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If you buy a vehicle from a dealer, you’re covered by the Sale of Goods Act 1979. This means it must be:

• Of satisfactory quality, bearing in mind its age, what it cost and how it was described to you. It should be free from serious defects, other than those you were made aware of
• As described. If the dealer says it's a 2-litre, and it's actually a 1.6-litre, you can reject the car and seek a refund or replacement
• Fit for any reasonable purpose. The car should do all that you reasonably expect of it, including any specifics you state to the dealer. If you need a car for towing and the dealer says a 1-litre supermini will be fine, you can reject the car if it struggles

However, if you pay for the car to be inspected, the dealer is not responsible for any faults the inspection should have found and you should always get a statement on the car's condition from the dealer.

If your car is faulty, you have six months from the date of purchase in which you can reject it. You can demand repair or a replacement, unless it would cause 'disproportionate' or 'significant inconvenience' to the seller.

Examples of this would be if a repair would be as effective as a replacement, or if a price reduction would be more appropriate for minor defects.

Dealers must now prove the vehicle was of satisfactory quality when it was sold. This means you no longer need to seek an independent car inspection.

However, if you believe your car is faulty, you must stop using the car immediately, and contact the dealer directly. You need to follow this up in writing, providing evidence of the problems.

If you've bought the vehicle from a franchised car dealer, you can speak to the manufacturer direct. They don't want to get a bad name because a dealer hasn't provided the expected level of service.

What about a private sale?

You have far less legal comeback when buying a car privately. The only obligation for sellers is to describe the car truthfully - but even if they don't, getting compensation from them can be difficult, time-consuming and costly.

However, you can still expect a car to be:

• Capable of passing an MOT, unless the seller specifies it isn't
• Owned by the person who is selling it - because if you later find out it's been stolen, you have no legal right to keep it

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