Second Hand Car

[mattrix100]

Yesterday i bought a second hand car from a garage. Last night i was driving the car and power steering failed. One of the technicians looked at the car and told me it was going to cost �600 to fix.
My question is does the car company which i bought the car off of need to fix it?
Can they refuse to fix it?
What sort of come back do i have?

[NORMANTHEDOG]

did they give you any warrantee with it or was it sold as seen,if sold as seen then you have no claim.

[buildersmate]

Few cars are sold as seen. Those at auctions are one example.
It should be of merchantable quality. This is an imprecise definition but depends on how much you paid etc. What's clear is that something that broke down in 24 hours is not of merchantable quality.
Demand the garage repairs it or refunds you all your money.

[Stu Dent]

Since you bought the car from a bona-fide business the sale is a commercial contract. You are therefore afforded protection under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended.

You therefore have the right to reject the goods and claim a full refund or have them repair it for you.

Your grounds for these remedies is that the goods were not of satisfactory quality - probably on safety and durability grounds.

However, a Court may decide (if it gets that far), that taking the price of the car and other factors into account, that it met the satisfactory requirements. My money is on you winning though.

[Stu Dent]

Even auction cars can come under SOGA protection, Buildersmate - it depends on who the seller is. The auctioneers are agents of the seller. If the seller is a dealership, then despite the disclaimer/exclusion clause of 'sold as seen', the buyer's statutory rights under SOGA 79 override the exclusion clause.