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Cars legal advice

Buying a car

Did you know that if you buy a used or brand new car from a company and it develops a fault in the first six months, the onus is on the dealer that sold it to you to prove that the faults weren't present when you bought it? You do not have to prove the problem isn't down to neglect or a failure to service the car.

When you buy a car, the law says that it has to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described; if it isn't the seller will be in breach of contract.

When you buy a used car privately, the laws are very different than when buying from a dealer. The normal protection that says the car must be of satisfactory quality may not apply - so you may have no comeback on the seller if, half a mile into the journey home, the car falls apart around you.  However, the car must be as described, for example 'low mileage'/'good condition' - if it is not, then you may have a claim for misdescription. You may also have a claim for misrepresentation, if any verbal representation was made, which you relied upon, and turned out to be false.

Car Servicing

If you are using a local garage to service or repair your car, you are buying a service from them and they have to meet certain standards to do this:

• The service should be provided with reasonable care and skill and to a proper standard of workmanship. For example, if you paid someone to fix your leaky window, it should not leak after the work has been done.
  
  
• The service must be completed within a reasonable time. This applies even if you and the person supplying the service do not agree a finishing date.
  
  
• The service must be provided for a reasonable charge, if you not fix a price in advance. If you fix the price or agree some other way of working out the charge at the beginning, you can't complain later that you are being charged an unreasonable amount. If you have set a fixed cost, this is usually called a quotation and it is legally binding.
  
  
• Reliable and appropriate materials or goods should be used for the service. The same law covers goods and materials as if you were buying them directly.