Dealer sales carry real rights. Speak to Kestrel.
Buy from a dealer and the Consumer Rights Act applies in full: the car must be of satisfactory quality for its age, mileage and price. Reject within 30 days for a refund, or after one failed repair. Bought on finance, the finance company is often the legally responsible party, which opens the free Financial Ombudsman route. Private sales are thinner: only misdescription really bites.
Satisfactory quality is judged against the deal: a nine-year-old hatchback is not a new car, but it must be roadworthy, durable and as described for its age, mileage and price. A gearbox failing three weeks in is rarely fair wear on any sensible view, and within six months the fault is presumed present at sale.
The remedy ladder: reject within 30 days for a full refund; after 30 days the dealer gets one repair or replacement, and if the problem persists you may reject finally, with at most a reasonable deduction for use. Rejection is exercised in writing, and continuing to drive the car hard after rejecting undermines it.
On hire purchase and conditional sale the finance company owns the car and carries the legal responsibility; on PCP and loans, connected-lender rules can apply. Either way, a written complaint to the finance company, escalated free to the Financial Ombudsman after eight weeks, is often the strongest and cheapest route. Private sales are different: quality is your risk, but a seller's false statements about mileage, history or condition are actionable misrepresentation.
Guide edition: August 2026. General information for England and Wales. Current law and your particular facts require assessment before action.
Get the fault diagnosed in writing, photograph everything, and keep the advert, messages and paperwork. Limit driving once a serious fault appears.
Inside 30 days: reject with the diagnosis attached. Later: one repair demand with a deadline, reserving final rejection.
On finance, complain to the lender in writing; they carry responsibility and answer to the Ombudsman, which is free.
Trade body ADR where the dealer subscribes, otherwise letter before claim and the county court, with the independent report as the spine.
Tell Kestrel what happened. The AI legal assistant gathers the facts and prepares a summary for you to check. Request lawyer review from your Legal Centre.
Speak to Kestrel nowThirty days for the short-term right to reject, six months for the presumption, six years to claim. Finance complaints: eight weeks with the lender, then six months to reach the Ombudsman from their final response.
This guide concerns Consumer disputes. It forms part of our reference library. Kestrel is preparing for SRA authorisation. See practice details for the proposed service and current availability.
Those words have no power against consumer rights; the Act cannot be signed away on an invoice. They matter only in genuine private sales. From a dealer, the car must meet the statutory standard regardless of the sticker.
You are within the six-month presumption: the law assumes the defect was present at sale unless the dealer proves otherwise. The dealer gets one repair; if it fails or another serious fault follows, final rejection with a use deduction is on the table.
Complain to the finance company in writing as well as the dealer. On HP and conditional sale they are the responsible party; on PCP connected-lender liability often applies. Their complaints process leads to the free Financial Ombudsman.
Private sales exclude the quality guarantee but not honesty. Provable false statements, mileage, accident history, outstanding finance, ground a misrepresentation claim, and the messages you kept are the case.
Start with the AI legal assistant, then follow the case, messages and lawyer review in your Legal Centre.
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