To ask for a full refund on secondhand car

[71wheretogo]

We have had the car for 9 days. It flashed up an error message about the gearbox. Dealer says it's just a sensor and wants it in to repair. I have googled a bit and think it actually might need a whole new 'gear selector mechanism'. I have lost trust in the car and just wanted a reliable car to take me and do around safely. I don't feel safe and just want my money back. Can anyone advise on what my rights are? I hate confrontation and feel sick and shaky.

Me and dd, not me and do...

Give them the opportunity to fix it but also get a second opinion because "a sensor" usually means it's actually a serious problem and they'll just hide it by turning off the engine light and not doing much else.

Unfortunately having rights and actually asserting them are two different things. New and nearly new cars have plenty of faults like this - I am not trying to be a git about it but all cars have their foibles - is this a VAG (Audi/Skoda/Seat/VW) car by any chance?

Don't give them the opportunity to fix it without getting legal advice!
I think that if you accept a repair you give up the right for a refund.
Perhaps out this in legal.

@rideawhiteswan I dont think that's correct. My personal experience twice sadly was "ok I'll give you the chance to fix it" picked it up "fixed" broke again a few days later. Took back and demanded refund and got it. Both cars were back up for sale the same day

The dealer, who presumably knows a bit about cars, says its probably a sensor.

The OP, who isn;t a mechanic, has done a bit of googling and has decided that it's all gloom and doom and she needs a new gearbox.

There's nothing to say your car isn't safe and isn't reliable. if it is later proven to have a serious fault then that's a different scenario. But OP hasn't even given the garage a chance to work our what the problem is yet!

I would ask for a full refund. I believe you have a 2 week grace period I you purchased from the likes of Vardys or Arnold Clark. I bought a secondhand car from Vardys and reported a fault with the Bluetooth/sound system after 3 days. They offered the repair. It took 9 months and CONSTANT PRESSURE to get it resolved - they gave me £50 compensation for the months of absolute headache and stress. If I could go back in time I would have dropped that car back there and given them the keys without a second thought.

If they offer a repair then you are at their mercy for them diagnosing the problem and fixing it, and I wouldn't have faith they weren't doing it on the cheap just to get you out their face.

It's a Skoda, yes. Cost 10k. 😢

Yeah get rid. Then get a new car on finance.

I took a car back to a small second hand car lot (think about 20 cars squeezed in to tiny impound). I drove it for 3 weeks and twice the car didn’t brake adequately. I was told it was the way I was braking but I stood my ground and said that I wanted to return it because I didn’t feel safe and I had told them when purchasing it that I wasn’t too fussed about the make/model/looks of the car as long as it was safe and reliable to get my children to/from school and do the weekly shop. When I returned it a member of staff kept trying to make me feel like I was a ‘typical woman driver’ and kept looking at my husband who looked back shrugged his shoulders and simply said ‘look mate she knows what she’s talking about she’s one of the best drivers I’ve ever been with and she can put police drivers to shame with her driving!’ We asked to speak to the owner (who actually sold me the car) and I simply looked at him and told him that I didn’t feel safe in the car and that I’m sure he’d agree with me that you needed to feel safe when driving around such precious cargo as your children. Anyway, I think that struck a chord with him as I got a full refund. I’d even said that I would’ve been happy to have paid a couple of hundred as a hire car considering I’d driven to Scotland and back in it (the problems started a few days after that journey). Anyway after changing the oil (there had also been a smell of burning) they put the vehicle back on the forecourt. We spoke to somebody else a few weeks later who said that this guy sells a lot of dodgy cars and that I probably only got the refund as I didn’t go in shouting I just went in and stated the facts and told him that I wanted a car that I felt safe in driving my children from A to B in and then asked how he would feel in the same position. So my advice is to go back and calmly and confidently say to the manager/owner that XYZ has come to your attention and that you don’t feel safe driving your children in it and that is why you want a full refund. I believe there is a standard 30 day agreement where you can surrender the vehicle and state it is not fit for purpose and be entitled to a full refund. If they promise to fix the fault then I think the law states that you must give them a fair chance at rectifying the issue but be prepared to surrender it there and then if that’s what they offer. So have a lift home organised and take all the paperwork with you. Do check up on the 30 day used car sales guarantee as I don’t actually know what it states as I was only aware of it afterwards.
Good luck I hope you get it sorted, let us know.

