Can I reject a faulty car? Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015

By · Solicitor, qualified 2003 · Founder, Bonsai Law

Published

You bought a car from a dealer and something has gone wrong. The dealer offers to "have a look at it". Do you have to let them, or can you hand the car back and get your money back?

It depends mainly on when the fault appeared and what has happened since. In short:

  • Within 30 days of taking the car, you can usually reject it for a full refund, with no deduction for use.
  • After 30 days, the dealer normally gets one chance to repair or replace the car.
  • If that repair or replacement fails, you can reject the car, but the dealer can deduct an amount for the use you have had of it.

This guide covers cars bought from a business by a consumer in England and Wales, under contracts made on or after 1 October 2015. A consumer means an individual buying wholly or mainly outside their trade or business, so a car bought by a company, or mainly for a sole trader's business, is not covered. Buying from a private seller is different, and we deal with that below.

What does the dealer promise when it sells you a car?

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats every contract to sell goods to a consumer as including a number of terms. The most important for a car are that it must be:

  • of satisfactory quality (Consumer Rights Act 2015, s.9). The test is what a reasonable person would consider satisfactory, taking account of the price, the description and all the other circumstances. Fitness for the purposes cars are usually used for, safety, durability, freedom from minor defects and appearance and finish all count (s.9(3)). For a used car, the age, mileage and price matter: you cannot expect a ten-year-old car with 100,000 miles to be in the condition of a new one;
  • fit for any particular purpose you made known to the dealer, such as towing a caravan, where you reasonably relied on the dealer's skill or judgment (s.10); and
  • as described (s.11), for example as to mileage, service history or specification.

A car is not of unsatisfactory quality because of a fault the dealer specifically pointed out to you before you bought it, or, if you examined the car before buying, a fault that examination ought to have revealed (s.9(4)).

The dealer cannot take these rights away. A term in the contract that tries to exclude or restrict them does not bind you (s.31). "Sold as seen" on a dealer's invoice does not remove your rights.

When can I reject the car and get all my money back?

You have a short-term right to reject if the car does not meet those terms (s.20 and s.22). You must exercise it within 30 days, which start on the day after the last of these happens (s.22(3)):

  • ownership of the car (or possession, under hire purchase or conditional sale) passes to you;
  • the car is delivered to you; and
  • if the dealer has to do something before you can use the car, such as fitting a tow bar it agreed to fit, the dealer tells you it has done it.

To reject, you must make clear to the dealer that you are rejecting the car and treating the contract as at an end (s.20(5)-(6)). The law does not require writing, but you should put it in writing and keep a copy so there is no argument later. Saying "I'm not happy with it" or agreeing to let them look at it is not the same thing. Noticing or reporting a fault within the 30 days does not reject the car, and it does not stop the clock: the rejection itself has to reach the dealer before the deadline (s.22(1)).

If you reject within that period, the dealer must refund the full amount you paid (s.20(10)). It cannot deduct anything for your use of the car, because the Act only allows a deduction for use when you exercise the final right to reject (s.24(8)). The refund must be made without undue delay, and in any event within 14 days of the dealer agreeing that you are entitled to it (s.20(15)). It must use the same payment method you used, unless you agree otherwise, and the dealer cannot charge a fee for it (s.20(16)-(17)). You must make the car available for collection, or return it as agreed, and the dealer must pay the reasonable cost of getting it back, unless you choose to take it back yourself to the place where you collected it (s.20(7)-(8)).

What if I let the dealer try to fix it within the 30 days?

Agreeing to a repair does not lose you the right to reject, but you must then give the dealer a reasonable time to carry it out before rejecting, unless waiting would cause you significant inconvenience (s.23(6)). The 30-day clock stops from the day you ask for or agree to the repair until the day you get the car back (s.22(6) and (8)). If the car still has the fault, you then have whatever was left of your 30 days, or 7 days if that is later, to reject it (s.22(7)).

What happens after 30 days?

Once the short-term rejection period has expired, including any extension for a repair or replacement, you will normally need to ask the dealer to repair or replace the car first (s.23). The dealer must do it:

  • within a reasonable time;
  • without significant inconvenience to you; and
  • at its own cost, including labour, parts and transport (s.23(2)).

