Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) trading standards question

Hi recently purchased a classic lotus from a dealership,8 weeks ago .on the few times I have been able to take it out,the gearbox has not been good ,and now cannot get 5th.In the advertisment for the car it states that it has a reconditioned gearbox,how ever with the car came lots of invoices,the invoice for the reconditioned gearbox was in 1997 25yrs ago and 10,000 miles,can this really be classed as a reconditioned gearbox after all this time. Cannot seem to get an answer from trading standards,,If you had seen the advert would you have assumed that the reconditioning was a recent event. So what do you guys think

I don't think you'd have much luck - the advert said reconditioned gearbox, and you have a reconditioned gearbox (as opposed to an original - you don't say how old the vehicle is, but it could be 50yrs or more)

If there is any suggestion that it is 'recently' reconditioned then you may have more luck.

What warranty was provided? When I bought my 1972 4/4 from AW I had a three month warranty which would have covered gearbox issues.

Warranty on a "Classic car"... Much will depend upon the wording in the advert which would probably take a small claims to get anything moving.. Any motor trader worth his salt can write an advert that a customer might imagine covers everything, but in fact when it comes down to it means nothing when we are talking Classics/ OLD CARS... Most guarantees these days seem to be insurance company based and few if any classic car dealers will back up their stock other than via a policy..

Unfortunately there are folk who buy a new car and have to struggle to have warranty work carried out. A read through the forum might give you an idea of the way the world works... Really sorry to be dashing your hopes but if you show enough determination you might just get somewhere...

Good luck..

Unless the advert states "recently reconditioned gearbox" I really don't think TS will be interested and I hope the advert is misquoted for your benefit.
Good Luck with the car.

I guess it depends upon the dealer. Good folk might be more willing than the others to help. A warranty would help but I would have the discussion with the dealer first ASAP

As the parent of a overworked trading standards legal enforcement officer that I have just shown your message to:

Trading standards have far bigger things to worry about!
unless the dealer has a catalogue of complaints TS won't spare the staff to look into it. Your case is minor compared to most, the money laundering / smuggling / main dealer clocking / fake football shirts are worth literally millions & they concentrate on that round here.

Check you insurance policies to see if you have legal cover.

Forget whether the gearbox is recently reconditioned or not that really doesn't matter.

Your best remedy is under the 6 months statutory warranty provided on any 2nd hand car bought from a dealer. Keep a copy of the advert. Your case for arguing about it not being just normal wear & tear expected on an old car is made virtually watertight by evidencing that it was sold with a reconditioned gearbox.

It is down to the supplying dealer to fix it, if they won't - evidence this, get it repaired then smalls claim court to recover costs. Its down to him to prove that the fault didn't exist when you bought the car, by saying it had a recon box he's shot himself in the foot.


Timeframes to pay attention to
If a car develops a fault within the first 30 days of purchase, it is under statutory warranty and the buyer can simply reject it and return it to the dealer for a refund.

If a fault emerges between 30 days and six months from the date of purchase, the law assumes that the fault was pre-existing and, unless the seller can prove otherwise, the vehicle is still protected by statutory warranty. Here, the seller has one chance to fix the problem. If they do not manage to do that, the buyer is entitled to a refund, which may be less than the original purchase price to account for the time during which the car has been functional.

After six months, the automatic protection of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 expires. It is up to the buyer to prove that there was a fault with the car at the time of purchase if they want to pursue a dealer for a claim to repair a fault.

Note that the statutory warranty on a used car only applies here to cars bought from a dealer. Private purchasers enjoy none of this protection and the rules for cars bought at auction will depend on the particular auction house, and whether it was online or not.

Excellent and accurate summary from Andyrich. Here is the reference I use when I need it.

Never ceases to amaze me in this day and age of Information technology that the 6 month protection afforded under the Sale of Goods Act is not called up.
Drummed it into my children and family to always make sure any dealer that they are considering purchasing from is made aware that they will expect the dealer to conduct business with due regard to the SoG Act and the 6 month period. We would also tell the dealer that no matter how long the MOT is (if relevant) that it will be taken for an MOT immediately upon taking delivery. Those that cant be trusted to operate under the law, quickly show their hand.

Call it the Sale of Goods Act & the dealer will know immediately that you are not up to date! Its The Consumer Rights Act 2015 that you need to refer to.