Whitestone Approved Vehicles Terms, Conditions and Procedures
Some Items To Check Before Collecting Your Car
- Make sure that you have insured your vehicle in time for your collection date. If your vehicle purchase is through a finance company, you are legally required to have full and comprehensive insurance and you must hold a full UK licence.
- All retail vehicles will be sold with a new MOT if the vehicle does not have at least 10 months remaining. Where it is not offered with an MOT we can provide a delivery service at a competitive rate, but we cannot release a vehicle to be driven away without a valid MOT.
- You are responsible for vehicle road tax but we can help facilitate this for you
- Please allow time for us to help you familiarise yourself with the vehicle controls to ensure you can safely depart with your new purchase.
- Please make sure that your mirrors and seating position are correct so that you feel comfortable and safe within your new surroundings.
- If you are part exchanging a vehicle, it is your responsibility to send off the V5C yellow section; this declares your vehicle in to the trade and appeases your responsibility of the vehicle. You will also need to make sure you bring us the following documents:
1. 1.V5C-signed and dated by you the seller
2. The vehicles current MOT, notify us if it doesn't have one
3. Any service history, invoices and service book.
4. All keys for your vehicle.
5. Parcel shelf or head rests if they have been removed.
- All vehicles purchased through external finance lenders are subject to a £195.00 inc. vat administration charge.
- Your statutory rights are set out in the Consumer Act 2015. Information about your rights can be found on a number of websites including Which, the AA, and the RAC.
- For vehicles less than £1500.00 there is no guarantee available. These vehicles are explicitly sold as spares or repairs. It is your responsibility to have the vehicle removed from site via a trailer or transporter as not to put yourself or others at risk. We can offer a recovery service at cost to you. These vehicles are sold for parts only and thus will be sold as 'Spares or Repairs'.
Whitestone Approved Vehicles has to the best of their ability tried to make sure that your vehicle has been described with the relevant features and to the condition that reflects it's price within the market. The data displayed in the advert for the vehicle, details the usual specification of the most recent model of this vehicle. It may not be the exact data for the actual vehicle being offered for sale and data for older models may vary slightly. We recommend that you always check the details with a company representative prior to purchase. In the unlikely event that an item within the advert is either not featured or not working, it must be brought to our attention prior to the completion of the purchase. We therefore ask that you, as the customer, to check the vehicle's specification and ancillaries are congruent with that of the advert and that of the items you require to be working before you enter in to a contract of sale. If there are any defective ancillaries or missing items that do not fall under the standard warranty, these will not be replaced or repaired once the vehicle has left the site; nor will compensation be entertained.
Retail Vehicles
Retail Vehicles are all vehicles above £1500.00. Retail vehicles are vehicles that are not sold as spares or repairs. Retail Vehicles that are more than 12 years old and have covered more than 120,000 miles are not covered under our standard warranty. We do have warranty products that can be purchased to provide warranty cover. Even for Retail Vehicles that fall outside of our warranty terms, we inspect and prepare these to ensure they are of a 'satisfactory quality' and 'fit for purpose' at the point of sale to ensure the safety and satisfaction of our customers.
Spares or Repairs Vehicles
These are vehicles that have been taken in part exchange and that fall under the sales price of £1500.00. We exclusively sell these vehicle as spares or repairs regardless of their age or condition. We advise that the vehicle must be trailered away from site and the customer must have the vehicle inspected before driving it on the road. These vehicles may or may not have mechanical issues as they have not been inspected, so we deem them categorically as spares or repairs vehicles. There is no warranty on these vehicles or any comebacks relating to any mechanical issues once the vehicle has been returned to the road.
Warranty
Whitestone Approved Vehicles provides 3 months or 3 thousand mile (whichever comes first) warranty as standard for any vehicles with a value above £1500.00, under 12 years old and under 120,000 miles at the point of sale.
Your warranty covers mechanical break-downs and engine/gearbox part failures that render the vehicle to under-perform, break down or not to start.
Under Whitestone Approved Vehicle's standard 3 month warranty, your vehicle must be returned at your cost to ourselves or our approved local repairer. We will not cover costs at garages local to you, the customer.
Please ensure you have suitable breakdown and recovery cover in place.
Please see your warranty booklet for a comprehensive list of covered parts under your standard warranty guarantee.
If you feel the warranty offered is not to your preferences or needs, we have optional contracts with external warranty companies that allow more comprehensive cover for longer terms and for additional items not listed with in our terms and conditions. We offer very competitive rates and can supply the relevant information to help you make an informed decision. We highly recommend that a further warranty is taken as to help you with issues that fall outside of your general guarantee or if you reside a distance away and it makes it more convenient to patronize a more local repair specialist.
Your warranty does not cover wearable or perishable items, which includes but is not limited to the following items:
Clutch, break discs or pads, bushes and suspension components, filter blockages, any electrical items not linked to the running of the engine including CD players, electric windows, air conditioning systems, minor oil leaks, exhausts, replacement keys, immobiliser issues. In addition, any intermittent faults or serviceable items required by the manufacturer's guidelines inclusive of diesel particulate filters, timing belts etc. Please ask for a full list should you require it.
