Warranty for used vehicle in commercial purchase
December 7, 2012 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
Dear Sir or Madam,
I purchased a used Peugeot Boxer from a used car dealer for my company (for customer visits and procurement of goods) about 2-3 weeks ago. As far as I know, one usually has a warranty in which the seller can repair defects, do I have the same rights since I bought the vehicle commercially or for my company?
The vehicle had problems shifting gears and sometimes started a bit difficult, it also has already more than 130,000 km on the clock, which is not necessarily unusual for a diesel. For safety reasons, I brought the vehicle directly to Peugeot so they can diagnose the issues and report back to me about the defects present in the vehicle.
I have now received feedback from Peugeot that the following defects have been identified in the vehicle:
1. Battery needs to be replaced.
2. EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve needs to be renewed.
3. Glow plugs need to be replaced.
4. High-pressure fuel regulator needs to be replaced.
5. Software update needs to be carried out.
6. Cable pull or shift cables of the transmission need to be replaced.
The total costs would amount to approximately 1400 euros, which of the above points should the dealer repair and for which would I be responsible if the warranty also applies to commercial end customers?
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry. I would like to answer it as follows:
This is obviously a question regarding warranty law.
Even if you are a commercial buyer, you generally have the same warranty rights as a consumer under the law.
However, a different situation would apply if the warranty is effectively excluded in the purchase contract. Please review the purchase contract in this regard.
If you find an effective warranty exclusion in the contract, unfortunately, you would not be able to assert any warranty rights.
In that case, you could only challenge the entire purchase contract for fraudulent misrepresentation under § 123 of the German Civil Code, if you can prove that the dealer/seller fraudulently concealed the defects from you.
You also asked if the individual points represent defects in a legal sense.
You mentioned the following points:
1. Battery needs to be replaced.
2. EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve needs to be renewed.
3. Glow plugs need to be replaced.
4. High-pressure fuel regulator needs to be replaced.
5. Software update needs to be performed.
6. Cable pull or shift cables of the transmission need to be replaced.
In my opinion, all points except for the software update are defects. The update is only considered a defect if the vehicle is otherwise inoperable.
I hope I have provided you with some initial legal guidance and wish you much success and all the best!
I would like to point out the following:
The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the information you have provided. My response is only a first legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive review of the facts. Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal evaluation.
I hope my explanations have helped you. Please feel free to reach out to me with any further questions.
Have a pleasant Friday afternoon!
