Is a used car warranty the same as your legal rights?

A warranty and your legal rights sit side by side when you buy a used car from a dealer. They come from different places, they last for different lengths of time, and they cover different things. Knowing which is which matters a great deal when something goes wrong six weeks after you drive away.

What is a used car warranty?

A warranty is repair cover that a dealer or an insurer chooses to give you, written as a contract. It has a start date, a term, a mileage limit, a list of parts it covers and a list of exclusions. Because it is a contract rather than a law, no two warranties are the same — one forecourt's cover can be far wider or far narrower than another's.

Every car at ONECARS comes with a free three-month warranty on the engine and gearbox, up to 2,500 miles, and the repairs are done by ONEFIX, our own workshop on the same site at Plas Acton, Chester Road, Wrexham. Longer paid cover is available on top of that.

What are your legal rights when you buy from a dealer?

Legal rights come from the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and they apply automatically, whether or not a warranty exists. Section 9 says goods must be of satisfactory quality. For a used car, "satisfactory" is judged against its age, its mileage and what was paid for it — a 2010 hatchback is not held to the standard of a new car, but it still has to be what a reasonable person would expect of a 2010 hatchback.

Can a warranty cancel out your legal rights?

No. Section 31 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says a trader cannot exclude or restrict liability for goods being of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. That is the same section behind the rule that "sold as seen" does not remove those rights from a consumer buying from a dealer — covered in full on Can a dealer sell a car "sold as seen"?. A warranty can only add to what the law already gives. It cannot take anything away.

What are the timeframes in the law?

The law and a warranty run on separate clocks. The statutory ones are:

• 30 days. Section 22 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets the short-term right to reject at 30 days from delivery.
• Six months. Under section 19(14), a fault found in the first six months is presumed to have been present at delivery unless the trader proves otherwise. There is more on that on Used car fault in the first six months.
• After a failed repair. Section 24(10)(b) allows rejection after one failed repair or replacement, and a deduction for use may apply after the first six months.
• 14 days on a distance sale. Regulations 29 to 35 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 carry a 14-day cancellation right on a distance or off-premises contract. A car bought from ONECARS online and delivered is a distance sale, so there are fourteen days from delivery to change your mind and return it — see Can I return a car I bought online?.

A warranty's own clock is whatever its document says, and it runs independently of all of those.

Does a warranty cover the same things as the law?

Usually not. A warranty names components — engine, gearbox, and so on — and pays for repairs to them inside its term and mileage limit. The Consumer Rights Act is about the condition of the whole car at the point it was handed over, not a parts list. So one can apply where the other does not, and sometimes both apply to the same fault at once.

What is worth reading in a warranty document?

The useful detail is usually in the exclusions rather than the headline. A short checklist:

• which parts are named, and which assemblies they sit in
• what is excluded — wear items, consumables, anything described as a service item
• the mileage limit as well as the term, because the first one reached ends the cover
• who carries out the repair, and where it has to be done
• whether servicing conditions have to be met to keep the cover alive
• what happens to the cover if the car is sold on

What does ONECARS do before any of this comes up?

The warranty that matters least is the one you never have to use, so the work goes in first. Every ONECARS car is checked on 34 points by ONEFIX, our own workshop on the same site, 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 sits in the ONECARS system rather than in a salesperson's promise.

Every car page carries the car's photographs, its full spec and its MOT history from the DVSA, test by test, with the mileage recorded at each test — so the same record we work from is on the page before you come out to see it. There is no admin fee: the price shown is the price paid. A reservation holds a car for fourteen days, the fee comes off the price if you go ahead, and it is refunded in full if you cancel inside those fourteen days for any reason. After the sale, ONEFIX next door services, repairs and MOTs the car.

A fair example of a page to read that way: the 2010 Volkswagen Polo 1.2 S at £2,995.

Where does a dispute about a car sale go?

The Motor Ombudsman handles disputes about a vehicle sale, and complaints about credit go to the Financial Ombudsman Service. They are two separate schemes.

Where next?

Can you return a used car to the dealer? sets out the returns picture in one place. What does a dealer check before selling a car? explains what a pre-sale check is for. What our warranty covers is the ONECARS document itself, and the cars on the forecourt are at Plas Acton, Chester Road, Wrexham LL12 8DU, Monday to Friday 9 to 5 and Saturday 10 to 4 by appointment — get in touch to book one.