Returning auto parts to a store legally

The online store Zap39.ru sells original spare parts and their analogues, accessories, consumables for cars of all brands. We cooperate with official manufacturers and trusted suppliers, so we are confident in the quality of the goods we sell. We also understand that even certified products may have manufacturing defects or damage that is not related to manufacturing defects.

We value all our customers and make every effort to quickly resolve issues related to warranty exchange or return of goods purchased from us. The work of our store is based on respect for the client, his requirements and wishes. We are ready to replace or accept back goods purchased from the Zap39.ru only under one condition - the legality of your requirements. DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO!

Clause 4 of Article 26.1 of the Law prohibits the refusal of goods if only a specific buyer can use them. That is, from a product that has individually defined properties (in the case of an online auto parts store, parts are selected individually for each car using a VIN code that has no analogue). Also, guided by government decree No. 55 of January 19, 1998, a categorical ban was imposed on the exchange and return of goods related to the electrical group and fuels and lubricants. This provision applies to goods of proper quality.

How to return auto parts of proper quality

Repairing any car is a rather complex process, especially if done on your own. However, it is not always possible to determine the specific cause of a malfunction the first time. In this case, a situation may arise when purchased spare parts become unnecessary, which entails the need to return the goods.

It happens that an error occurred when purchasing an auto part, and as a result, the wrong thing was purchased. Unfortunately, this happens, and this is mostly due to the fact that the selection of spare parts is now carried out according to manufacturers’ catalogs. The likelihood of error automatically increases if the car model is transitional. So, both the seller himself and the VIN search system can make a mistake.

However, the law here is on the buyer’s side: it doesn’t matter how the error occurred, but if the spare parts do not fit, they must be returned to the store. This is valid for 14 days from the date of purchase, of course, if you have kept the sales or cash receipt.

The seller store is not always willing to return the money; he would rather offer to replace it with the required part. Only if it is not available, he will have no choice but to return the money. Of course, returns and replacements are possible only if the part has not been used and it contains all the required seals, factory stickers, labels, and packaging. Even if you tear the package, you may lose your right to return and exchange. Therefore, you should always open the package as carefully as possible.

I bought a defective part. Is it possible to get my money back?

It would seem that everything is simple. If the product turns out to be defective, then you, keeping the receipt, return it to the store, take the money, or take it to the service center for repairs. This algorithm applies to most types of consumer goods. Most often, the return or warranty repair procedure is relatively painless and quick, although sometimes you have to quarrel and waste your own time.

But auto parts are a very specific category of goods, the return of which if defective is detected is very difficult...

If a defective auto part is discovered, sellers often turn from friendly and helpful to very hostile. And they state that they are ready to carry out a return/exchange if only the part was installed in a certified service that will issue a certificate of installation. Plus they put pressure on the brain with mantras about examinations, which will most likely have to be paid for by the client himself...

Traders know very well that the buyer of auto parts is usually in a very vulnerable position - in the garage (or in the service) on a pit or on a jack, his half-disassembled “swallow” is splayed out, which, bloody nose, must be put on the move before the evening, because the next morning he will drive it to work. He most often does not have time for disputes, examinations, complaints, and especially the courts. This means that he will grumble and grumble, spit and refuse claims. Otherwise he’ll pay for a second copy of the ill-fated part!

Isn't there any other way? Can! But it's not that simple.

Who broke the part?

The specificity of automobile spare parts is that manufacturing defects in them are rarely detected visually or tactilely - and even more so when directly purchased. If, for example, a new pump, purchased instead of the current old one, also leaks, or a new generator does not charge, this is discovered after installing them on the engine. And it is at this moment that the main consumer risk arises.

If we are talking about independent garage repairs, which are practiced by millions of car owners in our country, then we have to admit: everyone’s qualifications are different.
Many people don’t have it at all, just as they don’t have the appropriate tool. Whether the spare part really turned out to be a factory defect (which, in general, often happens when they sell goods from budget Asian brands), or whether it was ruined by an unqualified installation using a rusty sledgehammer by the buyer himself is often impossible to understand, especially since the managers in the store - not experts, but only salesmen. And the reluctance of stores to exchange a returned spare part for a new one is partly understandable... Therefore, the store’s requirement to provide a document stating that the part was installed by a “certified car service center” is standard and completely legal. Oleg Frolov
Leading lawyer of the Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights

Accordingly, a car owner who repairs a car with his own hands, frankly speaking, is not in the most advantageous position and is poorly protected if the part he bought in the store turns out to be defective. By installing it with his own hands, he voluntarily takes on the risk of unqualified repairs. And the seller, knowing this, is free to refuse to replace the part, arguing that the buyer himself could have damaged it during installation. And when the buyer files a claim in court demanding compensation for his costs, the latter, most likely, will not take his side. This, unfortunately, is not a situation in which the customer is always right...