Just wanted to say thank you Addicted - I did what you suggested and they immediately agreed to refund. Now the trauma of trying to find another car, of course, because our old car was no longer there. Have had to hire a car for a week and hope we can find something.

I've been driving a Skoda with a gearbox fault around for 3 years because noone knows what the problem is and I don't have £2k to try to fix it so you probably did the right thing!

Unihorn sorry to hear that. Hope it has never actually broken down completely and left you stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in the dark with children in the car and no battery left in your mobile?! (My worst fears and reason for returning the car!). Hope it eventually gets sorted for you.

When you buy a car, new or 2nd hand, buy an odb reader which you plug in to the inboard diagnostics socket and it gives you a reading of all error codes. The reader (usually WiFi or Bluetooth) costs a few quid, literally. You need an app for your model of car so check when you buy the reader + app that it's got your model on, and for usually under £50, you can always have a second opinion on car problems, and double check after any work done, that it has been done.

If you are spending £10k on a car, or even £500, you won't then also be blowing a fortune with dodgy mechanics diagnosing bs problems to part you with money cos you don't know what's wrong. Cos meh female driver etc.

If you can plug a mobile phone in to charge, or connect to the WiFi in Starbucks, you can use an odb2 reader on your car!

@Longlivepenguins that was really useful advice! Thank you for sharing! x

what Longlivepenguins says. save yourself money in the long run.

It's broken down 4 or 5 times but luckily never at night with children, that must have been awful! I was heavily pregnant and en route to a stressful day at work once though.

We have a reader and agree that's good advice. Unfortunately the fault could be three different sensors or the entire onboard electrics, none of which we can afford to replace until the new year at the earliest. However our fix is to not use the radio or air con, and the car no longer cuts out. Electronic faults are sadly very common with Skodas, but they're my favourite cars!

Do you all have a place like AutoZone or O'Rilley's there? An auto parts store? The ones here will read the error code for free and tell you what is wrong. I had an error one time, and I went to AutoZone and they told me it was because my fuel cap was loose. I bought one there and they attached for free. Saved me money and time spent at the mechanics.

Ooh, thx. I'm a single mum of 2.never been able to afford a decent car. There is nothing worse than breaking down with 2 howling children in the car at night in the back end of nowhere, and feeling helpless. Or worst, when you use the last nappy and forgot to buy an AA membership....

The other advice is learn the power of t'interweb. There are a zillion petrol head forums, which most of us do not hang out on as we do err here?! Type the problem in the search bar with your car model and year.... Yes, you may need to read a few threads that are irrelevant, (petrol heads' concerns take the mn obsession with toilet brushes into a new realm) but sometimes the answer is much simpler than a dealer or mechanic will make out.

I carry a simple tool box in my box - spanners, flat and Philips screwdrivers, some cable ties, spare fuses, pliers, etc oil, distilled water, antifreeze, a tow rope/strap, and a set of jump leads. If I can't solve it, the person who stops out of kindness always seems relieved to find that somehow we can bodge it to safety.

In my car. Ugh! Not box lol

And I'm sorry @steff13 but loose fuel cap? Tighten it! I got conned years ago for bald tyres at a service station... Bought 2 new ones. Doh!! Now I now how to check the tread.

We make life so difficult and expensive for ourselves by being "female" (ducks!) sometimes. My washing machine has been playing up for weeks, shorting the house out, not emptying etc. I've just pried the bottom off, emptied the filter, worked out the drainage pipe was going into a blocked sink, changed the hose (£4), courtesy of a YouTube video. Versus hmmm potentially a £100 call out fee and new machine...

Longlivepenguins it was loose because it was broken. 🙄. I'm not stupid. That comment was, though.

Ah, apologies. Are you in USA? We put our own fuel in here and would notice if the fuel cap doesn't fit any longer.

It could well be it just needs diagnostics checking and any fault will be pinpointed.
The fault might be the sensor itself or something hasn't reset properly after the last service. Hopefully whatever it is isn't costly and you can enjoy your new car.