Returning a warranty vehicle to the dealer / Returning vehicles

Procedure for returning a car to the seller

To do this, you, of course, need to terminate the contract for the purchase and sale of a car (hereinafter referred to as the product). The grounds for termination may be significant violations of quality requirements, violation of the terms of the contract regarding the transfer of documents for the car, etc.

This can be done both extrajudicially and in court, on the grounds provided for by the contract or legislative acts. The procedure itself includes the following points:

Send a written, reasoned claim to the seller to terminate the contract. As a general rule, contractual relations terminate from the moment the claim is received (clause 1 of Article 450.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Such a claim must necessarily contain: arguments for which you decided to refuse the contract, references to the law or relevant clauses of the contract, details of the contract; in the petition part it is important to indicate your intention and ask to return everything transferred under the contract, the period of such transfer.

Since the above claim is a legally significant document, it must be sent in such a way that the direction can be proven - by registered mail with a list of attachments, by telegram, delivered in person, using a courier service.

Recipient's address is the address specified in the contract or an extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities/Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs, which can be obtained on the official website of the tax service.

If the seller refuses to answer you, or is inactive, that is, does not respond at all, the dispute will have to be resolved through court.

How to return a car to the dealership within 14 days

According to the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, the car can be returned to the seller within two weeks if the following conditions are met:

a defect or malfunction has been detected in the car, about which the buyer was not warned in advance. For example, there is no sound insulation as described by the seller, or the windshield wipers have refused to work;
the vehicle has retained its presentation. All stickers, labels and other information from the seller or manufacturer, located in the interior, on the body and windows, remained in place;
There are no signs of use on the car. Naturally, it was already driven within a few days. However, in order to return the purchased vehicle, it must not have scratches, chips, dents, stains on the upholstery, etc.

Returning a car purchased on credit

Like almost any product, a car purchased on credit can be returned to the seller if deficiencies are identified during its operation, but not within fourteen days, but fifteen (clause 1 of Article 18 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights). However, the shortcomings identified during this period may be insignificant.

In addition to the return, you have the right to exchange the car, with an additional payment on your part if it is more expensive, and on the part of the seller if its value is lower.

If the above period has passed, then you can return the car if significant deficiencies are identified, for example:

The car was under repair for a month or more over the course of a year (certainly not as a result of an accident). In this case, this period is summed up.
Repeated occurrence of the same fault.
The vehicle's passport parameters do not correspond to those stated - for example, fuel consumption significantly exceeds that stated in the documents.
Troubleshooting will take significant time or money.
And so on.

In the cases stated above, the car can be returned to the seller under warranty.

Return procedure:

A claim outlining your position and the corresponding requirement. The seller has 10 days from the date of receipt for her satisfaction.

If the claim is refused, ignored or the deadline is violated, go to court with a corresponding application.

Important : during the consideration of the claim, the seller has the right to conduct an examination, which must be paid for by him, you have the right to be present at it, and the seller himself is obliged to notify you of the place and time of its conduct in advance!

Terms and conditions for returning the car

Articles 18, 19 of Law No. 2300-1 establish the following deadlines for the buyer to apply in connection with the return of the car:

to return a car with defects - 15 days from the date of purchase;
to return a car with significant defects - 2 years;
if a significant defect associated with a manufacturing defect is identified - during the established service life of the product or within 10 years from the date of delivery of the machine to the consumer.

It is important to know: the buyer’s monetary requirements must be satisfied within 10 days from the date of application (Article 22).

What is a significant disadvantage

The definition of a significant deficiency is contained in Federal Law No. 2300-1 and in Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation No. 17. This is considered a deficiency:

irreparable (for example, a violation of the geometry of the body, which cannot be restored by repair at a service station).
entailing disproportionate repair costs;
cannot be repaired within a month and a half (according to the law, the maximum period a car can be in repair is 45 days);
appearing again after repair.

Claim to return the car to the seller

If the shortcomings are not specified in the agreement between the buyer and the seller, then from the moment of receiving the car, the client has the right to return the car on all legal grounds. You can receive cash or a car of a similar model, but without defects. Another option is to exchange goods of inadequate quality, i.e. exchange of a car for another with possible recalculation. But the defect may be very small, and then the application to return the car may not be satisfied.

If more time has passed, then you can return the car to the dealership only if certain conditions are met:

violation of deadlines for eliminating defects
repeated elimination of deficiencies
detection of a significant malfunction that cannot be repaired even in a service workshop

If you have taken your car in for repair several times already, you can return the car to the seller legally and resolve the dispute with the car dealership. Repeatedly occurring faults that can only be repaired for a disproportionate amount are already a reason to contact the salon and issue a return. There should be no obstacles to performing such actions.

USEFUL : watch a video with advice from a lawyer on filing a claim

Returning a car due to exceeding the repair period

Art. 18 of Law No. 2300-1 (clause 1) establishes the consumer’s right to return the car to the dealership if the repair of a car under warranty continues for more than 30 days in a calendar year.

