for a few days and he assured us that the marks would be polished out or touched up first thing on Monday morning. He then went on about how we had waited 8 weeks for this car so must be eager to complete the paper work and try it out. (being stupid this is what we done)we paid the cash deposit and insisted he right down the marks to be repaired were put on the slip (reluctantly he done this ,saying there was no need as they were a reputable dealer ship).
Any way took the car out for long drives over the weekend to try it out. On Monday the car was hand washed and those silly hardly noticeable scratch like marks soon materialised as full blown scratches and boy do they notice. On top of that we found the fortron shield paint protection we had paid extra for that was to be professionally applied had been professionally applied in a patch like fashion all over the car,and the roof rail trims were very badly stained and discoloured.
We went straight back up to the dealership asked for the manager and said we were disgusted and wished to reject the car . They said cant do that but we will do the repairs and give you a courtesy car. Looking at the sticker residue he said not to worry use white spirit and a cloth.
The following morning this we did only to find that sticky residue was hiding a cut mark in the light cluster.
Now really xxxxx of we went back to the vauxhall dealership and again saw the "manager and said that's it have the keys were rejecting it ,to this he laughed said you can't do that,you signed for it and its on finance. We said there should at least be some recompense, with a smirk the size of the Cheshire cat he said recompense would show liability and so would never be offered. if not happy speak to his manager
That evening we called the finance company sent them an email and wrote them a letter stating the car was rejected as it was of unsatisfactory quality. We also sent letters to the dealership and their head office.Only the finance company responded .They said down to dealership to replace car not them.It took nearly a week of calls before we got to speak to the dealerships "managers" manager. He said car looked like a case for rejection and waffled on about how if it was not fit for his mother it should not be given to a customer. Then said he would like to do repairs that is replace roof rails/ replace rear light cluster/ re-apply fortron sheild paint protection/ strip down and repair paint work. All of which would take about a week and would as good will "give free servicing ". No use to us as we already paid for servicing in advance and he knows this. We said we would think this over and let him know but rejection was the only real solution.
Following day we said no rejection is still required ,he replied sorry to hear that now contacting legal department.
We wrote another letter to the dealership and the head office and the finance company and backed these all up with ones sent via recorded post. Still only heard back form finance company who say you have no right to reject the car as it does not have a "fundamental problem " and is "fit for purpose" so repairs were all I could expect, and then put at the end of letter, make sure you make you payments or collection will take place.!

We had even contacted Vauxhall themselves about this but there response was, we are monitoring the situation.

Feel like a complete fool who was deceived by a supposedly trustworthy dealership.
We collected the car on Saturday 28 June
Rejected it on Monday 30th
Rejected it in person on Tuesday 1 July and put it in writing to all involved
Rejected it again in person on the 8th and 9th July
Rejected it in writing again on 10th July
As it is of unsatisfactory quality.
If it had been ex demo or forecourt stock I could understand but it was not and that was reflected in the price we paid.

[daKlone]

Sale of Goods Act 1979 (amended), Part II, Section 14:

(2B)For the purposes of this Act, the quality of goods includes their state and condition and the following (among others) are in appropriate cases aspects of the quality of goods—
(a)fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied,
(b)appearance and finish,
(c)freedom from minor defects,
(d)safety, and
(e)durability.

However:

(2C)The term implied by subsection (2) above does not extend to any matter making the quality of goods unsatisfactory—
(a)which is specifically drawn to the buyer’s attention before the contract is made,
(b)where the buyer examines the goods before the contract is made, which that examination ought to reveal, or
(c)in the case of a contract for sale by sample, which would have been apparent on a reasonable examination of the sample.

So I would think that you have a case, since nowhere does it state that the defect needs to be 'fundamental', but they could argue that the defects were brought to your attention.

Since this issue obviously involves a large sum of money, it would be extremely advisable to talk to a solicitor and/or Trading Standards.

