Can I reject my car because a dealer can't fix some electrical glitches?
In Oct 2024 I replaced my Mercedes GLA with a six-month-old DS 4, purchased from a franchised dealer 200 miles away. I immediately reported that the 'traffic sign recognition' system did not work correctly; the service department at my local dealer admitted this was a known problem. Since then, a number of features have failed: auto stop-start, welcome function, auto main beam, radio and so on. Three visits to the dealer haven't produced a solution. Are you aware of this problem? Does this so-called premium brand simply not live up to the claims made?
– PT
Dear PT,
As we often discuss in our reviews of these cars, the premium 'gloss' applied to DS cars is relatively superficial. The difference between DS models and the Peugeots they are based on is smaller than the gap between, say, an Audi and a Volkswagen – particularly when it comes to what lies beneath the surface.
Your course of action depends on whether you still like the car enough to want to keep it.
If the answer is 'no', you have grounds to reject the car on the basis that the problem cropped up within the first 30 days of your purchase and that an attempted repair did not fix the vehicle.
Send a letter or email to the selling dealer informing them you do not wish to keep the car and you intend to exercise your right to reject it under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, explaining your reasons. (Note that the dealer is obliged to collect the car from you in this case – don't let them tell you otherwise).
If, however, you'd like to keep the car, write to your local dealer politely expressing your displeasure with the situation to date and suggesting that the dealer keeps the car for a number of days, only returning it when they have carried out extensive testing to ensure the problems are fixed.
Ask that they provide you with a courtesy car, given that yours is still under warranty, and make it clear that you still consider rejection of the car to be an option if it is not repaired (copy the selling dealer in on this correspondence, so that they are aware of the situation).
If you have no joy, escalate your complaint to DS's central Customer Service team, who may then be able to liaise between the two dealers, which might ensure some more meaningful repair work is undertaken.
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