Would you ask for a partial refund?

[savageswimmer]

I purchased a 6k car in cash from a small garage a few days ago and it had a boot tray to reveal more space underneath that I didn't realise lifted up until today. Anyway I have lifted it up and i have found rubbish underneath such as tobacco packets and rizzla paper, personal documentation such as bank statements belonging to the previous owner and dirty needles and a used needle disposal box🤢 I honestly feel sick that I have had my small child in this car and I just immediately shut the boot and haven't touched it since, i am going to talk to the garage owner tomorrow but what would be reasonable to request? A professional clean? A partial refund? Tbh I feel like just telling him to take the car back altogether.

I don’t think anyone is denying it’s an unpleasant thing to happen, and tbh if it were me I’d be taking the car back for the dealership to remove all the extra paraphernalia, and yes, an apology would be nice. However that’s as much as I’d expect, and that’s as much as I’d badmouth them for.

OP out of interest, are the needles outside of the sharps box actually used? Just wondering as if someone was using them for, say, steroids, they’d be carrying around unused needles for use as well.

Anyway, pair of disposable gloves, place all needles in the sharps box and take to chemist. Bin the other stuff. Job done ✅

It wasn't a private car sale as I bought it from a business.

I meant private as in not public transport because you said about buses.

If you read the full thread you will see that I didn't ask for a partial refund

Your OP and your thread title both mentioned a partial refund!

I don't see why you are determined to pick faults with me? I asked if a partial refund was reasonable and I accepted it wasn't before I asked the garage and therefore I requested a professional clean instead . At no point did I actually ask the garage for a partial refund.

I don't see why you are determined to pick faults with me?

I'm not. I just commented based on what you said

Do trading standards still exist?
I’m shocked at the amount of people who would be ok with this

I'm not sure you can just drop the needles off at a pharmacy, they are clinical waste and as far as I know that is fairly strictly controlled.

The NHS website suggests speaking to your local council to find out what the procedure is.

I'd accept that this was a simple human error - the dealer forgot to check the underfloor storage or the cleaner didn't realise it had storage etc. These things happen. However I would take it back on a busy day and I'd go in and ask the manager to please come outside and clean out the storage section. I'd say: "up to you how you decide to dispose of these dirty, hazardous needles but this storage section needs emptying and properly cleaning, please. I bought a family car and not a box of used needles. I'm not leaving here until it's sorted." I'd stick around too in case they felt aggrieved and scratched the car or something.

My local chemists don't take sharps boxes. I have to email the council when it needs picking up.

Trading Standards don't deal with individual consumer complaints.

@missbaggypants really?

Does that differ by area because they dealt with a complaint for me regarding a plumber and we got a satisfactory outcome.

I think the correct outcome would be for the garage to remove the sharps and paraphernalia, and thoroughly clean that area or pay £25 to £30 for s valet (after removing the sharps). I'm quite shocked they didn't remove the items when you asked.
And if they refuse to remove these items 100% take photos and leave factual reviews where you can.

I'm shocked at the posters telling the OP to put on gloves and fix the garage's issue or that this is normal. It isn't, it's very poor customer service and if they do not want OP to tell others they should promptly fix the issue.

It's fine for OP to mention her children as she has done nothing wrong either way and if any could reach in the boot they could have found them too. Or nieces/nephews etc.

OP, as a previous poster suggested ask the manager directly on a busy day with a queue of potential customers to see if it magically gets resolved.

I’m also pretty shocked by the posters saying “just get on with it”. Would people accept this in any other used item?!

OP I absolutely agree that a professional clean is totally reasonable. If you can face it, get the needles and paperwork out of the car and dump them in the car showroom on a busy Saturday! Let it be their problem how to dispose of them - definitely isn’t yours.

Let's look at the facts. It's really not a nice thing to do and I'd not like it myself, however, it is impossible to catch HIV after a couple of hours outside the body so you don't need to worry about that. Hepatitis C or B can live outside the body for a few (3) weeks in a syringe so you could potentially catch this but it too is very unlikely.

Personally I'd google the nearest drug and alcohol service and explain. They will advise.

Never share needles are handed out to drug users and they always give out sharps boxes with needles to encourage addicts to keep safe.

I think even if you prick yourself picking up a needle you would be very very unlucky to catch something. But you have to be safe. So get a professional to do it.
Do the needles have caps on them or are they uncapped?
Personally I think it unlikely that there would be needles stashed anywhere else as someone has been using that car and so they wouldn't want to sit on a needle any more than you do.

In the line I'd refund etc, I would be annoyed that they didn't offer £50 or something as a good will gesture and I'd probably leave a bad review after ensuring I had the final response from the garage and knew I'd spoke to the top manager.

I would expect a professional clean and would probably rock up at the garage on a busy Saturday and announce loudly what the issue is. I expect they don't want to touch the needles either and neither will the professional cleaning company.

I'd be cleaning it up eoth the appropriate personal protection in their forecourt and dumping items in their door step

However, bearing in mind they probably don't want to touch the needles, the cleaning company might not either, and unless you are able (and want) to return the car for a refund, you're stuck in a circle.

However, I would be concerned buying a car from a company with that attitude, especially if something else was to crop up.

It is possible to pick up needles very safely, wear gloves and you can use a litter picker to further distance yourself. Some needles self cover after use too to also avoid the risk of needle stick injuries. You may wish to further valet your car or have a very close visual inspection under seats and down the side of the seats too.

Why post in AIBU if you don't want people to find faults?

Google suggest these needles are used for heroin or hormones, either way I would not be impressed finding this in my car and would expect the garage to sort it. If that failed in be paying a visit to the address on the bank statements

I would be taking a close look inside of the car with prick proof gloves on. Under the seats, between them etc. I wouldn’t trust that there wasn’t more needles within the interior of the vehicle.

The business was wrong in their offer to you. I would be complaining up to whomever I could including the news. This is so wrong!

If we go back to facts, finding any rubbish in a purchase is not satisfactory service.

Say I buy a second-hand fridge, full of originally unseen rotting food in the lower compartment. I would ask the seller to fix it. Their mess to remove.

The fact that this waste is needles increases risks. I have a colleague with HIV and know the risks from these needles is low, but they are still sharps (should probably be in sharps yellow bin as clinical waste) and why should OP have to deal with investigating what these needles are and dealing with clinical waste? If it was other waste it would still be the seller's error?

For me the point is that you brought a car that it was claimed had been valeted. It hadn't fully and the fact that the rubbish was medical makes it obvious. What else didn't they skimp on? Probably whoever did it didn't realise that there was the extra storage but actually most cars we've had recently have had them. So it was a rushed job and there attitude to fixing it is less than hopeful. I'd be asking them to reprep / check the car.