Purchasing a new car
When you are choosing a new car, think about what you will use the car for. Notice the impacts of the motive power, service programme and warranty conditions on your operating costs. You can cancel the purchase of the car if there is a delay in the delivery after you have given the vendor extension.
Choose a car that matches your needs
When you are planning to purchase a car, think about what you will need the car for and what the most crucial qualities of the car are for you. As the buyer of a new car you can affect the vehicle’s accessories and qualities.
Do you mostly use the car for short daily voyages, or do you drive long distances constantly? For example, the motive power of the car has an influence on the distances you can drive continuously.
Especially when you buy a car with new technologies (including electric, hybrid and gas fueled cars), you should solve if it matches your needs.
A new car is usually ordered for you from the factory. You have the possibility to choose the car’s accessories and qualities among the available choices. If you tell the car seller what you need the car for, they can offer you adequate choices.
If the car model you are considering is already on the market, you should test drive it. This way you can get to know how at least some of the car’s qualities work in practise.
Subscription agreement and title deed on a new car
When a new car is ordered for you from the factory, a subscription agreement for it is made. The details, qualities, accessories, the value of a possible trade-in car and the delivery time or estimated delivery time of the new car are written down in the subscription agreement.
Check the details of the contract before you sign it. If you change your mind and want to cancel your order before the car has been delivered, you have to compensate the vendor for the losses the cancellation incurs. This compensation is defined in the general terms and conditions of car sale, and its amount depends on the price of the car.
The actual title deed is made when the car is assigned to you. You should check that the car has the qualities agreed on in the subscription agreement.
You can also buy a new car straight from the car dealership if they have a suitable car in stock. In this case the delivery time is short, and a separate subscription agreement is not always necessary.
Warranty for the sale of a new car
A new car is usually beared with the manufacturer’s or importer’s warranty. The warranty must grant the buyer better rights than the liability for defects set by the Consumer Protection Act. The dealership that sold you the car is also liable for the warranty unless it has specifically stated otherwise before the sale.
When a company grants a warranty, it covenants liability for the expediency or other qualities of the good for a specific time period. The guarantee is liable for defects and other issues specified in the warranty.
The duration, extent and terms for validity of the warranty depend on the car brand.
The warranty period is usually restricted either by time or mileage. The warranty period initiates on the earliest one of these dates:
- the date of first registration
- the date of first commissioning
- the date of assignment to the buyer.
You can verify the duration and beginning of the warranty period in the document of warranty. The warranty ends when the set time period expires or mileage is passed, whichever comes first.
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- If possible, familiarize the warranty clauses already before you decide to buy the car and compare also the warranties for various car brands.
Information about choosing the repair shop for a scheduled maintenance
- The warranty will not end if the vehicle changes owner during the warranty period. The warranty clauses may include a restriction stating that the warranty expires if the first buyer assigns the car to a business operating in automobile industry during the warranty period, and the guarantee has not extended the validity of the warranty. The warranty also expires if an insurance company redeems the car after a damage.
- Additionally, the warranty may expire if the car’s structure or engine programming is modified without the written permission of the guarantee. In this case, however, the warranty will not expire for parts of the vehicle that the modifications do not affect.
- The warranty clauses may include exceptions to the validity and expiry of the warranty, and you should ascertain this for the warranty clauses.
- If possible, familiarize the warranty clauses already before you decide to buy the car and compare also the warranties for various car brands.
Delivery time and delayed delivery
The car should be assigned to you on the agreed date. If the assignment is delayed for a reason caused by the vendor, you should give the vendor a reasonable extension to supply the purchased goods. If the vehicle is not delivered within the extension, you may cancel the sale at the end of this period.
The vendor is not liable to supply the car in the event of force majeure (unavoidable barrier).
You may cancel the purchase instantly if
- the vendor’s delay has essential signification for you, or
- this is not a special order and you told the vendor when you concluded the contract that having the car assigned on a certain date is important for you.
If the delay has caused financial losses, you can claim compensation from the vendor. You must have evidence of your losses. You do not have the right to compensation for the trouble, distress and other inconvenience caused by the delay if there were no financial losses.
Date of accepting the delivery of a car
If you do not accept delivery of the car at the agreed time, the vendor may cancel the contract one month after the announced assignment date. Then, the vendor has the right for compensation. The vendor does not have the right to cancel the contract, if the delivery could not be accepted due to an impediment you could not reasonably avoid or overcome.