[08plate]

thank you for your quick reply.
The marks on the door that we noticed at the point of the hand over of the car were so minuscule they were barley noticeable you had to move about at different angles in the light to be able to see them.It was only when we washed the car 2 days later on the Monday that those marks showed as large scratches and it was obvious some one had used something like T cut on the paint work to cover it up.
It was at this time because the car was wet that it also became obvious the paint protection we had paid for had not been applied properly.
The stained roof rail trims became evident at the same time as the water washed off any cover up they had used. They have suggested that it is stained by the fortron shield paint protection. The most annoying thing is knowing that they new the car was scratched and had other damage to it as when we took it back to them the first time to reject it the just smirked and said yer we will book it in for repair. They were not at all supprised or apologetic.
The cut in the light cluster only became apparent when as instructed ,we used white spirit and a cloth to remove the sticky residue. The "manager" even had the cheek to say "we" had cut it our selves on purpose!
I have know taken some legal advice and although it is my right to reject it I am because of their deceitful behaviour stuck in a catch 22.
Because they refuse to accept the keys and will not collect the car and because the finance company who apparently are jointly responsible will not accept my rejection either they have ensured that against my wishes I have kept the car all be it against my will for 17 days I am supposedly deemed to have accepted it and therefore I would now find my self spending even more money going to court to try and make them give me my consumer rights The problem there of course is the amount of money we are talking about is to large for a small claims court and they know it.. They have at every turn ensured that I have been pushed to one side and made to hold on to the car even to this point their head office has not responded to any of my letters.They are against my better judgement collecting the car tomorrow to commence the repairs repairs I do not want but am being forced in to as it is that or have a car with cut up paint work and roof rail trims that look like they belong on a six year old car..

[daKlone]

I don't see how thier refusal to accept your rejection has any bearing, otherwise no company would ever accept it, would they?

You've notified them immediately, so the fact that you happen to still have the car is not relevant, surely?

I think that they have indeed taken you for a ride, knowing full well that you are unlikely to pursue it due to the amount concerned precluding a small claim.

But don't give up - remember, if the repairs are not upto scratch you still have all your rights intact so you can keep sending the car back until you are happy that it has been fully and properly repaired.

[Conniff]

We collected the car on Saturday 28 June
Rejected it on Monday 30th
Rejected it in person on Tuesday 1 July and put it in writing to all involved
Rejected it again in person on the 8th and 9th July
Rejected it in writing again on 10th July
As it is of unsatisfactory quality.

You have rejected it and in the correct manner and not outside time (time is not set so they can't put a date on it)

Have you spoken to consumer direct and trading standards?

Court fees are not as expensive as you might imagine:

(a) does not exceed £300 - £30
(b) exceeds £300 but does not exceed £500 - £45
(c) exceeds £500 but does not exceed £1,000 - £60
(d) exceeds £1,000 but does not exceed £1,500 - £70
(e) exceeds £1,500 but does not exceed £3,000 - £80
(f) exceeds £3,000 but does not exceed £5,000 - £108
(g) exceeds £5,000 but does not exceed £15,000 - £225
(h) exceeds £15,000 but does not exceed £50,000 - £360

If you come in one of the above, then send them a letter before action and take them to court. Remember you get back the fees when you win.

You can name the dealer and the finance company as joint defendents.

[08plate]

Thank you for all your replies so far. As the dealership and finance company just ignore me or talk about their legal departments in order to try and scare me, I am currently having discussions with the manufacturer. They seem to be moving things on, all be it slowly, I will let you all know how things progress, One things for sure though ,I will not give up or stop fighting for what I paid for and was entitled to no matter how far I have to go.