But with paper from a car service center, the buyer has a much better chance of proving that the part was sold to him that was initially defective, and he is not to blame for anything - stores in such cases rarely object to a replacement or refund. And here lies a funny legal incident that works in favor of the car owner. Owners of older cars do not use the services of official dealers with their expensive standard hours - but it is with a cool modern technical center that associations emerge when it comes to “a document from a certified car service center.”

Screenshot of the spare parts catalog ZZap!ru

However, a document of this type can be a simple work order or a certificate for work performed, and a “certified car service” can even be a garage repair shop “At Ashot’s” - as long as its owner is at least an individual entrepreneur, and the list of his registered activities includes repairs cars... It is clear that this is never a guarantee of the master’s qualifications, and the notorious “pro” individual entrepreneur can be a hundred times more crooked than the car owner himself! But legally this does not matter, despite the fact that the Mercedes dealer technicians who have been trained many times in Germany and the “IP specialist” Ashot in the garage have completely different experience and technical base. Both the first and second are car services, which means they are professionals. Accordingly, failure of a spare part during installation due to ignorance and inexperience is unlikely...

Expertise – at whose expense?

Auto parts in the store can be divided into two categories. The first is parts with a manufacturer's warranty. They are, as a rule, well packaged and supplied with accompanying documents - these are starters, generators, pumps, pumps and many similar components and assemblies. Most often, in the papers included in the box, the manufacturer indicates the warranty period, starting either from the moment of sale or from the moment of installation.

The second category is spare parts that do not have a designated warranty period. These most often include all small things such as bolts or pistons, but such parts can also be very large and substantial - for example, a bumper trim. It is unlikely that anyone will bother if some small and inexpensive piece of plastic turns out to be defective - but the same bumper, if it suddenly and without reason burst due to some internal stresses in poorly cast plastic, is already capable of punching a hole in family budget. What to do if the store does not want to change the product and threatens with lengthy and complex examinations, which the buyer supposedly must pay for?

The Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights in its Article 18 in this situation says that if there is no manufacturer’s warranty for a spare part, then the burden of proving the defect lies with the buyer - he will have to take a piece of paper about the installation from a car service center, and carry out additional examination in certified automotive expert organizations for your account.
If the defect is confirmed, then both the cost of the part and the cost of the examination must be reimbursed. If the part has a warranty period, then the store must prove to you by conducting an examination that the part was not defective when purchased, and it was you who ruined it by hammering it into place with a sledgehammer and distorted. In this case, the client does not receive any compensation, and pays for the examination out of his own pocket. Oleg Frolov
Leading lawyer of the Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights

I bought it, but not that...

A separate story is the mistake in choosing a spare part. Our fathers and grandfathers in the store just had to say “I need a pump for the Volga” or “relay-regulator for the Moskvich”, and they were easily given what they were looking for - if it was available, of course. Today, the shortage is forgotten, but the simplicity is gone: spare parts are selected from manufacturers’ catalogs, and if you have a car of some transitional model, it’s easy to make a mistake. VIN search systems in online stores also make mistakes. As a result, you sometimes receive the wrong spare part that you were looking for, and the seller refuses to accept it back, appealing to the rules posted on the store’s website and which sound something like this: “If you are not sure about the choice, then use the free help of a consultant. If you are sure and don’t need help, order, but know that returning an erroneously ordered part is impossible!”

It is illegal for a store to refuse to accept back a part purchased in error.
There is a list of goods approved by the Government of the Russian Federation that cannot be returned to the seller with the wording “does not fit” or “is not satisfactory”, and no auto parts - neither simple ones, such as a bolt and nut, nor complex ones, such as a generator or shock absorber - are included in it. Therefore, it does not matter who made the mistake in the choice - the buyer, the automatic selection system of the online store or the sales consultant - if the spare part does not suit the client, the store is obliged to accept it back within 14 days, not counting the day of purchase, if there is a sales or cash receipt . Oleg Frolov
Leading lawyer of the Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights

But there are two important points here!