It does not cover business use inclusive of vehicles being used in sole trading or as a partner of business.
Identified general abuse or neglect and/or use for rallying or track days will void your warranty.
If your vehicle is suggesting a fault through its computer system or through its driving quality, it may not always be that the fault is serious enough to require repair as used vehicles can be expected to have minor issues. We will always request that the vehicle is brought directly to us or a garage we are currently in contract with for repair. Any initial inspection is covered by ourselves, however, if there is a fault that is deemed ordinary wear and tear or is derived from required mandatory maintenance, there may be a levy charged.
Whitestone Approved Vehicles will not cover or contribute to any repairs taken out at third party repairers unless authorised beforehand. Any work carried out to a vehicle's engine or gearbox, other than general maintenance, during the warranty period without prior consent would void the vehicle's warranty. In extreme circumstances, Whitestone Approved Vehicles will consider a contribution towards the costs of warranty repairs at a third party repairer, but this must be authorised prior to any repairs being carried out.
Any mechanical issue, large or small needs to be reported to Whitestone Approved Vehicles immediately and the use of the vehicle must cease until an inspection has been made. This is particularly important if the faults renders the engine unusually noisy or the vehicle is over-heating. Continuing to use your vehicle when a warning signal or fault has become apparent, may have serious effects on your warranty. The neglectful nature of these actions could cause consequential damage which Whitestone Approved Vehicles would not be held responsible for.
You are responsible for the general maintenance of your vehicle including checking the oil and water levels regularly and servicing wherever necessary; any faults linked to this may have serious effects on your guarantee.
Where the vehicle has been returned to us for a repair under warranty and we cannot return the vehicle the same day, in some circumstances we may be able to offer a courtesy vehicle to our customers to relieve any inconvenience. This vehicle would need to be collected from our site and will come taxed. Car insurance would be the responsibility of the customer and proof that valid insurance would need to be provided. Fully comprehensive or third party insurance would be required. If third party insurance is employed, the onus of responsibility for any repairs would be on the driver at the time of the incident.
Please be advised, under no circumstances will Whitestone Approved Vehicles be held responsible for the returning or recovery of any vehicle under warranty. This is the responsibility of the owner. We strongly advise you as the customer, to employ a reputable recovery agent such as the AA or the RAC in the unlikely event of a breakdown.
Deposits/Reservations
Whitestone Approved Vehicles offer refundable deposits and reservation fees to allow the customer to reserve the vehicle for viewing and collection at a future date. Deposits are fully refundable in every circumstance apart from when a customer cancels prior and fails to make their appointment. Whitestone Approved Vehicles reserve the right to deduct any costs from the customer's deposit where preparation costs have been incurred as a result of the customer's request.
Refund Policy
Whitestone Approved Vehicles affords it's customers a right to reject the vehicle during a thirty day period after purchase providing the vehicle has a fault that deems it unsatisfactory and not commensurate with its age and mileage and this fault was not discussed at the point of sale. The vehicle must be returned to us for a full inspection before a decision on a refund will be entertained. The thirty day period shall commence the day after the date of delivery and will include weekends and Bank Holidays.
In the event we reach a decision to refund, the vehicle will require a full inspection of the condition, with any condition difference to delivery being deducted from the refund price. There is a duty of care for you, as the customer to return the goods in a condition commensurate with that at the time of delivery. We reserve the right, entirely at our discretion to charge any amounts required to return the goods to the condition at the time of delivery. All vehicles returned will be subject to a returns fee of £295.00 which represents the administration fee and costs associated with re-preparation of the vehicle to return it to sale or for its disposal.
It is the customer's responsibility to return the vehicle under our refund policy. If the vehicle is being returned due a mechanical fault, it must be returned on a trailer or recovery truck as not to occur any further or consequential damage. If we agree to recover the vehicle, we reserve the right entirely at our own discretion to charge a collection fee that will reflect our costs of collection from our branch to your place of collection. These charges will also be subject to VAT.
A usage charge will be applied relating to the mileage the vehicle has been driven under your ownership, representing the increase in mileage between delivery and return of the vehicle. This will be evidenced by the odometer reading at the time of return and that indicated on the sales invoice at the point of delivery. A charge of 45p per mile will be enforced.
We will refund any amounts due after adjusting for any returns fees, usage charges or other fees as soon as reasonably possible and within 14 working days.
Warranty Claims Procedure
Communications pertaining to warranties are to be sent via email to aftersales@whitestonevehiclesales.co.uk. You will receive a warranty claim form to populate. Please allow up to 24 hours during business hours for us to respond. Our business hours are as follows:
Our opening times: Mon- Friday 9.00am - 5.30pm
Saturday 9.00am - 3.00pm
General Maintenance and Servicing
For any maintenance or servicing requirements outside of your standard warranty, please call our authorised local garage, VILLAGE AUTO CENTRE on 01455 213 821. Please reference Whitestone Approved Vehicles to take advantage of your preferential customer discount rate. When you purchase a car from Whitestone Approved Vehicles, we want you to have a positive customer experience, from a business that cares. We thank you very much for your business and hope to see you in the future for your next purchase.