The requirement to terminate the contract is absolutely legal, regardless of the cause and complexity of the breakdown. This reason (impossibility of operation due to constant repair) is also valid in the case where the malfunction could not be eliminated within 45 days.

Although the rights of a car owner are clearly stated in the law, in practice disagreements constantly arise regarding the right to return within 14 days, in assessing the significance of the defect and on other nuances. Considering the cost of the car, in such a confrontation it is advisable to enlist the support of experienced lawyers.

Claim for car return

As we mentioned earlier, first of all you need to send a pre-trial claim to the seller. As a rule, the buyer is an individual, so if you are dissatisfied, you should contact the district court, and today the claim can be filed at the buyer’s location.

NOTE : no state fee is paid when filing an application for consumer protection.

The statement of claim must indicate:

Details of the seller, buyer;
Data about the agreement – date, time, place of its conclusion;
The essence of the dispute, the nature of the violation (identified malfunctions), relevant evidence;
The pleading part is to terminate the contract and eliminate violations of rights by returning money or exchanging (this is at your discretion or in accordance with the purchase and sale agreement);

In addition, you have the right to ask for a penalty and a fine in accordance with the law on the protection of consumer rights, as well as reimbursement of legal costs (if any).

The main reasons for returning a car to the dealership

Cars, just like other types of goods, can be returned to the seller if the declared characteristics do not correspond to the actual parameters of the car. According to the Federal Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights,” the buyer can terminate the purchase and sale transaction and return his money back if such conditions are met.

Returning the car to the dealership is possible due to the discovery of any defect within 15 days from the date of conclusion of the purchase and sale transaction and transfer of the goods to the buyer. The defect may not affect the operation of the car itself, up to a small scratch on the body.
If, after 15 days, serious defects or defective parts of the car are discovered. Returns are possible if defects were discovered during the warranty period or expiration date. If a warranty period was not specified during the transaction, then the maximum permissible period is taken for calculation, but not more than two years from the date of transfer of the car to the buyer.
When deadlines for eliminating vehicle defects are deliberately violated. Free repairs are carried out according to the warranty or warranty period.
If an existing defect or improper equipment of the car does not allow you to constantly use the car for more than 30 days a year. The impossibility of operation in this case arises due to constant breakdowns and repairs. A return for this reason is possible if the customer applied during the warranty period or expiration date.

Sample statement of claim for termination of a car purchase and sale agreement

In the Verkh-Isetsky District Court of Ekaterinburg, Ekaterinburg, st. Malysheva, 2 B

Plaintiff:

Respondent:

Limited Liability Company

Statement of claim

on the collection of funds under a car purchase and sale agreement

Between me and the LLC, a purchase and sale agreement No. 82/14 was concluded for a FORD Ford FOCUS car worth 480,000 rubles. Cash in the amount of 480,000 rubles as payment for the car was transferred to the seller at the time of conclusion of the specified agreement.

After purchasing the car, during the diagnostics, significant defects were identified:

The automatic transmission housing is broken (needs replacement),
steering rack replacement, broken housing, oil leak,
replacement of all SDC anthers,
replacing front brake discs,
replacing the engine block,
replacement of attachment belts,
the headlights are screwed on with self-tapping screws,
replacement of spark plugs with cleaning of fuel injectors, throttle valve,
malfunction of the electrical cooling fan control circuit,
malfunction of the output amplifier stage or the fan electrical circuit,
malfunction of the alternator load input circuit,
break or short circuit of the electrical monitoring circuit,
IMRC output signal is incorrect.

When concluding the purchase and sale agreement, the seller did not inform me about the listed defects of the vehicle. With these deficiencies, it is impossible to safely drive the specified vehicle. Due to the identified deficiencies of the car, the repair of which is technically complex and time-consuming, I sent a claim to the defendant asking for a refund.

In accordance with Part 1 of Article 1005 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, under an agency agreement, one party (agent) undertakes, for a fee, to perform legal and other actions on behalf of the other party (principal) on its own behalf, but at the expense of the principal, or on behalf and at the expense of the principal. Under a transaction made by an agent with a third party on his own behalf and at the expense of the principal, the agent acquires rights and becomes obligated, even if the principal was named in the transaction or entered into direct relations with the third party for the execution of the transaction. Having analyzed the agency agreement, we can come to the conclusion that, in fact, a relationship has developed between the parties under a commission agreement.

By virtue of clause 1, 3 tbsp. 990 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, under a commission agreement, one party (the commission agent) undertakes, on behalf of the other party (the principal), for a fee, to carry out one or more transactions on its own behalf, but at the expense of the principal. Under a transaction made by a commission agent with a third party, the commission agent acquires rights and becomes obligated, even if the principal was named in the transaction or entered into direct relations with the third party for the execution of the transaction. The law and other legal acts may provide for the specifics of certain types of commission agreements.

