After You Buy: Our Aftercare Process and What to Do If Something Goes Wrong

First: tell us early, and put it in writing

Ring us as soon as something is not right, then follow it up with an email so there is a dated record of what you reported and when. Note the date, the mileage and exactly what the car is doing — when it happens, at what speed, hot or cold, and any warning lights.

Do not keep driving a car that has a red warning light or is making a serious noise. It usually turns a small repair into a large one, and it can weaken your position if the damage was made worse after you knew about it.

What we do when you report a fault

We get the car in and diagnose it properly rather than guessing over the phone. If you live a long way from Rainham, we will usually agree a local garage instead so you are not driving a poorly car across the country.

Once we know what it is, we tell you what the fault is, what fixing it involves, who is paying and how long it will take. The one thing we ask is that you get our authorisation before any work starts — an unauthorised repair bill is the most common reason a claim ends up in dispute, with any dealer or warranty provider.

Warranty and your legal rights are two different things

A warranty is a product with terms, limits and exclusions — useful, but finite. Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 are law, they apply to every car sold by a trader, and no warranty, invoice wording or sale sign can reduce them.

In practice they overlap: many problems are dealt with quickly under the warranty, and the law is what sits behind you if a fault is more fundamental than that. Our warranties guide explains what a typical policy does and does not cover.

The first 30 days: the short-term right to reject

If a car turns out to be faulty — meaning it was not of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose or as described at the point of sale — you can reject it within 30 days of buying it and get a full refund. That is the strongest right you have, and the clock is short, which is exactly why reporting things early matters so much.

Satisfactory quality is judged against the car's age, mileage and price. A fifteen-year-old car with 130,000 miles is not held to the standard of a three-year-old one, and normal wear items are not faults.

From 30 days to six months

After 30 days and within six months, we get one opportunity to repair or replace. If that repair does not resolve the fault, you can keep the car with a price reduction or reject it for a refund, which may be adjusted to reflect the use you have had.

For that first six months the law assumes a fault was present at the point of sale unless the dealer can show otherwise — so the burden of proof is on us, not on you.

What is not a fault

Being straight about this saves everybody time. Fair wear and tear appropriate to the age and mileage is not a fault, and neither are serviceable items such as tyres, brake pads, wiper blades and bulbs unless they were defective at the point of sale.

Neither is anything we specifically pointed out to you before you bought the car, damage caused after handover, or a problem arising from misuse, neglect or modification. Our returns and refunds policy sets all of this out in full.

If you bought without visiting us

A distance purchase — ordered by phone or online with delivery — comes with an additional right that has nothing to do with faults: you can cancel within 14 days of the day after delivery, without giving a reason.

The car needs to go back in the condition it arrived in, you are responsible for the cost of returning it, and a refund can be reduced to reflect use, including mileage added. Tell us in writing within the 14 days and we will talk you through it.

Servicing, MOTs and the rest of the car's life

We have our own workshop, so if you would rather bring the car back to us when its next service or MOT is due, ring and ask — we will either book it in or point you towards someone we would use ourselves.

And when the time comes to change the car, we will buy it back or take it in part exchange. Plenty of our customers are on their third or fourth car with us, which is the only marketing that has ever really mattered in this trade.

Common questions

How long do I have to return a used car to a dealer?

If the car is faulty, you have 30 days from purchase to reject it for a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Separately, if you bought at a distance without seeing the car, you have 14 days from the day after delivery to cancel for any reason.

My car developed a fault a week after I bought it. What should I do?

Ring us straight away and follow up by email with the date, the mileage and what the car is doing. Stop driving it if there is a red warning light. We will get it diagnosed, tell you what the fault is and who is paying, and agree the repair with you before any work starts.

Do I have to bring the car back to Rainham for a warranty repair?

Not necessarily. If you are a long way from us we will usually agree a local garage. The important part is getting our authorisation before any work begins — unauthorised repairs are the most common reason a claim is refused, by any dealer or warranty provider.

Can I return a car just because I have changed my mind?

Only if you bought it at a distance, in which case you have 14 days from the day after delivery. A car bought after viewing it in person at the showroom does not come with a cooling-off period, which is one good reason to take your time on the test drive.

What does the warranty cover?

It depends on the policy supplied with the car, so ask us for the document and read the covered-components list before you buy. Whatever the warranty says, your Consumer Rights Act protections still apply on top and cannot be reduced by it.