What are my rights if a used car goes wrong?

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Accepted Answer

Your rights are very different depending on who you bought from. Buying from a dealer or trader, the law says the car has to be of "satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described" - in plain terms, it needs to work properly, do what it's meant to do, and match how it was advertised. Within the first 30 days, you have a short-term right to reject the car for a full refund if it doesn't meet that standard. After 30 days but within six months, you can ask for a repair or replacement first. If that doesn't fix the problem, you can then get a refund. In this six-month window, it's assumed the fault was already there when you bought the car unless the trader can prove otherwise - after six months, it's the other way round, and it's on you to show the fault was present at the time of sale, which is harder to do. Buying privately, from an individual rather than a trader, your protection is much narrower: broadly, the seller can't lie about the car or misrepresent it, but there's no equivalent right to a repair, replacement or refund just because something's gone wrong. This is exactly why it's worth being especially careful, and checking what you can, before buying privately.