[fka786]

I bought a used car from a dealer yesterday and now i'm so worried. Just to give a brief background, we saw the car in autotrader peugeot 307 2006 reg 37k miles done. The car looked good, but Mot was over. They said they will take mot, do service and give 3 month warrantty. Went back to the dealer once they did mot and it just had a couple of minor advisories. I paid £20 for test drive and the drive was good. So gave deposit and transferred the balance amout via online banking as they have card/ cash handling charge. Yesterday we went to collect the car and since we went aftr office hours, they were in a hurry. We just quickly go through acceptance form/invoice and signed the form. Later only noticed that they had added 'need replacing head gasket' in that form. I had no idea what that would cost and they didnt mention this to this ealier ( before transferring the money). Aftr searching on the internet, it seems thats going to cost a lot. Could anyone pls tell what our options are? Can we return the car? I doubt if the warranty will cover this issue as they hv mentioned it in the acceptance form. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Santa]

What to say to this sorry tale.

"give 3 month warrantty" - The law gives you six months.

"I paid £20 for test drive and the drive was good" - If anyone asked me to pay for a test drive I would walk away.

"Later only noticed that they had added 'need replacing head gasket' in that form." - Looks like sharp practice to me. Why did you sign without reading just because they were in a hurry?

Now - My best suggestion is that you pay a visit to your nearest CAB without delay. I think that the form you signed would not stand up in law, but I could be wrong.

[fka786]

Thanks a lot for your reply. I know it was my bad to sign that form without reading properly :( never expected such a thing to happen. I wi try contacting CAB for more advice.

[Santa]

Please let us know what happens - so many times people come for advice, read the answers and vanish without trace.

[Dennis W]

Go to your bank and ask them if they can get back the transfer of the funds. I think it is called a "charge back"

[fka786]

I contacted CAB and they asked us to send a letter (recorded delivery) stating that we had contacted CAB and to give them 3 options - returning the car, getting it repaired or exchanging with another one of same value. And to specify a time limit for them to respond and if they dont reapond, then to take legal action against them. In the meanwhile, my partner had contacted peugeot dealer to get a quote. They said they will charge £90 for doing diagnostic check and £500 to replace the gasket if required. We are just wondering whther it will be bettrr to do a diagnostic check before proceeding further so that we can assess the original situation. Btw, needless to say, dealer from where we bought the car are not ready for any compromise, they are not even interested in talking to us.

[Santa]

Do what the CAB says - send the letter.

They will always bluster and try to make you give in but in the end they know the law and will back down.

[Hometune]

Do NOT go to another garage or you may lose some of your rights. Might be worth trying the police as the vehicle is un-roadworthy and it is illegal to sell an un-roadworthy car. Some police forces may take an interest, many do not.
You have 6 months legal consumer protection so stick with it.