Not upheld: satisfactory quality of goods supplied under finance agreement complaint against CA Auto Finance UK Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K purchased a used car (nearly five years old with 42,604 miles) under a finance agreement with CA Auto Finance in January 2024 for £13,880. The car developed an oil pump fault in April 2024 which was repaired at no cost to Mr K. The car passed an MOT in January 2025 but developed further engine issues in March 2025 requiring a new engine. Mr K complained that the car was not of satisfactory quality at supply. The ombudsman rejected the complaint, finding that the March 2025 engine issues occurred too long after supply (14+ months) and after the car had been driven over 15,000 miles following repairs and a passing MOT, with no definitive evidence linking these issues to a fault present at the point of supply.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the legal standard that a car must be of satisfactory quality at the point of supply, taking into account age, mileage, and price. The key reasoning was that the March 2025 engine issues occurred more than 14 months after supply and after the car had been driven over 15,000 miles following the April 2024 repairs. The car passed an MOT in January 2025 with no advisories. The manufacturer's dealer could not definitively attribute the March 2025 engine failure to a fault present at supply. The ombudsman concluded that if such severe engine issues had been present or developing at supply, the car could not have been used for 14 months and 15,000+ miles. Therefore, Mr K failed to demonstrate that the current faults were present or developing at the point of supply.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website