Rejecting a car bought online - what are my rights?

I recently bought a wheelchair accessible car from a garage in Scotland and paid to have it shipped down to Dorset. I was assured by the garage that the vehicle was excellent and very keenly priced. It was going to have a service, a full valet and a new MoT. No faults were listed on the advert and I was not advised of any.

After it was delivered I had a good look round, the interior had clearly not been cleaned at all and I started finding numerous faults, it clearly had not been checked and prepared at all.

I emailed the garage and he apologised, blaming Covid etc for lack of reliable staff.

I have asked him to confirm in an email that he will put the vehicle right or collect it and refund my money including the cost of shipping. He has offered to pay for the valet but wants me to get quotes for the other work but not from the main dealer but from an independent garage as a main dealer would be too costly. It would then need to go to the wheelchair conversion company to have the wheelchair system checked.

Although he didn't express any concerns initially, he now says this is why he doesn't like distance selling as this can go wrong and this causes problems.

I feel that knowing the car was being shipped the length of the country it should have been checked and double checked and prepared and inspected properly. These are not things that have just happened, they were clearly there before the vehicle left the garage.

From following your site I know a garage can be liable for major faults that occur up to six months but can I reject the car at this stage?

Asked on 9 March 2022 by Andrew Vibert

Answered by Dan Powell
I can't say I have much sympathy for the dealer, all of these problems could have all been avoided if the car had gone through the proper checks.

I do not see why you should be expected to rush around, collecting quotes and organising the work, when the dealer is wholly liable.

The Distance Selling Regulations provides a 14-day 'cooling off' period that lets you reject the car for any reason for a full refund. The short term right to reject (under the 2015 Consumer Rights Act) also means you are entitled to a refund if any fault is found in the first 30 days.

For your consumer rights, see: www.honestjohn.co.uk/how-to-reject-a-car-your-cons...#
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