huge problem pleaSE need some help

[astraea]

hi
right last tuesday i bought a car from an ad on auto trader, it was marked as a trade seller, went up to get the car it is a renault megane scenic 1.6 s reg it had just got a years mot, but had no tax so the bloke said i could have £100 off and i bought it for £800, picked it up from his house he said he sells a few cars so dont know if this counts as a private seller?
started engine all sounded fine, this is my first car so have no idea what im looking at lol and told the bloke as much when looking at the car he said it was all fine just had new parts etc etc.... signed a piece of paper saying sold as seen, but had witnesses with me when he was saying the car was in fine repair....
drove the car home and then when looking throught the paperwork noticed that the registration document i had filled in and he gave me the oter half was not for my car but for a ford maverick! rang him the next day as it was late when we got back he said he had given me the one for his car by mistake and would send the proper one to me first class,
i could not drive the car for three days as could not get tax until the reg document ad come. got the tax yesterday and took it for a 20min drive (i am on a provisional lisence - go for test next month)
got back home hubby had a look under bonnet and noticed the radiator was empty, so we filled it up started engine looked again and it had dropped again went and got some more coolant put it ina nd car started billowing white smoke from the exhaust, he checked the oil which was like chocolate milkshae colour (when we first got car home it was black), looked about and we think it is the head gasket!!

i am going to take it to a garage in the morning to get it checked out but if it is an expensive repair job, do i have a leg to stand on?

i still have his registration doc for his car, is this worth anything?

thanks
i am really worried we have no money left after paying tax and insurance etc, and this £800 was all the money we had!!

[Conor]

The bloke is a trader but it sounds like he's a dodgy one. It definitely sounds like the headgasket and it could be anything from £400 to over £1000 if the head is cracked.

As he's a trader, yes you do have a leg to stand on but as he's a dodgy one, all I'll say is good luck. Be prepared to drag it through court.

[astraea]

does me having his log book for his car give me any leeway?
sorry clueless in stuff like this

i cant believe it the auto trader advert stated him as a trader so will this count when trying to get money back? would auto trader be able to give me a copy og his ad as it is not n the website anymore?

[Conor]

Not really. He can apply for a new one simply enough. The Autotrader Ad will help but you're basically relying on him to give the refund otherwise it's haul through courts. It'll either go lovely and smoothly or it's going to be a fight.

Go back to him and see what he says first. The fact it is second hand is irrelevent as is the fact it was £800. It still has to be fit for purpose which it blatantly wasn't.

[astraea]

hi i spoke to him this morning and he said that the car was fine when it left his so it isnt his responsibility, he has offered to pay half as a goodwill gesture (his words not mine) but he wants his mate to do it who apparatly works for renault and he would have to come and tow the car back to his which is 35 miles away and return it to me he said it would cost about £150

i know nothing about cars - should i accept this?

we have a mechanic coming round later who is gonna look at it and tell us exactly what the problem is but dont hold out much hope of anything other then a new head gasket needed, we have no money left to pay 5-600 at a garage near us what do i do?

[astraea]

right update
diagnostic mechanic has been and checked over the car the head gasket has definately gone and it is only firing on 3 cylinders. he said in his opinion it has been like that a while something to do with te pressure from the gas test and that it does not go like that just from driving the 35 miles back home from his place, and he is willing to give me a mechanical report stating this, he also said that the sold as seen paper he got me to sign means nothing is this right?
as he is advertising as a trader.

i am really at a loss what to do would really appreciate some help!

[anewman]

Not much more you can do other than take the report and pursue the issue, first with the seller (using a photocopy of the report of course) then if no luck on that front through the courts maybe. Although I think you will find liability will be limited to the cost of repairing the problem which will be quite a bit.

[Wig]

Bottom line is,

1. You have to show he is a trader
2. You have to show the car was described as good condition
3. You have to show that the car was knackered at the time of purchase - not 1 hour later or 1 day later, but at the time of purchase.
4. You having his V5 for his car means nothing, send it back to him.

If you can do 1, 2, & 3, you can send him a letter stating that you are rejecting the car as not as described & not of satisfactory quality. I'm not sure if it is your responsibility to deliver the car back to him - I should think there is a legal argument to suggest that the car is legally his responsibility not yours - once rejected (and you would have to notify the DVLA that you are removing yourself from the vehicle keepers registry) BUT ONLY IF THE COURT AGREES WITH YOU THAT YOU HAD THE RIGHT TO REJECT THE CAR - and THAT means the court agrees 1, 2, & 3 have been proven.

