Families are being left without cars for up to 8 weeks under current UK consumer laws, causing children to miss school, disabled people to miss hospital appointments, and parents to face extreme hardship. The law must change to introduce a 3-week maximum repair period, guaranteed courtesy transport, and stronger accountability from car dealerships and finance companies.

We are calling on the UK Government to urgently reform consumer rights laws around car repairs and finance agreements. The current system allows garages and dealerships up to eight weeks to repair a faulty vehicle, even if the car is essential for school runs, hospital appointments, or caring responsibilities. This long timeframe is unrealistic, unmanageable, and harmful for modern families.

One example (our family’s situation, which reflects a widespread problem): Our bought-on-finance car developed a serious fault at just 4 months old Four different parties, the dealership, agency, finance company, and garage, passed blame and gave conflicting information Nobody took responsibility.

The dealership took 2 weeks to collect the un-drivable car.  When it eventually was towed the car sat untouched for weeks because the dealership owed money to their repair garage with 4 other vehicles also waiting on repair or payment.

Our 10-year-old daughter had to live with elderly grandparents, one with Parkinson’s, just to get to school When she came home, we were forced to walk 2 hours a day or pay for taxis The school threatened unauthorised absences, yet the law expects families to cope without a car for up to 8 weeks. Our three-year-old missed essential hospital appointments because we had no transport We were told to keep receipts for taxis, but also told there is no guarantee of reimbursement Four different companies gave four different “versions” of the law. Meanwhile we are expected to carry on paying our finance agreement to these people otherwise our good credit will faulter.

This is not an isolated case, it’s happening to people across the UK. We ask the UK Government and Parliament to introduce the following reforms:

Under current law, when a car becomes faulty within the first 6 months of ownership, the dealer or finance company is given an extended period to attempt repairs, often stretching to 8 weeks or more. During this time:

Families may have no access to transport 

Children may be forced to miss school or after-school activities

Vulnerable people may miss hospital appointments, therapy, or care visits

Parents may face significant financial strain, having to pay for taxis, buses, or temporary accommodation

Dealers can delay repairs due to internal issues (e.g., unpaid bills, lack of parts, or no communication), with no consequences

Finance companies rarely step in early, leaving families stuck in limbo

This is not good enough. A vehicle is not a luxury, it is essential for daily life for millions of people.

The current laws unfairly protect businesses while leaving consumers suffering, confused, and out of pocket.

1. Reduce the maximum legal repair period from 8 weeks to 3 weeks. Eight weeks is far too long. A strict three-week limit would protect families while still allowing reasonable time for repairs.

2. Mandatory courtesy car or reimbursement Dealers must be legally required to provide a courtesy car, or reimburse families for transport costs in full, not “maybe” or “case by case.”

3. Allow families to use their own trusted mechanic, If a dealer cannot collect or repair the vehicle within a few days, consumers should have the right to take the vehicle to their own mechanic with the dealer or finance company paying the bill.

4. Automatic refund or replacement if repairs exceed 3 weeks. If the dealership cannot fix the car within 3 weeks, families should have the legal right to reject the car and receive either a refund, or replacement vehicle.

5. Make finance companies fully accountable, finance companies must be required to step in immediately when dealers fail to act. They own the vehicle until it’s fully paid they must take responsibility sooner.

The law, as it stands, is failing families.

We ask the UK Government to recognise the serious impact of the 8-week repair policy and take urgent action to reduce it to 3 weeks, with guaranteed support for consumers who rely on their vehicles for essential daily life.