[08plate]

Hi, Just a quick one to update you all on the developments so far.
We have continued talks with Vauxhall. They asked us to allow the dealership to carry out repairs to the car.They assured us that if we were not happy with repairs to car the that we could still reject it and they would go through all our options including possibly help us in acquiring a replacement.
The dealership have only told us it is with their solicitors.
This Saturday 02/08/2008 Two weeks after the dealership first took the car back in for repair. ( I did put on the slip that we did not agree to the repairs as the car has been rejected ). Vauxhall sent down a representative to be with us to view the car in its repaired state at the dealership.
guess what!
When we examined the car with the dealership manager their service manager and the Vauxhall rep we found a load of NEW scratches on the paint work and now the rubber on the outside of the windows is a faded grey colour not black like the rest and there is scratch marks on the right light cluster.
The Vauxhall rep and dealership manager say they can not see these scratches yet my husband myself and their own service manager can!
They got one of their employers to "T CUT" the paint work in front of us . To do this he used a "rag that was laid on the forecourt floor and full of grit" and then vigorously rubbed the paint work! and they say they do not know how the marks got on the car! I am left in no doubt.
As you would expect the marks did not magically disappear.
Any way they asked if we were happy to accept the car.
We said no and still wished to reject the car,even more so now. The rep asked manager if he would take car back, he said no, so the rep said as far as he was concerned the original faults had been dealt with even though some original scratches are still showing. He also said he was not there to deal with any new marks.
We pointed out to the Vauxhall rep that in their emails to us they had said it was to be our choice and not theirs .To this there was no reply , we asked what our options were there was no reply, So we said, Then our only choice is court ,again no reply.
When we left the dealership the car was covered in little pieces of tape showing all the marks and scratches on it that now need to be repaired.
It looks like this dealer ship and Vauxhall have well and truly stitched us up and the finance company only want their money and say it is nothing to do with them. (The last letter sent to them ,again said ,the car was rejected and that all payments were made under protest and duress)
If we go to court we could spend months with out a car and in the mean time still have to pay for it and they know that. So much for consumer protection, and honest dealerships.
Will soon be posting the name of the dealer ship on here for you, that way no body else will be stitched up the way we have been. For now all I will say is it is in Southampton and they have branches all over the country.

My only advice to others is, DO NOT BUY A VAUXHALL CORSA AS YOU GET WHAT YOU ARE GIVEN, NOT WHAT YOU WANT OR PAY FOR!

[Conniff]

So much for consumer protection, and honest dealerships.

No no no - the comsumer protection is there for you to use and for your protection. The dealer has NO option but to take the car back if you have formally rejected it in writing, he cannot refuse.

The finance company cannot wash their hands of it either, they are joint and severally responsible, tell them that and make them the joint defendent in any claim you make to the court.

It's up to them how they want to sort it out between them.

[ReasonableRon]

Originally Posted by Conniff

No no no - the comsumer protection is there for you to use and for your protection. The dealer has NO option but to take the car back if you have fomally rejected it in writing, he cannot refuse.

The finance company cannot wash their hands of it either, they are joint and severally responsible, tell them that and make them the joint defendent in any claim you make to the court.

It's up to them how they want to sort it out between them.

Completely agree. It may be worth escalating the issue with the finance company first - they may be able to put pressure on the dealer.

[miziwizzi]

Originally Posted by ReasonableRon

Completely agree. It may be worth escalating the issue with the finance company first - they may be able to put pressure on the dealer.

This should be where you apply the pressure.

The finance company have paid Vauxhall for the car and therefore the car belongs to the finance company. You need to remind them of this and that they are obligated to ensure the goods are satisfactory.

I had a case similar to this with first national, I told them I would not be paying them, they sent out an independant inspector and I WON!!!!.
Finance contract was cancelled and goods returned to seller.

