New car purchase consumer rights

[paddymaine]

My problem now is.

I've ordered a new VW T roc from my local VW dealer on PCP and paid £250 deposit. I've put my Golf in p/x which was also on PCP with a small amount of negative equity on it, which will be encompassed within the PCP agreement payments for the new car. I'm happy with the cost.

The car is due for delivery in March.

Last night I discovered the VW T roc owners forum on the internet and there are 19 pages of comments by disgruntled new T roc owners complaining of there new car kangarooing in 1st gear and some also in 2nd gear especially when the engines cold. Apparently it's only on VW's new 1.5 petrol engine which I have ordered. The same is happening on the Skoda and Seat cars using the same new 1.5 VW engine.

These owners have taken there vehicles back to there respective dealers and they are unable to fix the problem. VW UK technical have got involved, sometimes they tell the owners they are not aware of any problem with the new engine, and sometimes say they are working on the problem and have been for months (they cant make there mind up which)

A couple of new owners are going to reject the new cars and others have sold them early because of the fault.

They are not happy because otherwise they really like the cars they have bought.

However some owners don't appear to have kangarooing fault.

My predicament is.....do I cancel the order and risk losing my £250 deposit, or keep it and take delivery.

If I take the chance and take delivery, and it has the kangarooing fault can I reject it immediately within 30 days without giving the garage the chance to fix it (which it seems they cant as VW UK Technical cant work out a fix)

If I reject it I can anticipate that with my luck I will end up with a big battle with the dealer and VW finance.

If they do accept the vehicle back will they return the Golf to me, what if they have sold it?

Shame really because I've bought a few VW's from this dealer before and I've always been impressed with them.

I also really like the car.

Problem is with VW they have left there reputation in tatters with the emissions scandal, that's always in the back of my mind.

£21K is a lot of money if the car turns out to be a lemon which cant be fixed!

[honeybee13]

Hi Paddy.

 

It would be better to start a new thread of your own please, this one is more of a discussion thread.

 

HB

[paddymaine]

My problem now is.

I've ordered a new VW T roc from my local VW dealer on PCP and paid £250 deposit. I've put my Golf in p/x which was also on PCP with a small amount of negative equity on it, which will be encompassed within the PCP agreement payments for the new car. I'm happy with the cost.

The car is due for delivery in March.

Last night I discovered the VW T roc owners forum on the internet and there are 19 pages of comments by disgruntled new T roc owners complaining of there new car kangarooing in 1st gear and some also in 2nd gear especially when the engines cold. Apparently it's only on VW's new 1.5 petrol engine which I have ordered. The same is happening on the Skoda and Seat cars using the same new 1.5 VW engine.

These owners have taken there vehicles back to there respective dealers and they are unable to fix the problem. VW UK technical have got involved, sometimes they tell the owners they are not aware of any problem with the new engine, and sometimes say they are working on the problem and have been for months (they cant make there mind up which)

A couple of new owners are going to reject the new cars and others have sold them early because of the fault.

They are not happy because otherwise they really like the cars they have bought.

However some owners don't appear to have kangarooing fault.

My predicament is.....do I cancel the order and risk losing my £250 deposit, or keep it and take delivery.

If I take the chance and take delivery, and it has the kangarooing fault can I reject it immediately within 30 days without giving the garage the chance to fix it (which it seems they cant as VW UK Technical cant work out a fix)

If I reject it I can anticipate that with my luck I will end up with a big battle with the dealer and VW finance.

If they do accept the vehicle back will they return the Golf to me, what if they have sold it?

Shame really because I've bought a few VW's from this dealer before and I've always been impressed with them.

I also really like the car.

Problem is with VW they have left there reputation in tatters with the emissions scandal, that's always in the back of my mind.

£21K is a lot of money if the car turns out to be a lemon which cant be fixed!

[BankFodder]

As you have presumably entered into this contract at the dealership, it is not subject to the distance purchasing regulations which would have allowed you to have a 14 day cooling off period after you had taken delivery of the car.

 

This means that if you want to cancel then you do stand a chance of losing your deposit. On the other hand, as you have already suggested, if a defect occurs within the first 30 days then you have an absolute right under the Consumer Rights Act to return the car and to demand a refund along with any other losses you might reasonably have incurred such as insurance penalties for early termination, et cetera et cetera.

 

In order to benefit from the short-term right to reject you would have to notify the garage preferably in writing and make it very clear that you are asserting this right.

[BankFodder]

By the way, you can also go back to the VW forum and tell them that if they want help dealing with obstructive dealers and they should come here for free, no strings support and advice

[Surfer01]

By the same token with a motor vehicle they cna deduct a percentage for "use" and this could be more than the £250 so one needs to be careful.

Perhaps a better idea would be to see if the dealer is willing to transfer the deposit to another model in the same brand?

[BankFodder]

I don't for a moment believe that the courts will accept that there has been any "use" of the vehicle which has only recently been ordered and is not due for delivery before March.

 

The deduction for use as nothing to do with depreciation. It has to do with the value which the consumer has had from the vehicle. Clearly in this case it would be zero

[paddymaine]

Can you reject the car within the 30 days without letting them attempt a fix, or will an attempt of a fix by the dealer erode my rights?

 

I only ask this because it seems VW Technical themselves haven't worked out a fix yet.

[BankFodder]

You are under no obligation to allow them to attempt a repair. I would say that if you did allow them to repair then you move to the six months right to reject which basically puts you into the same position – they attempt to repair, the repair fails, you are entitled to reject the vehicle.

 

The thing to do is to put it to them in writing and make sure you have a copy – that you have asserted your rights.

 

Of course bear in mind that there must be thousands of VW's which work perfectly well. You could just as well take delivery of the car and then test it out and as long as there was no defect, you carry on driving and you have the car that you prefer without any hassle. If it happens to be one of the minority – and surely it must be a minority – which develops a defect then you can fall back on your consumer rights.

 

Don't forget that the consumer rights act is not the be all and end all of everything. Just because six months expires doesn't mean that you don't have any rights. You still have the basic law of contract behind you and that means that you are entitled to have a car that perform satisfactorily for a reasonable period of time. If it starts to develop a fundamental defect in the first few years – and especially if that defect is put down to some inherent fault – then you are still in a position where you can insist on a repair and if they can't repair it or if the repair fails you can then say that they have breached the contract and you want to terminate it.

 

It's really not much more complicated than the CRA. The CRA does very little other than create rights in respect of minor defects which occur within the first six months – but it does not particularly amend or replace the existing contract law.

[paddymaine]

Out of interest who would be responsible for a new car rejection under 30 days. Would it be the VW dealer or Volkswagen Finance (PCP deal).

Personally I would say the dealer because they are he people I have made the contract with, am I right?

[BankFodder]

Yes.