The dealer can refuse your choice of remedy if it is impossible, or if it is disproportionate compared with the other one (s.23(3)-(4)). For a used car, a suitable replacement may not be available, so repair is often the practical remedy.

When can I reject the car after a repair?

You have a final right to reject, or you can ask for a price reduction instead, if (s.24):

  • after one repair or replacement, the car still does not meet the terms (s.24(5)(a) and s.24(6));
  • repair and replacement cannot be required, for example because both are impossible (s.24(5)(b)); or
  • you asked for a repair or replacement and the dealer did not do it within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you (s.24(5)(c)).

One failed repair is enough. The question is whether the car now conforms to the contract, not only whether the same fault has come back, so a different fault from the time of sale can count too. You do not have to give the dealer a second or third go, though you can agree to if you want to.

As with the short-term right, you must tell the dealer clearly that you are rejecting the car.

How much can the dealer deduct for use?

If you exercise the final right to reject, the dealer can reduce your refund to take account of the use you have had of the car (s.24(8)).

For most goods, there is no deduction if you reject within six months of delivery (s.24(10)). Cars are an exception. That six-month protection does not apply to motor vehicles, so a dealer can deduct for use even if you reject in the first six months (s.24(10)(a)). "Motor vehicle" has its Road Traffic Act meaning, and a vehicle adapted for a single disabled user is not treated as one, so the six-month protection still applies to it (s.24(12)-(13)).

The Act does not set a formula. The deduction should reflect the use you have actually had: how long you had the car, how far you drove it and how much of that time it was off the road or unusable because of the fault. Time the car spent at the garage, or sitting on your drive because it was unsafe to drive, is not use. No deduction can be made for any time you kept the car only because the dealer failed to collect it when agreed (s.24(9)). Ask the dealer to show how it has worked out the figure, and challenge it if it looks like the general depreciation of the car rather than the benefit you had.

Who has to prove the fault was there when I bought the car?

If you are asking for a repair or replacement, a price reduction or the final right to reject, and the fault shows up within six months of delivery, it is presumed to have been there at delivery. That presumption does not apply if the dealer proves the car was fine when delivered, or if it is incompatible with the nature of the car or of the fault (s.19(14)-(15)). Ordinary wear and tear on a used car is not a fault the dealer is responsible for.

The presumption does not turn every breakdown into a valid claim: there still has to be a fault that means the car did not meet the contract. For the short-term right to reject, the presumption does not apply, so you must show that the car did not meet the contract when it was supplied. If the fault first appears more than six months after delivery, you will normally need to show the same thing: that the car did not meet the contract when supplied. What matters is when the fault appeared, not when you make the claim. An independent engineer's report may help. Ask it to address the likely cause of the fault and whether the car was of satisfactory quality when supplied, including how long it should reasonably have lasted.

You can bring a claim for up to six years after the breach (Limitation Act 1980, s.5), but the longer you wait, the harder it is to prove the fault was there from the start, and the bigger any deduction for use.

What if I bought the car on finance?

If you bought the car on hire purchase or conditional sale (most PCP deals are a form of hire purchase, but check your agreement), the finance company, not the dealer, supplies it to you. Your rights under the Act are against the finance company, so tell the finance company that you are rejecting the car, as well as the dealer. Telling only the dealer may not count (the Act applies to hire-purchase agreements under s.3(2)(c), and conditional sales are sales contracts under s.5(3)). If you validly reject a car on finance, the agreement ends. The refund covers the part of the price you have already paid (s.20(14)), subject to any permitted deduction for use if you are exercising the final right to reject.

Complain to the finance company first. If you are unhappy with its final response, or it has not sent one within eight weeks, you can usually take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free. You normally need to do so within six months of the final response.

If you paid all or part of the price (including the deposit) on a credit card, and the car cost more than £100 and not more than £30,000, the card provider may be equally liable with the dealer, even if only the deposit went on the card (Consumer Credit Act 1974, s.75). This applies to credit cards, not debit cards.