[08plate]

Well here's the latest
They totally refuse to take the car back as they say they have done all the required work to the car to bring it up to standard. We went to the arranged second meeting waited an hour "and having already lost wages attending the first meeting because they would not hold it at a time suitable for us",only to find the vauxhall rep did not even show up!
The manager of the dealership said he would speak to him to secure a decent financial offer if we took the car back.we said we would only take it in its present condition if a decent offer was made.
We left the car with them and asked him to inform us of the offer.
the offer is 2 free services and an extended 6 month warranty. we explained that this was of no real use and hardly the kind of compensation you would expect for such aggravation ect. the dealership have said as we already paid in advance for servicing they would refund the £400 we paid but they will not budge on any thing else as to them it is more then fair,they also refuse to sign anything to guarantee the repairs to the paintwork claiming we have manufacturers warranty and consumer protection? that's a laugh.if the marks reappear they will not want to know.
the dealership have been asking strange questions about do we intend to go to the papers and have now said that before they confirm the offer in writing they wish to check points of the offer with their area manager. so no doubt will try to wriggle out or get us to sign a disclaimer in order to receive payment ,for what it is worth?
They will not for fill their obligation to accept the car was rejected and have told us it is ready for collection or they will deliver it to our home by end of the week.
So basically unless we can stump up the cash for a solicitor we have no choice but take the car.
Being a large dealership who is owned by a very large very rich over seas company they know we can not compete against their legal team.
We have been to the cab and everything they have suggested and said is the correct procedure ,we have already done, even they do not know what to suggest we do now.
IF there is any one out there training or doing pro bono work I would love to hear from you.

to add insult to injury they sent out a flyer to us this week asking us if we would like to upgrade to a new car?

[08plate]

Hi all
update on "BRAND NEW OF THE PRODUCTION LINE CAR" we were sold by vauxhall dealership located at the Avenue in Southampton ,that had concealed scratches and cut marks in light cluster with damaged roof rails and incorectly applied paint protection.

Refusing to take the car back despite rejection letters sent via recorded post ,to head office,dealership and GMAC. We were forced to settle for promises of help from vauxhall as we were told the only option was to go to court at our expense.
As an offer of good will "admitance of blame" the dealership returned the cost of the service package £400, big deal considering what we really wanted was the car replaced not one full of repairs with no garantees ! Vauxhall went back on there offer to help replace vehicle if we were not happy and instead gave a non transferable extra six months on warranty.

The vehicle has now been looked at by a different vauxhall dealership as it is lacking power and noisy, they said there was a problem and even changed the injectors but could not solve it. Then they "flew in" a technician from vauxhall and the same vauxhall representative we had all ready dealt with who did not wish to help before, and suddenly because this representative says he feels the noise level is acceptable there is no longer in their opinion a problem with the car, SHOULD ANY FUTURE PROBLEMS ARISE WE HAVE A WARRANTY?

The car, after two more weeks with out it, was returned to us. Now the black wrap around hand card on the drivers door is again pickled and coming off and the scratches they "repaired" and we were told we had to accept are starting to reappear on the paint work. On top of that the car is blowing black smoke from the exhaust and the exhaust is full of black soot. Not healthy !

Apparently the original dealership no longer have a body shop so we have been redirected to another one and guess what! no one will do any repairs or tests until, you guessed it, that vauxhall representative has looked at the car again and given his opinion. The finance company , keeping their distance.
With a VAUXHALL corsa you realy do get what you are GIVEN, NOT what you pay for or agree to buy.

I wish I had brought a push bike now at least it would have been cheaper when the wheels fell off and I woul have probably had more rights then ido with a new car

[Bookworm]

Sorry for pointing out the bleeding obvious, but why are you here if you're not taking heed of of the advice given?

You were told to get Consumer Direct/Trading Standards involved. Have you done so? Apparently not.

You were advised to take them to court to force them to comply. Have you done so? Apparently not.

You complain about consumer protection not working but are doing nothing about getting it enforced. Instead of standing your ground, you keep on giving in to them and taking the car back over and over again and jumping through hoops for them. No wonder they are running rings around you!

1) Contact CD and TS 1st thing Monday and get them involved. You'd be amazed how quickly some companies comply once they have TS sniffing around.

