We have all had that sinking feeling: a customer who bought a car nearly half a year ago suddenly reappears with a repair quote long enough to be a Sunday supplement. While the law famously puts the burden on the dealer to prove a fault wasn’t present during those first six months, it doesn’t give the customer a free pass to overhaul the entire vehicle at your expense.
It is a common misconception that you have to simply shrug and pay the full invoice to keep the peace. In reality, you have every right to take a magnifying glass to those “essential” repairs.
One of our recent cases involved a vehicle that had been on the road for five months and 4,500 miles. It left the dealership with a fresh 12-month MOT and a full service, but eventually suffered a head gasket failure. Naturally, when the warranty company declined to help, the customer brought a massive itemised bill straight to the dealer.
The quote didn’t stop at the gasket; it included a new water pump, oil, filters, and various other bits and pieces.
To get to the bottom of the situation, we spoke with the repairing garage, and they confirmed the actual cause of failure in writing. They stated the fault was actually due to wear and tear, which meant the dealership would not have been liable for the repair at all. This allowed us to conclude exactly where the dealership stood and gave them a very strong position.
However, because this was a finance deal, the dealership decided they wanted to settle the matter quickly to avoid the risk of a rejection. Our strategy was simple: we advised the dealer to offer the cost of the head gasket only as a gesture. Everything else on that list was either consequential or standard maintenance, meaning the dealer was under no obligation to assist with them. The customer accepted the offer, and the matter was closed without the dealer overpaying for unnecessary extras.
The moral of the story is that you should never feel pressured to cover every single item just because a customer presents a list. There is a very clear line between a point-of-sale fault and a garage trying to pad out an invoice with maintenance or consequential parts. Knowing exactly where that line is can save you thousands.
If you are currently sitting with a tricky complaint or a quote that feels a bit padded, we are here to help you find that line in the sand.
Give the team at Legalsolutions4u a call on 0191 481 3992.
Best regards,
The Legalsolutions4u