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Thank you for the detailed reply Phil!  My point in posting was really to point out that a warranty runs from date of registration, not from date of first purchase, which can be a difference of several months as in our case.  No thread hijacking was intended. I will bear your comments in mind.

We willl know more by next week. Van goes in to our present dealer this weekend for investigation. After the warranty work was done, by a major Swift dealer from whom we bought the van originally and who gave us no end of trouble just getting them to do the work in the first place (!), we swapped our servicing to a more local swift dealer, partly because of the trouble with the previous one and partly to save ourselves a three hour round trip and two half days off work every time we had to go there.  Just to complicate things further!   Watch this space!

If you buy your car or caravan, or anything else for that matter, from a person in business then your rights remain the same whether it is new or second hand. Your rights under SOGA (it must be fit for purpose for e.g) or the Supply of Goods and Services Act apply if you are buying as a consumer and so you have to buy from someone in business.  Buying a car privately and these consumer laws offer no protection.

My own view is that if you are buying from someone who offers only a three month warranty then go elsewhere. If they can only assure you that the car is good for three months that, in my view, sets out their standards under consumer rights!

All too often sellers push disgruntled consumers to the warranty route for resolving disputes and which is fine when the warranty is still alive. Who cares who sorts out a problem so long as it is not us? However, when you are pushed into doing nothing because they con you into thinking that that is the only option you have but the warranty has expired, what we find is that all too often consumers go down the warranty cul de sac without thinking about their statutory rights. Would you play football without knowing the rules? No! So why do we do it when we spend our hard earned cash?

In your question Vicar you are mixing up your warranty position with your statutory position. These are two different scenarios governed by different rules. As consumers we have to get our heads around the concept of having two contracts for the one item. Look on buying as a Triathlon - its one race but different rules apply to each of the three disciplines. You can't complain about a breach of the swimming rules by quoting the cycling rules can you?

You need to recognise that within these laws (as with any) there are nuances and so each case or set of circumstances have to be viewed upon their merits.

So, if a dealer offers to sell you a clapped out van which is not roadworthy you could not use your SOGA rights to allege that he failed to sell you a van fit for purpose. It's your fault if you drive it on the road. An exaggerated example, but I hope you see where I coming from.  Being fit for purpose/of merchantable quality etc are standards that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances. So, price, description etc can affect the kind of resolution you get to a problem. Complaining about your clapped out unroadworthy car will give you a different result than a complaint about a brand new Disco being unroadworthy.

Then, there is "acceptance" of the goods. Once accepted, warts and all, you have a problem rejecting them under the law. So, the sooner you reject them once a defect is found the better. For example, your van has damp and you say to the dealer "The van you sold me has damp but I will carry on using it this year and bring it back in December for a refund." That is accepting the van and at best you get a repair  at worst the dealer could possibly refuse to deal with you.

Phil

Just to complicate things further! Watch this space!

Never straightforward is it?

Phil

Does anybody know what sort of warranty we should expect after the work is completed?

You must ask the dealer "to what extent are you prepared to warrat the repairs?" My guess is that they will say that Bailey warrant the owrks for the duration of your present warranty term. Get that in writing.

Apart from that there is the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1981 and which implies into your contract for the supply of goods (e.g. any new parts/materials fitted to your van) or services (e.g the actual work on the van) certain conditions.  The early sections of this Act replicate the provisions in the Sale of Goods Act in relation to the fact that the goods (or parts) must be of satisfactory quality etc. As regards the contract for services it is implied that the repairer will use reasonable skill and care in undertaking those works. A “contract” includes any agreement for the supply of services even if there is no money paid for those services, as is the case when you have work done under warranty.

So, under your warranty, time may be fixed to the original period of the warranty, but time starts to run again in respect of your statutory rights (under the 1981 Act)for services and goods supplied under that contract for the work being done. In this case, where the repairs are defective then your statutory rights for compensation, or a new repair, are against the person doing the work, if that person is doing it in the course of its business. So, if there is a defective repair or goods/materials that may give you a cause of action against the Dealer who did the work. The time period for bringing such an action is six years from the date the repairs are undertaken.

If something does go wrong with the work you will have to proove that they did not use reasonable skill or care in undertaking those works, or that the goods/materials were defective at the time that the work was undertaken. That may be the tricky bit!

So, if, say, the warranty expires in two years and then you find that the work they have done just falls apart one year later you may have a claim against the dealer who did the work under the 1981 Act.

Just a little note to cut and paste and store on your computer if you ever need it.....and let's hope not

Phil

Greetings All,

I would like to say that, as a result of this thread  there is now a very large notice in our diary marked 7th June 2013.

Thanks again must go to Phil for his comprehensive yet concise explanation of the law relating to this matter, Well Done!