First, according to the law, the store’s priority is not to return the money, but to provide the part that you really needed. If it is not available, then a refund will be given. The second point is less pleasant. The store is obliged to carry out an exchange or refund only if the spare part that did not fit has not been used and its presentation, consumer properties, seals and factory labels have been preserved. All this fully applies to PACKAGING.

Alas, by tearing the sealed plastic bag, which often contains the part inside a cardboard box, you irrevocably change its presentation... And an error in selection is most often discovered when the spare part is completely unpacked and they are trying to try it on a car. The store cannot accept a part with irreparably damaged packaging, and here it is within its rights.

Survey

Have you encountered defective spare parts?

Your voice

Total votes:

How to return auto parts purchased through an online store

The rules for returning spare parts when purchasing them through online stores are approximately the same as in any other cases, with the exception of certain nuances:

Shipping costs will not be refunded to the buyer.
Money will not be returned if it is possible to replace a part that does not fit.
Most likely, you will need to visit the goods delivery point, if there is one in the locality where the buyer lives, to meet the courier.
It takes less time to return goods purchased from an online store - only 1 week. This rule applies to goods that do not have a warranty, but which are in good working order.
You can refuse the ordered goods at any stage of its delivery, right up to payment and receipt of the receipt.

Sometimes a personal presence at the online store office is required in order to issue a return. You need to provide a receipt, a guarantee and write a return application. Refunds or replacement of goods are made there, in the office.

If necessary, you can pay extra money and purchase a more expensive product. Unfortunately, reality often differs from theory and there is simply no clear procedure for returning goods purchased from online stores. Then it occurs by agreement of the parties. But even more often, an online store sets its own return rules. It gets to the point where they refuse to even accept goods in open packaging.

This is illegal, because without opening it, there is no way to detect a discrepancy or defect. However, once you open the box, you definitely shouldn’t throw it away, at least not for the next 14 days . Instructions for returning auto parts purchased through an online store:

If you discover any problem, you should contact the online store immediately, without waiting for the end of the 14-day period.
Write an application at the office, attaching a copy of your passport and the original receipt (you should keep a copy for yourself).
All this, together with the product, is given to the seller (if there is a replacement, it will be done immediately on the spot) and a refund is provided.

If the product was broken during the specified warranty period by the buyer himself, this is not a reason to refuse service.

Currently, auto parts stores that operate using online resources are extremely popular. This option is very practical and convenient. In order to qualify for a refund for a product purchased in an auto parts store via the Internet, you should know the following provisions in the law:

the customer has the right to refuse to purchase goods online within 7 days after receiving it, as well as at any time before receiving the parcel;
in the absence of a written conclusion from the supplier on the methods of returning or exchanging goods, as well as detailed instructions for using the spare part;
the possibility of returning auto parts purchased via the Internet is possible while maintaining the presentation of the product and its packaging, as well as performance indicators;
in the absence of a check, it is enough to present any arguments that confirm the transaction.

Car warranty period

During what period of time must the car be repaired under warranty? Warranty repair periods:

the repair must be completed within the period established by law, unless the owner and contractor have entered into an agreement indicating a different time period;
repairs can last up to 45 days.

The warranty for car repairs is determined by the manufacturer.

The lack of parts, which repairmen often refer to, is not a reason to increase the repair period, since ordering them in a timely manner is the task of the service organization.

There can be only one legal refusal of warranty repair - if the examination reveals that the malfunction arose as a result of improper operation of the car, and the owner, in fact, is to blame for its occurrence.

In what cases can you not return

According to the Consumer Protection Law, auto parts that are classified as “numbered units” cannot be returned to the store. Numbered units are those components of the car that have an embossed identification marking: engines, gearboxes, cabs and bodies, frames and chassis, etc. You also cannot return to the store a part that has been in use for some time.

It will not be possible to return auto parts that were broken due to improper installation. The buyer may be refused to return the goods in cases where the statutory deadlines for returning the goods have been passed.

