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gordon.dellar
By gordon.dellar | AA Member | 1 Post | 9 October 2013 at 8:01am

Hi,

I have bought a used car from a very reputable branded car dealer. The car is not the same make that they sell as new.

The second day of owning the car I found rust on the underside of the boot channel where 2 body panels overlap. The metal is paper thin and the visible rust area is at least 10cm long and 5cm wide. The car is only a 2006 model. Nothing was mentioned about rust by the dealer and I did not see this when viewing and test driving. They did tell me the car was AA Appraised and they sorted out a new WOF.

Another issue is I was told the brakes had been skimmed. On the test drive which was in a 80km/h zone all braking felt fine. Since collection and driving on the motorway at 100km/h there is a shudder in the steering and have notice pulsating under braking from this speed.

I am waiting for a response from the dealer.

What are my rights or options?

Thanks

Anon
By Donavan | AA Expert | 1049 Posts | 9 October 2013 at 10:24am

You need to remember this is not a new car so you cannot expect it to be in new condition.

If the rust is structural or would cause the vehicle to fail a WOF then the dealer needs to put it right but if its cosmetic/surface rust then this is something you might need to accept. The dealer should fix the brake shudder.

The CGA covers you for a reasonable amount of time

Go back to the dealer and let the sales manager have a look at the rust and experience the brake shudder. Hopefully they will fix both the problems and that will be the end of it.