The Consumer Rights Act for used car dealers

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets what a buyer can expect from a car you sell them, and what they can ask for if it goes wrong. It applies when you sell to a consumer: someone buying “wholly or mainly” outside their own trade or business (section 2).

What the car has to be

Every sale includes three promises:

• Satisfactory quality. What a reasonable person would expect, including freedom from minor defects, safety and durability (section 9). For a used car that takes account of its age, price and history, including mileage, and some wear and tear is expected (Business Companion).
• Fit for purpose, including any purpose the buyer told you about (section 10).
• As described, in the advert, the listing and what you say (section 11).

Anything you specifically point out to the buyer before the sale is not covered by the quality promise (section 9(4)). That is why showing the MOT record and its advisories in writing matters.

What the buyer can ask for, and when

When	What the buyer can do
Within 30 days	Reject the car for a full refund (section 22). Days it spends back with you for repairs do not count (Business Companion).
After 30 days	Ask for a repair or replacement, which you must do within a reasonable time, without significant inconvenience and at your cost (section 23).
If that fails	Reject the car or keep it with money off (section 24). On a final rejection you can deduct for use, including in the first six months, because the Act makes an exception for motor vehicles.

The six-month rule

A fault that shows up within six months of delivery is taken to have been there when you sold the car (section 19(14)), unless you can show the car was right on the day (section 19(15)). A record of the car’s condition at the sale is how you show it: the MOT history, what you checked and fixed, and what you told the buyer.

Selling online or at a distance

If the buyer orders without coming in, for example online, and collects later, it is a distance sale. They can also cancel within 14 days of taking the car (Consumer Contracts Regulations, regulation 30). A sale agreed and signed at your premises has no cooling-off period (Business Companion).

Selling to another trader

The Act does not apply. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 still implies that goods sold in the course of a business are of satisfactory quality (section 14).

A record of the car at the sale

A trade report gives you that record in one document: the MOT history word for word, the mileage at every test, and a checklist for the handover that ends with the paperwork:

• Service history: stamped book or invoices
• V5C logbook in the seller’s name
• Latest MOT certificate
• All keys, including the spare

Give the buyer a copy and keep one with the sale paperwork.