What if I bought the car privately or at auction?

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 only applies when you buy from a business. If you bought from a private seller, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 still requires the car to match its description (s.13) and the seller to have the right to sell it (s.12). If the seller told you something untrue that persuaded you to buy, you may also have a claim for misrepresentation. But there is no requirement that a privately sold car be of satisfactory quality: that applies only to sellers acting in the course of a business (s.14(2)). Supplying an unroadworthy car can also be a criminal offence, including for a private seller, although statutory defences apply (Road Traffic Act 1988, s.75). The offence does not in itself give you a right to a refund.

Watch out for traders posing as private sellers. If the "private seller" is selling cars as a business, you have the full rights covered in this guide.

If you bought a second-hand car at a public auction that individuals could attend in person, most of the rights in this guide (satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose and the rights to reject) do not apply (s.2(5)-(6)). A few protections, such as information the auction gave you about the car's main characteristics, still do. Online-only auctions are not caught by this exclusion. Check the auction's terms.

Worked example: rejecting in the first 30 days (illustrative)

Invented for illustration. Not a real case or client.

Chris buys a three-year-old hatchback from a dealer for £12,000 and collects it on 1 March. On 18 March the engine warning light comes on and the car loses power. A garage finds an engine fault that, for this example, we assume meant the car was not of satisfactory quality when Chris bought it. The dealer offers to take the car in for a repair.

Chris's 30 days started on 2 March, so Chris is still inside the short-term period. Chris writes to the dealer on 19 March saying "I am rejecting the car under section 20 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015" and asks for a full refund. The dealer cannot insist on a repair first, and cannot deduct anything for the 600 miles Chris has driven. It must refund £12,000 within 14 days of agreeing Chris is entitled to it, and pay the reasonable cost of collecting the car.

If Chris had instead agreed to the repair on 19 March, the clock would have stopped with 13 days left, and Chris would have had to give the dealer a reasonable time to fix it. If the fault came back after the repair, Chris would still have had 13 days from getting the car back to reject it.

Worked example: rejecting after a failed repair (illustrative)

Invented for illustration. Not a real case or client.

Sam buys a five-year-old estate car from a dealer for £9,000 in January. In April the gearbox starts slipping. Sam is outside the 30 days, so asks the dealer to repair it. The dealer keeps the car for three weeks, replaces a part and returns it. In June the gearbox fails again.

The one repair has failed, so Sam can now exercise the final right to reject. Because the car is a motor vehicle, the dealer can make a deduction for use, even though Sam is rejecting within six months of buying it. Sam had about five months of use, less the three weeks the car was at the garage and the time it was off the road in June. The dealer proposes deducting £2,500. Sam asks for the calculation, points out the time off the road, and the two agree a smaller deduction.

Sam could have chosen a price reduction instead and kept the car.

What should I do now?

  • Work out your dates. Note when you took the car, when the fault appeared and any time it spent at the garage.
  • Stop using the car if it is unsafe, and keep your mileage down.
  • Reject in writing. Say clearly that you are rejecting the car and treating the contract as at an end under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If you have finance, write to the finance company as well as the dealer, before the deadline.
  • Keep everything: the sales invoice, the advert, the finance agreement, messages with the dealer, repair invoices and photos of the fault.
  • Get an independent engineer's report if the dealer disputes the fault, especially if more than six months have passed.
  • Escalate if needed. Many dealers belong to The Motor Ombudsman, which can deal with disputes about its members. Finance disputes go to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Claims of up to £10,000 are normally dealt with in the small claims track of the County Court.

Not sure where you stand? Try our car rejection checker.

If a dealer or finance company is refusing to accept your rejection, Bonsai Law can review your dates, your evidence and the deduction proposed, and tell you where you stand.

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Sources

1. Consumer Rights Act 2015, sections 2, 3, 5, 9, 10 and 11 2. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 19 3. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 20 4. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 23 6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 24 7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 31 8. Consumer Credit Act 1974, section 75 9. Sale of Goods Act 1979, sections 12 to 14 10. Limitation Act 1980, section 5 11. Road Traffic Act 1988, section 75