robby

I bought a new car (1 year old fiesta Zetec S) last week from a dealer 130 miles away.
When i emailed and phoned about this car i specifically asked if it had and paint repairs or was it origional. I was told it was origional and in excellent condition so i left a deposit over the phone and arranged to collect the following weekend (last week).
When i got to the dealers it was sat outside all cleaned and looking mint, i walked around and it looked good so i did the deal with my p/x and drove home.
Yesterday i decided to give it the works so clayed the car (it was rough all over every panel) then set about with the polish and wax.
This was when i spotted some overspray under the rubber on the front quarter glass?
I'd looked over each panel comparing them to the next to see if any had been painted berfore i collected and they all matched.
Checking again and comparing each side it now seems the o/s of the car has been completely resprayed as the paint isn't as even as the n/s. They've sprayed along the roofline so there's nothing that stands out.
The bonnet and roof haven't been painted so i'm not sure if it was to repair side damage or if it was keyed, etc?
I've emailed the dealers ststing i was told the car had not been repaired and as i said to him on collection i would have refused the car if it had been.

What should i do?
I said i feel a refund or replacement should be offered but what chance do i have as i took delivery?

stilover

Trading Standards.

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

see what they say first, in person is always better than on a phone or email where they can and will fob you off. if that fails, then trading standards. (dont forget, they may not of known about the paint either)

RobsyUK

iTrader: (2)

check the terms, chances are sold as seen..

Chip

What Jamo says.

PaulC72

Firstly speak to the dealer
Secondly if they did not know they will probably try to fix the issue to a satisfactory resolution as they sold you the car and are therefore (regardless of previous history) liable for a fit for purpose sale and you should receive the goods as per your expectations and answers to questions you asked.

If they want to be funny about it as you probably have nothing in writing about your question re the paint then you may have to go down another route.

TBH I think they will either take the car back with a minor deduction for the additional miles or do you a swap for a like car. If you want to hand the goods back (which you can) you should get a full refund (less the mileage deduction) and if they still have your part ex you should have that back too.

If you do a quick google search you will find all you need to know

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-righ...s-your-rights/

robby

Well if they don't reply to the email tommorow i'll give them a ring. The place is 130 miles away so it's not possible to call in - they do have a branch closer though so i could call in there to show them and they can confirm with the supplying branch?

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

It might have been resprayed when sold as a new car last year........this is perfectly legitimate as the car is being sold "as new" even if it has been resprayed.

The law accepts the car may have been damaged in transit and need an area repairing or re-spraying prior to sale. They can even sell a new car with body filler (strange but true)..

Might have to accept free mats or a touch-up stick..........

See what they say.

Shaun

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

With the car being second hand I don't think you'll get that far. Worth a try. I know I didn't get anywhere with my Golf...I went over it with a fine tooth comb, bought it, got it home, then would you know - the door was two colours! Well ok, the colour was right, but the metallic flip was wrong, so when the sun hit it at a particular angle it stood out like a sore thumb, at any other angle it looked fine, still embarrasing I missed it before buying though.

The dealers (Listers) denied it had any bodywork done by them nor chips-away style micro repairs. And claimed it must have been done by a previous owner or dealership. I didn't get any futher than that.

Turns out it had indeed had a micro repair on the door, basically to remove scratches around the door handle area so really just cosmetic stuff. It was a good job in terms of blend and finish, just they got the paint mix technique wrong (silvers need a bit more care to ensure the metallic pigment is correct).

I ended up having the whole side resprayed at my own cost. It was the only way to guarantee no shading difference on that side of the car.

Luan Pra bang

Some people really need to relax its only a car , and its a ****ing fiesta at that.

prodriverules

iTrader: (52)

robby

over £9k of hard earned money spent on it

wouldn't mind if it was a freebie payed for by benefits - different when i work to pay for it

prodriverules

iTrader: (52)

How hard do you need to look to spot the painted area Robby?
It can't be that bad if you didn't notice when you picked it up because as you said it was clean and looking mint?

