Used car fault in the first six months: your rights

Something going wrong soon after you buy a used car is the thing every buyer quietly worries about. The law in England and Wales treats the first six months differently from the rest of the car's life, and it is worth knowing how before you need it. This page is general information about how those rules work.

What happens if a used car develops a fault in the first six months?

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a fault found in the first six months is presumed to have been present at delivery unless the trader proves otherwise. That presumption is the whole point of the six-month window: the burden sits with the dealer, not the buyer. If the presumption is not displaced, the fault is treated as a problem the car already had when it was handed over, and the Act's remedies apply.

What does "satisfactory quality" actually mean for a used car?

Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.9 says goods must be of satisfactory quality — but what counts as satisfactory is judged against what a reasonable person would expect for that car. Age, mileage, the price paid and how the car was described all feed into it. A fifteen-year-old hatchback is not held to the standard of a new one. That is why the same noise can be a fault on one car and ordinary character on another.

Is normal wear and tear a fault?

Generally no. Parts that wear out — brake pads, tyres, a clutch, a battery, wiper blades, bushes — are expected to wear, and reaching the end of their life is not usually a failure of satisfactory quality. The dividing line tends to be whether the part failed earlier than a reasonable person would expect for a car of that age and mileage, and whether the condition was obvious or described at the point of sale.

What are the first thirty days?

Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.22 gives a short-term right to reject that lasts 30 days from delivery. Inside that window, where goods are not of satisfactory quality, the law allows the buyer to reject the car rather than accept a repair. The clock runs from delivery, which is one reason the date on the invoice matters. Our guide on returning a used car to a dealer covers how that window works alongside the other routes.

What happens after thirty days but still inside six months?

After the short-term right to reject has passed, the usual route is a repair or a replacement, and the six-month presumption still helps the buyer on the question of whether the fault was there at delivery. The dealer gets the chance to put the car right. That is the ordinary shape of it: repair first, with rejection sitting behind it if repair does not resolve things.

What if the repair does not fix it?

Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.24(10)(b) provides that after one failed repair or replacement the consumer may reject, and a deduction for use may apply after the first six months. So a single unsuccessful attempt is enough to open the door to rejection — the law does not require a buyer to sit through an open-ended series of attempts. Inside the first six months, a deduction for use does not apply in the same way.

Who has to prove what?

Inside six months, the dealer carries the burden on timing, and the buyer still has to show there is a fault. Evidence helps either way: the invoice with its delivery date, dated photographs or a video of the symptom, a garage's written diagnosis, and the mileage when it started. Anyone can check a vehicle's MOT history free on GOV.UK with the registration number — each test's result, the advisories and failures, and the mileage recorded — and advisories sometimes show how long something has been developing.

Does a warranty change any of this?

No — a warranty sits on top of these rights rather than replacing them. Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.31 says a trader cannot exclude or restrict liability for the goods being of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. A warranty is an extra contractual promise about particular parts, and it is usually the quicker route for a straightforward mechanical failure, because it does not require anyone to argue about what was true at delivery.

Every ONECARS car comes with a free three-month warranty on the engine and gearbox, up to 2,500 miles, with repairs done by ONEFIX on the same site; longer paid cover is available. What our warranty covers sets out the detail.

Does "sold as seen" remove these rights?

No. Under s.31, "sold as seen" does not remove the rights to satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose and correct description from a consumer buying from a dealer. A form of words on an invoice cannot switch off a statutory right. Faults that were pointed out and agreed before the sale are a different matter — a buyer cannot later complain about a condition that was part of the description they bought.

What if the car was delivered rather than collected?

A delivered car usually adds a separate cancellation right that has nothing to do with faults. The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regs 29–35, give a distance or off-premises contract a 14-day cancellation right. A car bought from ONECARS online and delivered is a distance sale: the buyer has fourteen days from delivery to change their mind and return it. That right exists whether or not anything is wrong with the car.

Who decides if the dealer and the buyer disagree?

An independent scheme does, and which one depends on what the complaint is about. The Motor Ombudsman handles disputes about a vehicle sale; the Financial Ombudsman Service handles complaints about credit. They are separate schemes. This page cannot tell you how any particular case would turn out — that depends on the car, the fault and the evidence.

What a sensible first step usually looks like

In practice most of this is settled by a phone call rather than a statute.

• Write down the symptom, the date it started and the mileage
• Keep the invoice, which fixes the delivery date
• Tell the selling dealer early, in writing as well as by phone, and keep the thread
• Let the dealer inspect the car — the repair route generally expects that
• Keep any independent diagnosis you pay for

How ONECARS tries to keep it from getting this far

Every ONECARS car is checked on 34 points by ONEFIX, our own workshop on the same site at Plas Acton, Wrexham, and the list is published at how we check our cars. A car with work outstanding from its check is not handed over to its buyer until ONEFIX has put it right — that rule lives in our system rather than in a sales promise. Every car page carries the car's photographs, its full spec and its MOT history from the DVSA, test by test, so there is a record to read before anyone commits.

The useful part afterwards is the geography: once a car is sold, ONEFIX next door services, repairs and MOTs it. If something does need attention, it goes to the same workshop that prepared the car, on the same site where you bought it. We have 5-star reviews on Trustpilot and Google, and the office number is 01978 356983.

We are at Plas Acton Garage, 282 Chester Road, Wrexham LL12 8DU, with a second forecourt at Ruyton near Shrewsbury, open Monday to Friday 9 to 5 and Saturday 10 to 4 for viewings by appointment. Have a look at our used cars or get in touch. Worth reading next: questions to ask when buying a used car and what to check when you view a used car.