One Repair And Out: The Law Garages Hope You Don't Know

Imagine buying a used car, only for it to spend more time sitting in a workshop than on your driveway. That is exactly the nightmare one of our customers found themselves in recently. Within just six months of driving the vehicle off the forecourt, a major fault developed. Like any reasonable buyer, he took it straight back to the dealership. They tried to fix it, but the repair did not hold. They tried a second time, and the car failed yet again.

At that point, he had completely lost confidence in the vehicle. He exercised his legal right to reject the car and asked for his money back. The dealership’s response was a flat-out refusal. They dug their heels in, leaving him frustrated, stressed, and stuck with a faulty vehicle. That is when he came to CarRejection.com for help.

When we looked at his case, we knew exactly where the dealership was getting it wrong. Many garages rely on the fact that everyday consumers do not know the finer details of the law. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a dealership is legally entitled to only one attempt to repair a vehicle. The moment a second fault occurs within the first six months, the legal burden shifts entirely. It is suddenly up to the dealership to prove that the fault was not present or developing at the point of sale.

Crucially, it does not matter if it is the exact same fault or a completely different one. If it is the same issue failing again, it is classed as a failed repair and gives you an automatic right to reject. If it is a separate fault, the dealership still has to prove it was not an underlying issue when they sold it.

We advised our customer to get an independent engineering report from a local garage. Because he had covered very little mileage since buying the car, the report clearly demonstrated that the fault had been developing right from the day he bought it. Faced with this undeniable evidence, the dealership realised they did not have a leg to stand on and agreed to buy the vehicle back.

However, there was still one hurdle left: the usage deduction. Because the rejection happened outside of the initial thirty-day window, the dealership was legally allowed to deduct money for the mileage our customer had clocked up. They tried to claw back a hefty 45p per mile.

We stepped in to negotiate, arguing that given the age and overall cost of the vehicle, 45p was entirely unreasonable. We successfully fought to reduce that deduction down to just 15p per mile, saving our customer a significant amount of money.

To wrap everything up cleanly, we drafted a formal settlement agreement for both parties to sign, ensuring our customer’s money was safely returned. Today, he is officially trouble-car free, has moved on from the stress, and is happily shopping for a vehicle he can actually rely on.

Do not let the garages push you into keeping a faulty car and dealing with continuous repairs. Let us help and provide advice on exactly where you stand legally. Contact us today on 0161 3274652 or email support@carrejection.com