For the sake of peace of mind you should ensure the car is stored off the highway if it is not taxed. and retain V5 keepership in your name. The court I refer to is the small claims court it will cost you £35 to lay a case and another £35 to have the case heard. That will be the full extent of your court costs, there will be no more costs if you lose, as long as you give the seller reasonable time to give you a refund before proceeding to court = one month of writing at least 3 or 4 warning letters of your intention to go to court.

The rest is up to you.

Be warned even to tow a car you need the car to be taxed, so if you get stopped by plod you will recieve a fine. If you do not return the car or tax it you must remove it from the road and declare it SORN.

And you found out the hard way that if you don't know anything about cars, don't buy an old car without someone with you who does know about cars.

[tomstickland]

Head gasket failure.
Can be repaired.
Replacement engine often better idea.
If it was me I'd fix it, or break it for parts.

[astraea]

hi spoke to the man i got the car from again
he is offering to tow the car to his garage about 35 miles away he said he can get it all done for about £200 including getting it skimmed pressure tested new bolts and new cam belt. is it possible to do it for this price?

he said he will give me the name of the garage and that he will get me a reciept stating whats been done. and that he will go halves.

i really dont know what to do
yes ive been a complete idiot, but the fact remains that i have paid every penny we had to buy this car and i dont have £4-500 to pay a garage near me to do it.

what do i do?

[Wig]

If he is offering a free tow, or you pay the petrol, (£10) take him up on his offer, if not, put some water in it and drive it there (though you had better ask him for his agreement for you to do this) or arrange for one of your friends to tow it there, again be very careful, towing a vehicle is not easy without specialist equipment.

£100 to sort this out is probably your best bet.

[Keith]

Be warned even to tow a car you need the car to be taxed, so if you get stopped by plod you will recieve a fine. If you do not return the car or tax it you must remove it from the road and declare it SORN.

Sorry Wig,

Do you mean Insurance?

I'm thinking MOT failed car, car towed on road to get to garage for repairs = legal.

Surely car on road without tax being taken to a place of repair must be legal?

Or should they be taxed in both cases, which raises the old no mot = no tax debate.

Confused :eek:

[astraea]

it has tax mot and insurance, i am fully comp so does that cover the car been towed to a garage?

so should i take him up on his offer??

[Keith]

I'd go for it, but ask for it to be independantly inspected by an independant/motoring organisation after the repair.

[ozvaldinho]

If you're so skint, surely third party fire and theft would've been a better idea on an £800 car? Your comprehensive insurance would take one look at pretty much any significant accident and call it a total loss, you'd get back £500 or less and your premium would shoot up.

£200 is a good deal for the work being done. Assuming it's a petrol and not a diesel, most people would just replace the gasket as they often fail at this age on french cars. Flushing the oil and radiator is easy. I'd be more worried about the car only firing on three cylinders...I suspect that a broken piston or rings is what caused the gasket to fail in which case your car is only good for spares or scrap. I'm being pessimistic here, mind you, it could be a simple problem with the electrics in the ignition system which are cheap and easy to fix.

Good luck mate!

[LandyAndy]

If you're so skint, surely third party fire and theft would've been a better idea on an £800 car? Your comprehensive insurance would take one look at pretty much any significant accident and call it a total loss, you'd get back £500 or less and your premium would shoot up.

Not always. My car is worth about £400 but TPFT wouldn't be much cheaper than FC (FC was under £200 last year) and it meant I had full cover this year when I went to France in it at no extra cost.

[albionrovers]

Can a dealer still go bust and begin trading the next day again?

In the old days, if it went to court and the dealer did do this then the buyer loses out, end of.

[Road_Hog]

hi spoke to the man i got the car from again
he is offering to tow the car to his garage about 35 miles away he said he can get it all done for about £200 including getting it skimmed pressure tested new bolts and new cam belt. is it possible to do it for this price?

he said he will give me the name of the garage and that he will get me a reciept stating whats been done. and that he will go halves.



My gut instinct would be not to trust someone that has already tried to have one over on you. I think he'll get a tube of head gasket sealant and do a patch up job. You won't know that the cambelt hasn't been changed because it will probably be under a cover. The new bolts are a ruse and it will go something like this.

Right Mrs. astraea, it's all done for you, stuck the new cambelt on, that's the belt thing underneath that cover, skimmed the head, so it's all sorted and sealed it up with special head gasket sealant to make sure it's sealed proper, see all that sealant round that top line, thats it there. And there's the shiney new bolts I promised I'd fit (to make it look like we had taken the head off).

