A dealer’s right to repair has been rejected by a court and he has been told to pay £2750 to the customer.
The court has now decided that if a car should break down and need repair post-sale, then the garage that sold the vehicle has no divine right to be consulted if it has been repaired elsewhere and costs invoiced to original dealer.
This ruling now challenges the perceived view that under the Sale of Goods Act, where for any vehicles that have been sold, dealers would have the chance to view and repair any problems for which they are accountable.
Legal Adviser Lucy Bonham-Carter said, “The implications of this hearing mean that car dealers may need to amend their terms and conditions of sale.”
“A clearly defined return and repair policy is required or they could face a significant financial loss.”
The parties in question at Evesham court were dealer Sean McGrath and the private buyer of the Land Rover Discovery in March 2010 – Garry Barnes.
As a profession, Barnes works for a Midlands PLC as a company secretary and accountant. He purported that 2 weeks from signing for the car the gearbox began to deteriorate and make a strange noise. Mr Barnes then decided to rectify the problem and contacted a local firm to replace the damaged gearbox to the tune of £2750. The new owner decided against calling Mr McGrath and did not give him the opportunity to survey the perceived problem.
3 months later Mr McGrath, the dealer, received a demand for payment along with a threat of court action under the Sales of Goods Act if he did not pay his outstanding bill to Mr Barnes. This was the first time Mr McGrath had heard of any problem with the Land Rover Discovery.
Both parties represented themselves when the case proceeded to Evesham County Court.