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I used a company to do a pre vehicle purchase inspection as it was on the other side of the country so I could not inspect. The report warned of some rust and listed a number of areas. However when i collected the vehicle I discovered that there had been some very crude primer/reust repairs around the windscreen and on the inside of the vehicle up the drivers pillar bubbled rust had been painted over in a top coat, again very crudely and visible. There was no mention of either area being a problem or potential problem on the report. I had the report done in mid june and a month ago took it into my local garage to have it serviced and to get the now visible rust around the screen fixed. When the windscreen was taken out, the drivers corner and passenger lower sides were rusted through to the point that you could push your finger through. I took photo's and the repairs were carried out costing $1500! I have contacted the company involved and they are investigating but initial contact with them indicates they are saying that the rust was not there on their inspection! What are my rights? Makes me wonder what the point of paying for a pre-purchase inspection is when it has not been done properly!

A pre-purchase inspection gives the prospective buyer an idea of the condition of the vehicle. It is a limited inspection. It doesn't tell everything about the car as components are not dismantled and some problems can be hidden at time of inspection and the inspector is allocated a certain time to spend on the vehicle. The company did warn you of rust issues on the vehicle and you should have requested some photo's or inspected the vehicle yourself to get a better idea as to the extent of the problem before purchasing the car. The fact that a number of areas were reported to have rust should of rung warning bells.