Here's your guarantee, that guarantees that it will get you home (I hope) and thanks very much for another £100, you mug, that's the most expensive set of bolts and gasket sealant I've ever sold.

Call me a cynic, but I just can't see someone suddenly turning honest. The above may not be 100% spot on but it is a typical scenario I can see happening.

[anewman]

Can a dealer still go bust and begin trading the next day again?

In the old days, if it went to court and the dealer did do this then the buyer loses out, end of.

Not if they aren't a proper dealer in the first place trading off their driveway.

In the OP's case I agree with roadhog. I'd be after taking it to my own garage and splitting the cost 75 me 25 them than let them spend a fiver and 10 minutes bodging it up, and parting with money for the privilege. If you think about it, the seller should have no problem with this suggestion if they are an honest seller and it's not costing them more than the £100 they've already agreed to part with. I think he's trying to get you round his finger realising you won't get repairs cheaper than £200 elsewhere - hoping you'll think you're getting a good deal.

[cheekyherb]

My gut instinct would be not to trust someone that has already tried to have one over on you. I think he'll get a tube of head gasket sealant and do a patch up job. You won't know that the cambelt hasn't been changed because it will probably be under a cover. The new bolts are a ruse and it will go something like this.

Right Mrs. astraea, it's all done for you, stuck the new cambelt on, that's the belt thing underneath that cover, skimmed the head, so it's all sorted and sealed it up with special head gasket sealant to make sure it's sealed proper, see all that sealant round that top line, thats it there. And there's the shiney new bolts I promised I'd fit (to make it look like we had taken the head off).

Here's your guarantee, that guarantees that it will get you home (I hope) and thanks very much for another £100, you mug, that's the most expensive set of bolts and gasket sealant I've ever sold.

Call me a cynic, but I just can't see someone suddenly turning honest. The above may not be 100% spot on but it is a typical scenario I can see happening.

I got to agree with Rod Hog, if this bloke has ripped you off why would you even consider taking it back to him to get fixed? Firstly, I would contact Auto Trader and report him, if he is a trader than he has to repair the car under the trade descriptions act, not at his garage but at a garage of your choice - he can fork out for it tho!. He has to provide the car in the state he quoted in his advert (my father is a motor trader). Go back to this bloke and tell him you want it repaired, for free to the standard as listed in his advert. Then i would also report him to trading standards...

WHY oh why did you not take someone with you to look at the car initially??
You would be such a fool to take it back to him. Once burnt and all that!

[Wig]

Sorry Wig,

Do you mean Insurance?

I'm thinking MOT failed car, car towed on road to get to garage for repairs = legal.
The only exception to the requirement for valid MOT and VED is to and from an MOT appointment. There are no other "normal use" exceptions. By "normal use" I mean that there are other exceptions like armed forces vehicles, and imported vehicles from the port of entry to your home etc etc.

With no MOT and OR VED:
From home to a place of repair = illegal
From home to a place of repair for to get ready for an MOT = illegal
From home to an MOT appt = legal
From an MOT appointment to home = legal
From an MOT appt to a place of repair (by prior arrangement) = legal
From a place of repair to home = illegal
From a place of repair (following MOT repairs) to home = illegal
From a place of repair to an MOT appt = legal

In short to or from an MOT appt is the only time it is legal. Just another example of our crazy laws on VED.


Surely car on road without tax being taken to a place of repair must be legal?From an MOT appointment is the only time it is legal

Or should they be taxed in both cases, which raises the old no mot = no tax debate.Not in both cases, to or from an MOT appt is legal.

[Wig]

I got to agree with Rod Hog, if this bloke has ripped you off why would you even consider taking it back to him to get fixed? Firstly, I would contact Auto Trader and report him, if he is a trader than he has to repair the car under the trade descriptions act, not at his garage but at a garage of your choice - he can fork out for it tho!. He has to provide the car in the state he quoted in his advert (my father is a motor trader). Go back to this bloke and tell him you want it repaired, for free to the standard as listed in his advert. Then i would also report him to trading standards...

WHY oh why did you not take someone with you to look at the car initially??
You would be such a fool to take it back to him. Once burnt and all that!

This is mostly true, but if he refuses to repair free of charge -as he is doing- (actually if this was the case he would be required to refund the purchase price if that was what the customer wanted - you also certainly have no right to choose the repairing garage) your only option is to take him to court and persuade the court the car was not as described at the time of purchase. You tell me how you would do this..... Trading Standards and Auto Trader would not want to know, the only person that can decide liability is a judge in a court.

