Where do I stand?

[LOVECARS 3]

Sold a 13 year old Freelander about 3 days ago, customer rings a day later my passenger window has just packed up I said no problem book it in your local garage ill pay for it to be fixed. He then proceeds to put it into Halfords for a safety check and they come back with a few different things handbrake wont hold enough, prop shaft bushes are perished. He now wants a full refund under consumer rights. I do a Lawgistics PDI sheet for every vehicle that passes through my garage. The car has recently gone through an MOT with no advisories? Where do i stand? what do i do?

[Rory RSC 596]

Always try to get cars back to you. In you acting like a decent dealer and trying to help the customer Halfords have stepped in and condemned the car.

the Halfords report is probably a load of BS so get the car back and see if there actually are any faults or if it's just a case of it's a second hand Land Rover with second hand parts that's all worn to a degree. 

If you have missed some things that should have been done prior to sale apologise and offer to put right. If customer reluctant to accept just refund and sell it to someone else. 

[LOVECARS 3]

21 minutes ago, Rory RSC said:

Always try to get cars back to you. In you acting like a decent dealer and trying to help the customer Halfords have stepped in and condemned the car.

the Halfords report is probably a load of BS so get the car back and see if there actually are any faults or if it's just a case of it's a second hand Land Rover with second hand parts that's all worn to a degree. 

If you have missed some things that should have been done prior to sale apologise and offer to put right. If customer reluctant to accept just refund and sell it to someone else. 

Thats fair enough but what about extra owner on V5, over 500 miles put on the car?

[Mike-Ktl 2]

I certainly wouldn't give in and give a refund. if the car has passed the mot just recently then I'm sure it's fine. Halfords are known to find faults which don't exist to get extra revenue. perished  prob shaft bushes are bound to be worn on a car of that age but perfectly serviceable. I see no grounds for a refund. time we got tougher with piss taking customers. 99% are as good as gold but there is always someone 

 

[CGF 3]

You're entitled to reduce the amount you refund to take into account the mileage covered by the customer...however, after three days and with the punters head full of tales of woe courtesy of Halfords, you may find it difficult to get them to accept this.

At the end of the day, I'd probably just take it on the chin and lick my wounds....even if you did stick to your guns and attend to any issues, the buyer is never going to be happy and will be on your doorstep every week with one issue or another.

As stated above, it really is imperative to get the vehicle back in these circumstances rather than letting a third party get involved...I know it's  a bit late now but it's something to bare in mind in the future... :-)

 

[Trident 24]

I would refund, less 50p per mile, check the vehicle over and resell, chances are it's halfords bs and someone else will buy it, you shouldnt be out of pocket, it will just take time to turn it round again, customers like this aren't worth bothering with, if you argue, you lose sleep and gain grey hairs, so long as he has the log book in hand, get him to bring it back.

[grant8064 219]

I agree with most of the above.

A lot of punters think the bigger the garage chain the more reputable and honest they are...something we all know isn't quite true!

Always going to be an uphill struggle to get him/her to accept you put right the bits they have advised on and that seed of doubt will have been sown, as CGF states, they'll be back every week with another rattle, clunking noise or it pulling to the left slightly despite it being an old car.

Easiest thing...refund in full, forget the pence per mile etc and re sell to someone sensible. When you have it back you can double check those bits Halfords mentioned too because we all know that sometimes MOT testers do miss things.

[trade vet 697]

Definitely insist and give this punter a full refund,the quicker the better.Old Freelanders are good sellers anyway,you won't lose out.Sounds like this punter was probably always going to Halfords to have it checked out rather than use Mr Cannyblokes small garage nearby ,like all his friends.

[Rory RSC 596]

Extra point - don't send V5s off online instantly wait 30days. Saves the mither.

Set up a special folder for 'challenging customers' and the ones you feel may be trouble stick theirs to the side.

[M.J 35]

Refund and move on, not worth the back and forth. By the time you get a resolution you could of resold the vehicle and saved yourself the headache.

[NoMargin 11]

Wouldn't it be funny if you got the car back, took it to a Halfords MOT centre and it passed with flying colours. I dare you.