Brought a used car

A question about : Brought a used car

Hi,

My friend has brought a used car today and given a deposit at a garage.

The reason she brought it was for congestion charge exemption however coming home and checking online turns out the car is 2 months to early to be exempt. Making it a Euro4 which doesn't meet standards.

She made them aware this was what she needed but they didn't comment.

On her reciept it says non refundable however the car is useless to her and not going to save any money. I feel a bit responsible as I told her to look and put the idea in her head.

She got on with the guy and technically would buy another one from him if he had one that was correct.

Does he have to give her the money back? Is there any laws she can use??

Best answers:

• No - the deposit is a confirmation of her agreement to purchase. If she chooses not to, then she forfeits the money paid, unless the dealer is prepared to waive this. Since the Deposit slip states no refunds, she cannot hope to treat this as an unfair condition.
  Did they explicitly state the car WAS CC exempt? If they did, they have a problem, but if your friend bought it mistakenly believing the benefit was applicable to the vehicle, it was her error, not the dealership.
• BOUGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  (pet hate)
• If they 'neither agreed or disagreed' why on earth did she proceed? Clearly she needed an affirmative answer, yet without this she still went and confirmed her intention to purchase, not by saying she'd check if they weren't going to tell her, but by paying a deposit.
  Your definition of a 'dealer' and a 'used car garage' is a case in point - anyone who sells cars by way of trade IS a dealer. The fact the vehicles may not be new is immaterial. The dealer will deny they confirmed the car was CC exempt - and as you admit, they did not.
  If it was that important, the buyer, always needs to confirm this to ensure there is no mistake. This applies to ALL options for the vehicle, not just whether CC charging is exempt. The dealer is in no position to confirm or deny either way, assuming they expressed an opinion - TFL could change the goalposts on a whim and it is (or isn't) IFYSIM.
  Caveat emptor reigns, but as they did not mislead, it may be better to walk away or use the deposit for a vehicle that does meet the requires standards.
• I brought along a new car to be bought
• 'Caveat Emptor' applies here - do you homework before putting down a deposit, not afterwards.
• Where did they bring it from..?