The buyer has the right to refuse to fulfill the sales contract and demand a refund of the amount paid for the goods. In this case, the buyer, at the request of the commission agent and at the expense of the commission agent, must return the goods with defects.

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In accordance with Article 450 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, amendment and termination of the contract are possible by agreement of the parties. At the request of one of the parties, the contract can be changed or terminated by a court decision only: 1) in the event of a significant violation of the contract by the other party; 2) in other cases provided for by this Code, other laws or agreement. A violation of the contract by one of the parties is considered significant, which entails such damage for the other party that it is significantly deprived of what it had the right to count on when concluding the contract.

In the event of a unilateral refusal to fulfill the contract in whole or in part, when such refusal is permitted by law or by agreement of the parties, the contract is considered respectively terminated or modified.

Also, Article 18 of Law N 2300-1 “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” establishes that after the expiration of the 15-day period, the requirements specified in the article must be satisfied in one of the following cases:

detection of a significant defect in the product;
violation of the deadlines established by this Law for eliminating product defects;
the impossibility of using the product during each year of the warranty period in total for more than thirty days due to repeated elimination of its various deficiencies.

I also believe that I suffered moral harm. I estimate moral damage at 100,000 rubles.

I believe that in my favor a fine must also be collected from the defendant due to his failure to voluntarily comply with the consumer’s requirements.

Since the defects of the car are significant and arose before the car was handed over to me, therefore, I consider it possible to refuse to fulfill the sales contract and demand a refund of the amount paid for the goods.

Based on the aforesaid and guided by Article. Art. 450, 431, 990, 1005 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Article 18 of the Law of the Russian Federation of February 7, 1992 N 2300-1 “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, paragraph 29 of the Rules for Commission Trade in Non-Food Products

ASK:

terminate the purchase and sale agreement dated June 27, 2014, concluded between me and LLC No. 82/14 of the FORD Ford FOCUS car worth 480,000 rubles;
to recover from the Defendants in my favor the amount paid for the car in the amount of 480,000 rubles jointly and severally.
to recover from the Defendants in my favor compensation for moral damage in the amount of 100,000 rubles jointly and severally.
to recover proportionately from the Defendants in my favor legal costs in the amount of 4,000 rubles.
recover from the Defendants in my favor a fine in the amount of 50% of the amount of the stated claims.

Date, signature

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Judicial practice of returning a car to a dealer

Judicial practice clearly demonstrates that returning a car to the showroom can be extremely difficult, and only resilient and patient consumers can cope with this task. The fact is that the return of the car, as a rule, occurs due to defects or some kind of defect. Each car dealership has a whole staff of lawyers who will insist that the car was sold in perfect condition, and the occurrence of defects is a consequence of improper operation of the vehicle.

In addition, you should also not forget that the condition of the car is assessed only by experts. And their final verdict is a significant help for the seller.

For example, let's say you purchased a car. Initially, you didn’t have any complaints about the quality of the car. After using the car for a year, you began to notice that you have increased oil consumption. By contacting the salon, you change the engine piston system, but after a short period of time the problem returns.

Such a malfunction falls into the categories of the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” as “repeated manifestation of defects.” Therefore, guided by current legislation, you have the right to contact the salon with claims. But the dealer will dispute your claims. An independent examination will determine that the fault lies equally between the seller (the product was initially defective) and the consumer (improper use of the machine and insufficient care). And as a solution, you will be offered to repair the engine and replace the blocks.

Return of the car under the purchase and sale agreement. Read how to get your money back for buying a car here.

Find out how to return a car within 14 days from the article: https://1avtourist.ru/avtomobil-i-zashhita-prav-potrebitelej/vozvrat-avto-vchenii-14-dnej.html

Of course, the benefits of this solution are visible to the naked eye. It’s much easier for a dealer to spend money on repairs than to get a car back, especially one that has already been in use for a year. And the financial losses are incomparable. Still, the cost of repairs is much less than the cost of the car itself.

And yet, you should try to understand what the car dealership’s lawyers can present in response to a demand for the return of the car and money. Oddly enough, they can prove quite a few facts that will ultimately work against you.

Evidence that all warranty repair services were completed promptly and on time.
Carrying out an examination that will clearly demonstrate that the damage was caused as a result of intensive use of the car (high mileage), poor-quality road surface, or as a result of the use of low-quality fuel and oil. As a result, the buyer is to blame, and therefore the car dealership refuses to fulfill his claims.
Proof that the circumstances of the breakdown were incorrectly recorded, or that the data on the manifestation of defects differs from the information available to the workshop.
Proof that even after the malfunction was detected, the car continued to move. For example, instead of calling a tow truck, the owner of the car brought it to the workshop himself.

There can be a huge amount of such evidence, and all of them are aimed at whitening the reputation of the dealer, making the buyer completely guilty of improper operation of the car, as a result of which it received defects. As a result, the salon, on absolutely legal grounds, refuses to return the buyer’s money and return the car back to the seller.