Is the car dealer in the wrong here?

How will you prove that you asked and they confirmed about cruise control?

@CantHoldMeDown for many people it's impossible to test drive on a motorway - our nearest one is over an hour away

Go back to the dealership and ask them to show you how to use cruise control. Remind them that you were told the car has it but you can't figure it out on this car. If it doesn't have it explain you where misinformed about the cars features and use the cooling off period under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 to return the car.

What car is it OP?
As others have said, there may be cc available and you just need to find it.
If it's a 71 plate, is there a user manual?
FWIW, I have acc on my automatic car and I find it much better than cc in a manual.
I use it constantly and it's excellent for motorways.

I agree with the PP who talked about the 14 day cooling off period. See if that applies.

Ignore everyone arguing with you, MN loves missing the point of a post for the sake of an argument with an OP.

I would contact the dealer and ask him to show how to operate the 'cruise control' and see if he said 'it doesn't have one' or if he tries and then finds out there isn't one.

If it is the former you're a bit stuck as he will deny saying it had cruise control.

If it it the latter, then it suggests that he thought it did have that option and he misled you. You can then ask him how he is going to resolve the problem.

I think it may be costly to retrofit cruise control (which I like and use a lot on motorways as it can be easy to creep over the limit, especially with the 'average speed check' cameras that are appearing more and more these days).

@StripyZebraa to be honest I much prefer the speed limiter in my car to the cruise control in dh's car. especially on today's roads with speeds constantly changing. I found cruise control a bit scary!

Defo complain

Was just thinking this. I'm surprised a new plated car doesn't have this.
Op can you put a pic up of your steering wheel

For what it's worth, I love my cruise control on motorways.

@Fountofwisdom she wouldn't have to use it to check it was there during a test drive, though?

There are a few important features to me in a car and I always, always check they exist for myself before signing any paperwork.

Cars are such big purchases that, imo, you can't rely on "well, the salesman said so" - always check it for yourself before signing.

FFS. It doesn’t matter why OP is insistent that she wants cruise control. I insist on heated seats, but they’re not exactly a life essential. If a dealer told me a car had heated seats, twice, then I came to find it did not I’d be pissed off.
Sorry OP, I can’t offer any useful advice but I would encourage speaking to the dealer and see if someone like your dad can come with you if you’re feeling a little lacking in confidence. You’ve got nothing to lose by trying.

I'd go back and say that you specifically asked for CC and that you were told it had it, but it doesn't. Next time check it yourself as you can't trust anyone, especially a salesperson

I think it is deception and a criminal offence, but cannot see you could get the liar arrested.

@Fountofwisdom has good advice I think.

You can’t be expected to try out every feature on a 20 min test drive. And cruise control is only meant to be used on motorways, so the OP wouldn’t have had opportunity to use it on a test drive anyway. If I asked about a specific feature in the showroom, I would want the salesman to show me where that control is, but tbh I’d be taking their word. People on this thread saying ‘get everything in writing’ are talking nonsense. No salesman is going to write out a whole summary of what a car has or doesn’t have. I feel sorry for the OP because she asked and she was given wrong information.

In theory, if they told you it had a feature and it hasn't, they have miss described it and you have a right to your money back if you return it within 30 days. This would be under the Consumer Rights Act (2015).

In practice, if it's not in writing, they may deny and make things difficult. But you have nothing to lose in making your case and seeing if they are honest.

Under Consumer Law, you have a ‘Right to Reject’ goods which are not as described or fit for purpose. This applies to cars as with anything else. In fact, I had to use this to reject a brand new car a few months ago, which had a faulty battery. Firstly, speed is of the essence - you MUST act quickly as you have the most rights within the first 30 days after purchase.

Your rights are clearly explained in the link below. You need to put your complaint in writing to the manager of the dealership (email is fine) and say that you are invoking your Right to Reject under the Consumer Rights Act. Explain it is because you were misled as to the cruise control feature, which you specifically asked the salesman about, and were assured the car had.

Ask them to respond to you IN WRITING. This is important so that you have a paper trail. They will have to reply and can either refuse your rejection (but they’ll have to say why), or they might offer compensation of some sort - eg a price reduction.

You can then decide how to proceed. Would you be happy to keep the car if they offered you some money back?

If they refuse your complaint, your only recourse then would be legal proceedings but that is expensive and can take months so I wouldn’t recommend that.

Car dealers are absolute cowboys imo, and that includes main dealerships. I have had 2 bad experiences this year with official dealerships, including the car I had to reject.

May I ask why didn’t you take your Dad with you when you initially went to look at cars? Unfortunately, salesmen often assume that a lone female, especially a young one, will know nothing about cars, and will try to pull the wool over their eyes. In future, I would strongly suggest taking your Dad or another older person who knows a bit about cars. Good luck getting it sorted!

https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/rejecting-a-car/

Are you sure it hasn’t? My cruise control and speed limiter are in the same stalk - turn it one way for cruise control the other for the speed limiter.

If it's a deal breaker for you, contact the garage and tell them that the car's specification level is not as promised.

I believe this means that you can return the car within a certain number of days, although would usually be prompted by a more significant difference so I think they'll argue the toss.

Maybe they will offer you something that makes the car more acceptable to you.

I must admit, I don't really see the difference between cruise control and a speed limiter myself.

It’s less about motorways and more about A roads where I live-we have average speed cams and cruise control/speed limiters are VERY useful…dh uses his daily

OP I know you asked for cruise control, but for me I actually prefer a speed limiter as it feels like I’m in proper total co trip of the car, sometimes cruise control can feel a bit out of control for me, however it wouldn’t do any harm to have a chat with the garage

Random question but are you sure it doesn't have CC? My car has both but they're on the same button - you switch between them - and it would be really easy to miss and just assume it only had SL?

I'd complain! My friend had a similar issue with her new car and they gave her the cash to get the missing item added (something to do with hooking up iPhone to music player. Another friend bought a new car and was picking up the new plate number on release date, they called to say she could pick it up a few weeks early ... old plate number!! Complained and it got sorted out