[anewman]

the only person that can decide liability is a judge in a court.
Would an expert's report count for nothing in this instance?

[Wig]

AFAICS the only evidence so far referred to is a mechanics opinion, put to paper. The trader could equally get an opinion even a more informed opinion that the fail could have occured at any point after sale. The best form of report from OP would be an auto engineers report which would cost £100 plus all the costs of dismantling and inspecting the engine.

Ultimately OP says one thing and has 'experts' opinions to back her up, trader will say the oposite and have 'expert' opinion to back him up. The person who will have to make a descision as to the truth will be the judge.

[astraea]

but would i not have anything safeguardng me with the fact he said he would give me reciepts from the garage for all work done including skimming pressure testing etc.

is it worth reporting him to autotrader?

surely they cant do anything?

[Keith]

With no MOT and OR VED:
From home to a place of repair = illegal
From home to a place of repair for to get ready for an MOT = illegal
From home to an MOT appt = legal
From an MOT appointment to home = legal
From an MOT appt to a place of repair (by prior arrangement) = legal
From a place of repair to home = illegal
From a place of repair (following MOT repairs) to home = illegal
From a place of repair to an MOT appt = legal

taking it to or bringing it away from a place where, by previous arrangement, repairs are to be made or have been made to fix the problems that caused the vehicle to fail its test

I read that as you can drive to a place of repair and home again without an MOT as long as it's booked ion

[astraea]

hi
further update spoke autotrader who said he has advertised a lot of cars in the last 12 months and he is definately classed as a trader no matter what he says, they advised me to conact trading standards etc, but that there were no guarantees i would win, but he would get investigated etc.

so i rang the man back told him i did not want the car to go to york that i wanted it done here and i wanted more than the hundred pounds he was offering, explained about autotrader also threatened him with the tax man, he then offered me £175 half of the £350 we had been quoted, i said not good enough in the end i got him to send me a cheque for £200

not fantastic not the whole amount that i wanted, but at the end of the day if i drag it through courts ive no guarentee of winning anything, i really love the car, apart from the head gaket it is a lovely car and has just had new brakes and exhaust etc for mot, i want to keep the car!! and not have it sat on my drive for months aiting to be sorted out.

i rang the mechanic wo looked at the car last night and he agreed to do the job including skimming pressure testing, new cam belt etc for no more than £350. (he said he would charge me no more than 350)

he can come and strip it down on sunday get it skimmed and sorted on monday!

so it is still gonna cost me 150 but i will know the job is done properly, and i will have my car back!

do you think i did te right thing by accepting £200????

[anewman]

do you think i did te right thing by accepting £200????
Guess it's better than nothing. Hopefully there's no more hidden surprises.

[Wig]

The exemption from MOT cert reads as follows

(2) Pursuant to section 44(6) the Secretary of State hereby exempts from
section 44(1) for use of a vehicle—
(a)
(i) for the purpose of submitting it by previous arrangement for, or
bringing it away from, an
examination, or
(ii) <snipped irrelevant>
(iii) where a test certificate is refused on an examination—

(A) for the purpose of delivering it by previous arrangement at, or bringing
it away from, a place where work is to be or has been done on it to remedy for a
further examination the defects on the ground of which the test
certificate was refused; or

(B) for the purpose of delivering it, by towing it, to a place where the
vehicle is to be broken up

The exemptions from VED are as follows

(1) A vehicle is an exempt vehicle when it is being used solely for the purpose of— (a) submitting it (by previous arrangement for a specified time on a specified date) for a compulsory test [ a vehicle identity check] [ a vehicle weight test or a reduced pollution test], or

(b) bringing it away from [any such test] [ or check].



(1A) A vehicle is an exempt vehicle when it is being used solely for the purpose of— (a) taking it (by previous arrangement for a specified time on a specified date) for a relevant re-examination, or

(b) bringing it away from such a re-examination.


<snip irrelevant stuff>

(3) Where the relevant certificate is refused on a compulsory test or a reduced pollution test, of a vehicle or as a result of a relevant re-examination, the vehicle is an exempt vehicle when it is being used solely for the purpose of— (a) delivering it (by previous arrangement for a specified time on a specified date) at a place where relevant work is to be done on it, or

(b) bringing it away from a place where relevant work has been done on it.
Anyone else think that (1A) is superflous?