2) Send a final letter to dealership, copied on to finance company, advising for the final time that you are rejecting the car as is your STATUTORY right under SOGA, quoting the info given in #2, and advising that unless they take back the car and give you a full refund + adequate compensation for the waste of your time, wages, etc... , you will have no choice but to initiate court proceedings. Send a letter to the finance company that they are jointly responsible for this and that you expect them to force compliance from the dealers and tell them that you are stopping payment for a car you have rejected and expect them to refund the payments already made.

3) Stop paying for the car. There is nothing that will get them reacting as quickly as money not coming in anymore.

4) Make your threats true. If they keep on ignoring you, sue their backside off. At the moment, they're laughing at you because they have you pegged as a wimp who won't do anything about being treated like dirt. An N1 will wipe that grin off their face very quickly.

5) If I am reading you right, you are still using the car. DON'T!!! By doing so, you are making your own case for rejection of the car harder every time you drive it.

If you need help to fill in the N1, post here, there's plenty of people who can help with that. It may be that TS will give you further assistance, though.

But first and most of all, get more assertive. You have rights, make them uphold them.

[08plate]

thanks for your reply
we have followed all the advise so far given, we have sent letters of rejection via recorded post to all involved.allstating about the sale of goods act,
Finance company say it is not their responsibility if we are not happy with the quality of the vehicle ,down to dealership.

dealer said when asked in front of us at the arranged meeting by vauxhall representative who was supposed to be, according to vauxhall, there to help us if he would take the car back? that he would not take car back.

Vauxhall representative denied all knowledge of emails that had been sent to us by them ,offering to assist in a new car if we were not happy and along with dealership suggested we go to court if not happy.

CAB advised us to do all that we already have done.
TS +consumer direct said we had signed for it so nothing could really be done other then go to court. I can not afford a lenghty court battle
.
Have paid out £2500 in cash deposit with the remainder on finance I have so far made 3 finance payments with 57 more to go
.
You mention an N1 could you please tell me what this is and where I obtain one

I have this time because of all the decipt shown so far by dealer ship false promises by vauxhall with meaningless emails and lack of support by finance company, even recorded the conversation with the mechanic, where he states the car is noisy and lacking performance but does not know why!
after the vauxhall rep an tecnician came down they sent the car back to my address with a print out showing all compression test readings were normal yet car smokes and has black soot in exhaust!



I have this week sent the finance company yet another letter informing them that I am no longer going to be pushed from pillar to post with them claiming it is up to the dealership, and that unless there is a fundamental problem I can not reject.
I have informed them that the vehicle is still rejeccted just as it was 3 days after ownership and that I have forfilled my duty by allowing the dealership to try repairs first (TS said they had a right to be alowed to try this first) I have informed them that they should now make arrangments to collect the vehicle as it is their responsability because they sold it to me I have also stated, as in first letter sent to them, that all payments made and any future payments are made under protest and duress .I have again stated in the letter the goods sold to me were of unsatisfactory quality and that under the credit agreement act there is no time limit on rejecting goods.and that they should now make arangements to collect this car.


They have in there letters that they have sent regarding this vehicle made it very clear that if I miss paymnets or stop paying for the vehilce they will send in vehcile recovery agents for the car and recover all outstanding payments and costs!
My concern is that if I stop payments, Then I will have no car ,loose what i paid on the deposit, not be able to recover the payments already made, and have a bad credit rating + legal costs. I even wrote to the smmt new car code of practice but had no response!

I have also this week gone to another branch of the dealership to obtain a report on the work done on the car as origanal dealer refused to give me a copy.this shows the paint work had to be repaire roof rails replaced light cluster replaced door card replaced wiper arms swoped weather strips both sides re0placed and an MOT carried out also says iwnuts were missing at point of delivery? whot ever they are.

I have so far done every thing according to the book and even CAB and TS say thet do not know what else to suggest!