Bubba po

It's a dealer. They aren't allowed to do "sold as seen". They're subject to regulations.

robby

The overspray is on the bottom of a rubber seal, not noticeable unless your looking for it, i only noticed as i polished right up to the edges.
The respray is noticeable when comparing both sides of the car - 1 side is "smoother" and the repainted side is less defined (not as smooth - not orange peel but slightly rippled)

After seeing the overspray i only checked more thoroughly as i found 2 fixings missing from underneath the sideskirt and the windscreen trim not 100% flush at the top at this side.
It looks like they did a full strip before they repainted but left this 1 piece of glass and surroung in (small quarter glass above front wing)?

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Did you get a HPI report with it?

5t.

Leslie

I was going to suggest getting an HPI check, if that came back with a repair report you would have the dealer on toast!

Les

Luan Pra bang

If the repair is that hard to spot there is a very good chance the dealer knew nothing about it, in general I would say of you want a new car go and buy a new car, it sounds like this is a barely noticable repair so unless you can see sign of mopre serious damage I do not really see what the problem is.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

HPi won't show repair history on minor insurance body repairs let alone repairs done outside of insurance (i.e my car has had the whole side resprayed...and remains totally Hpi clear ).

All it'll say is if it has finance or previously recorded as a "total loss" or "condition alert" (written off/stolen/recovered) and verify its ID and details (chassis no, mileage etc). Any main franchise dealer worth their salt wouldn't put a car on their forecourt with a bad HPi history, most dealerships have long-term subscriptions, so the car will have been checked.

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

I know that, I was interested to see what they had on it. If it really has had the whole side done then it might have had some interesting work.

It might also simply have been keyed along the one side which as you say, won't show up at all.

Thing is, we don't know the dealer so thought it was worth asking the question.

On the plus side, it sounds like it has been repaired to a very high standard.

5t.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I just had to point it out though as too often I hear people say "get a HPi" wrongly assuming it will show up anything and everything done to the car.

Some of these car history check websites don't help to be honest as they do mislead a little on what limited information they can provide on a car's past.

PaulC72

Note to self..don't buy Ali's car.

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Know what you mean though ali - some people do expect it to tell you if someone has ever had a tab in the car.

Still, I don't trust all dealers. Maybe a main dealer or a very big franchise but not all dealers as some will still sell on cars with the odd... er... issue. hah

5t.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I lay bets the bodywork and maintanence on my cars is far better than whatever shed you drive

robby

Well called into groups local branch where aftersales team leader? looked at confirmed it has had paint. He wanted me to drive 30 miles to another of their branches which has a bodyshop to check with a paint depth gauge?
I spoke to the salesman who sold me the car and he will get back to me tommorow after speaking to him manager.
The repair is ok but now when looking at this side it's definately less shiney, maybe a wet/ dry and buff will bring the gloss out but if that's the case then they can sort it.
He confirmed they did an Experian check on the car and it was clear

PaulC72

How much would you like to bet........

ScoobyWon't

Always look on the bright side of life - it's still worth 9 times more than most Imprezas owned by people on SN.

chrispy200+

iTrader: (2)

I had this with a 6 month old car that had been the sales managers car. Was assured it had no damage at all and stupidly it was wet when I looked at it both times but I trusted them as it was a main dealer. Turns out it had had a not so smart repair and they made a pig of it, eventually they admitted that it had been damaged while one of the salesmen had used it. Turned very messy and all sorts of threats of trading standards etc. eventually it went into the bodyshop and got all done properly.
Was never happy after that and got rid after 9 months as I suspected it might have had more than the small knock they said, that and I think it had had the **** ragged out of it for every one of the 7k miles it had covered and was sounding pretty bad but they said it was fine

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

Having worked at a few main dealers over the years i have seen a few brand new cars be sold that have had paint..

2 that spring to mind was a Galant that fell off the transporter ramps,and a Nova that had its sunroof hole cut in the wrong place...So welded back in and repainted !

Good luck to the OP,hopefully you get a result.

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Very common for new cars to have paint before they are delivered to customers. Let alone one that is a year old.