Problem with car and salesman ignored my message. Should I be worried?

[haribosss]

I bought a used car at the start of October. The dealership is 5 hours away. I was hesitant about buying a car from so far away, but they offered a 6 month warranty and assured me I could take it to any registered garage nearby if I had any problems. I wouldn’t have bought the car without that assurance, as it would be a massive pain to drive it all the way back to them. They had mostly positive reviews, the car had a good MOT history and it seemed well looked after, so I decided to go for it. They serviced it and put a fresh MOT on before delivering it to me.

Anyway, I’ve had the car for almost a month now, and it was running perfectly until yesterday when the engine light came on. I took it to my local garage, and they ran the code reader, which showed the fuel injectors as the problem. There were a couple of times when the car jolted slightly when I changed gears, but I just thought it was me getting used to driving it. The mechanic mentioned that faulty injectors could cause the car to misfire, so it does seem like that’s the issue. Just to be sure, they turned off the light and advised me to drive it for a few days (they’re closed over the weekend anyway) to see if the light comes back on.

I sent a message to the salesman explaining what was going on, thinking it was better to have it in writing than to call. I told him I’d update him once I know more but that I was letting him know today just as a heads up. He read it this morning but didn’t reply. I understand there might not be much for him to say right now, but an acknowledgment would have been appreciated. I’m sure he’s busy, but he was very quick to respond during the buying process, so now I’m worried he might be difficult to deal with if the car does need repairs. Should I be concerned about his lack of response? I am a worrier / overthinker, but this is exactly what I didn’t want to happen 😞

Just to add, the garage hasn't done any work on the car yet. I understand that I will need to have it signed off first before they can do any repairs. They only used the code reader to figure out what the problem was as I needed the car for the weekend, but I didn't want to drive it without making sure it was okay first.

Hi, I'm sorry to say this but I don't think any kind of warranty will cover this, (unless it's a fairly new car from a main dealer).
It might be a good idea to have a thorough read of your warranty and see exactly what's covered.
You might be lucky enough to get a goodwill payment to partially cover some costs.
Unfortunately these warranties are sometimes very poor in terms of coverage and this like fuel injectors are treated as consumable parts.
Note : I'm a former professional vehicle mechanic/technician.

Thank you so much for responding. I read the warranty booklet earlier, and it said that fuel injectors are covered, so fingers crossed that's true. I really wouldn't be happy paying for this after only a month of ownership. That seems crazy to me. What are my options if they decide not to cover the repairs? Can I reject the car?

Hi, I'm so sorry I haven't replied until now.
It's seemingly good that they have warranted things like fuel injectors.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
As for rejecting a car - that's a bit more difficult, there is a process and I think you might find it on consumer websites, I've never had any experience of the process, but I do remember that you need to give them 'reasonable' time to fix the problem, you can't just reject it in any quick way.
I'm sorry about that.
Would you let me know how you get on?.

You have the statutory right to reject the car for a refund (less small discount for the use in the time you’ve owned it) within 30 days of purchase or delivery (whichever was later) under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, if something serious is wrong with it. Despite what the dealer will tell you, within this 30 day period you are NOT obliged to give them the chance to repair it. After the 30 day period is up, you have to give them the chance to repair it before you can finally reject it. To exercise your right to reject, you just need to write to them (email is fine) telling them you are exercising this right and the car is available for them to collect. If they don’t, and don’t refund your money, then you’d have to sue them to enforce this right.

Dealers know this so they try to run down the clock on the 30 days by lying to you about what your rights are. I’ve had the same experience recently myself but I’m a lawyer so am now suing the dealer.

@Jon1011is a bit wrong, in that the requirement to let the dealer have a go at repair only engages after the 30 days.

You don’t have to deliver the car back to them either, only make it available for them to collect, at their cost.

And the fact that you have a warranty does not affect your right to reject. You can choose to have it repaired under warranty if it’s more convenient for you to keep the car, but that is your choice, not the dealer’s choice to dictate to you. Good luck.

Maybe its just me, but why on Earth would you buy a car from a dealer FIVE hours away from where you live?

I sure hope its a special car?

What make/model is it?

It’s very common, if people want a specific model/colour or don’t live near the car they want
we deliver cars up and down the country all the time

I get that - but still, 5 hours away from a dealer is a stretch.

And I would hazard a guess very few people do it, no matter how badly they want a particular vehicle - for the very reason(s) the OP has flagged.

I bought a car from Nottingham when I love in Cardiff. They delivered it for £75 and when it got some problems a couple of weeks later, they paid £2700 for the work which was done locally. It can be fine.

I wouldn't worry too much yet OP. But I wouldn't want to stall on "waiting and seeing" for that long, you don't want to be held responsible for making a known problem worse.

I emailed our dealership immediately and said it was his choice, I could reject the car or he could fix it. He was brilliant actually, I left him a great review.

People buy cars from all over the UK. They are usually delivered to your local dealership for a small fee. It's not a new or unusual thing.

Any car we have bought like this is from a large dealership so anything needing done would generally be at the closest to you rather than having to trail 5 hours though. That part does seem unusual if it is part of a chain of dealerships.

I never claimed it was new or unusual?

🙄