The weather changes constantly in the UK, and with the seasons turning, it’s wise to check a few extra features on vehicles before you sell them.
There are clear seasonal patterns when it comes to selling vehicles to consumers. In summer we see more claims for broken sunroofs, air con faults and folding roof problems, whereas in winter we see more complaints about heated windscreens, defrost functions and batteries.
Pre-delivery inspections will cover the more crucial elements to check on a vehicle but when a customer says ‘the air con doesn’t work’ in the summer, and they purchased the vehicle in the winter, it can sometimes be difficult to prove that it did in fact work.
Of course, this depends on the burden of proof and when the issue was raised, but we often see claims about functions that weren’t widely used in certain seasons.
If any of these issues were raised within 6 months, and a remedy was requested, the trader has the burden of proof to prove that it did function as expected at the time of purchase.
As we head into the colder months, consider checking additional functions, such as heaters, heated windscreens and fans, to make sure they’re fault-free. Consumers may not be using these functions yet, but once winter hits, you can guarantee they’ll want those heaters to work!
If you’re updating your paperwork, our pre-delivery inspection checklists are available in the Lawgistics stationery range.
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