There is also an option with a ban on the return of spare parts, when a separate agreement has been drawn up between the supplier and the customer, according to which the delivery of the part is carried out according to an individual order.

When is it not possible to exchange or return?

When sold, used items go through a second sales cycle , which means they significantly lose their position, both in terms of quality characteristics and legal guarantee. They are not subject to standard rules prohibiting the return of certain groups of goods, such as underwear, jewelry made of precious metals, etc. When selling used items, the very principle of the impossibility of their secondary use is considered lost. Read about which products are not subject to exchange or return, and which are.

It is not possible to return used goods if they:

They have no disadvantages.
The existing shortcomings were discussed by the seller before the transaction.

In this case, a return due to “at home I realized that the color, size or something else does not fit” is impossible.

Return Application

The application for the return of goods does not have any strictly established form; it can be written by hand or typed on a computer. The main thing is that it fully reflects the essence of the problem and has all the necessary details. It is better to prepare the letter in two copies. The seller must put his mark on the one that the buyer keeps. The application processing period is 10 days.

Depending on the place of purchase and the reason for returning the auto part, a separate application may be required. In this case, you will need to provide a receipt or receipt for the purchase of goods or other forms of proof of purchase.

If a part is returned due to poor quality, an independent review may be required. An application is required upon receipt of a refusal from the seller to return the goods. It is drawn up in writing. You will need to provide the following information:

Complete information about the owner of the store or individual company.
Provide your personal details, including contact information.
Describe the reasons that led to the need to return the previously purchased spare part.
Indicate the availability of supporting documents for the purchase made, as well as for the quality of the products (if such documents are available).
It is recommended to include in the application the articles of the relevant laws on which the client relies. This will improve the status of the buyer in the eyes of the seller.
Indicate a further action plan upon receipt of a refusal.
The document must bear the personal signature of the applicant, and also indicate the date of preparation.

Rules for selling used goods

The main regulatory act that regulates issues of this nature is Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 19, 1998 No. 55. It determines basic information about the condition of the product, the shortcomings it contains, the sanitary and anti-epidemic measures taken, technical characteristics, purpose and possibility of using it for purpose or for other purposes.

In order to sell previously used goods, it is necessary to conduct a detailed analysis of them before sale. It includes:

inspection;
assessment of the proper quality, functionality and completeness of a used product (read about the return of goods of proper quality here);
completeness and accuracy of the necessary documentation.

If a product must undergo a sanitary inspection, but formalized information on this fact is not available, the seller is obliged to carry out a procedure of this nature. Otherwise, the sales process does not differ from the general rules.

A person who wants to buy such an item must be provided with the following information:

product name;
information about the manufacturer - name, location address, contact details;
confirmation of product compliance with established requirements;
rules for efficiency and safety when using products;
the duration of the established warranty period;
information on consumer properties;
best before date.

Upon purchase, the appropriate documentation must be issued - a receipt, technical passport, warranty card.

What to do if your refund is refused

When the seller refuses to take measures to resolve the issue of accepting the goods for return, one should act within the legal framework. First, you will need to draw up a written application using the previously specified form. In this case, you will need to draw up the document in two copies.

In order to speed up the process of replacing the necessary part, an application should be drawn up and signed by the sellers. In cases where the seller refuses to accept the application, the employee should be notified that the complaint has been sent by mail. In this case, you will need to send a registered letter.

Once you have received notification that the letter has been delivered to the recipient, you should wait ten days. If during this period the seller does not fulfill his obligations, a statement of claim should be prepared in court. If the case is successful for the client, the seller will be obliged to return the entire cost of the spare part.

In this case, an additional amount of 50 percent of the cost of the purchased auto parts is paid and a one percent penalty is assigned for each day of delay in the customer's claims. In most cases, if there is an obvious defect in a spare part, auto parts suppliers will not take the matter to court. This is due to the fact that it is not profitable for them to spend their personal funds to cover the client’s costs, as well as risk their reputation.

The customer has the right to return purchased auto parts in various situations, even if the product is of proper quality. It must be borne in mind that opened packaging is not a reason for refusal to accept the goods. It is with this factor that they are trying to mislead buyers. To avoid such problems, you will need to clearly know your rights. All purchases in the auto store are regulated by consumer protection laws.