Anyways, I think you're right Keith, neither (A) nor (3) make any reference to the need to be coming or going to/from an MOT appt, but nonetheless must be for the purpose of repairs relevant to an MOT fail.

None of which allows for a car to be towed in general untaxed and/or un MOT for any old purpose, so our OP would be illegal if they had no tax but they do have tax and MOT so they will be fine anyway.

So I revise my earlier list as follows

With no MOT and OR VED:
From home to a place of repair generally = illegal
From home to a place of repair (by prior appt) for failure items on an MOT fail = legal
From home to an MOT appt = legal
From an MOT appointment to home = legal
From an MOT appt to a place of repair (by prior arrangement) = legal
From a place of repair generally to home = illegal
From a place of repair (following MOT repairs) to home = legal
From a place of repair to an MOT appt = legal
From A to B in general = illegal

[Wig]

hi
further update spoke autotrader who said he has advertised a lot of cars in the last 12 months and he is definately classed as a trader no matter what he says, they advised me to conact trading standards etc, but that there were no guarantees i would win, but he would get investigated etc.

so i rang the man back told him i did not want the car to go to york that i wanted it done here and i wanted more than the hundred pounds he was offering, explained about autotrader also threatened him with the tax man, he then offered me £175 half of the £350 we had been quoted, i said not good enough in the end i got him to send me a cheque for £200

not fantastic not the whole amount that i wanted, but at the end of the day if i drag it through courts ive no guarentee of winning anything, i really love the car, apart from the head gaket it is a lovely car and has just had new brakes and exhaust etc for mot, i want to keep the car!! and not have it sat on my drive for months aiting to be sorted out.

i rang the mechanic wo looked at the car last night and he agreed to do the job including skimming pressure testing, new cam belt etc for no more than £350. (he said he would charge me no more than 350)

he can come and strip it down on sunday get it skimmed and sorted on monday!

so it is still gonna cost me 150 but i will know the job is done properly, and i will have my car back!

do you think i did te right thing by accepting £200????

If you really are sure you want to keep the car, you did the right thing. But there could be more hidden damage from the fact it has had a faulty gasket probably a long time. I would have pushed for a refund.

[Keith]

Anyone else think that (1A) is superflous?

Anyways, I think you're right Keith, neither (A) nor (3) make any reference to the need to be coming or going to/from an MOT appt, but nonetheless must be for the purpose of repairs relevant to an MOT fail.


Thats the way I see it, my car currently has no MOT, I understand it as above. If I book it in somewhere for work to be carried out, then I can drive their legally, and then legally drive home.

If I drive to the local shop for a pint of milk after having the vehicle repaired, then I'm breaking the law.

[Wig]

Thats the way I see it, my car currently has no MOT, I understand it as above. If I book it in somewhere for work to be carried out, then I can drive their legally, and then legally drive home.
But only for work to remedy the most recent MOT fail items. You can't for example take it to a garage to get it ready in anticipation on what items might fail an MOT. It's stupid but that's the way I read it.

[anewman]

I would also prepare for the possibility the offer to send a cheque was to shut you up and that either no cheque will arrive, or if it does the cheque may bounce. May end up being a case of there being no cheque in a week or two, you calling up and him having some excuse as to why it was not sent and that it will be sent sometime later. Eventually you'll find months have gone by and the seller will have won.

[Keith]

But only for work to remedy the most recent MOT fail items. You can't for example take it to a garage to get it ready in anticipation on what items might fail an MOT. It's stupid but that's the way I read it.

Got that covered, it failed on everything :D :rotfl:

[Road_Hog]

I would also prepare for the possibility the offer to send a cheque was to shut you up and that either no cheque will arrive, or if it does the cheque may bounce.

The one good thing about a bounced cheque is that it is a legal debt, with nothing to prove, i.e. there is no defence against it. So you could take him to court with guaranteed success.

[astraea]

he said he posted the cheque last night so if its not here by thursday/friday i shall be on the phone to him and then to trading standards, also i thought about a cheque bouncing but u thought that then i would maybe have some leeway taking him to court if i have a bounced cheque??

[reduceditem]

I hope this works out OK for you, astraea.

My strong advice would be to sell the car after the work is completed, accept a small loss and go and buy an old Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic (ultra-reliable).

The work you are having carried out is the equivalent of open-heart surgery on a car....I would never keep a vehicle after that kind of work.

It's just my opinion, but I speak from loooooong experience.

[Road_Hog]

he said he posted the cheque last night so if its not here by thursday/friday i shall be on the phone to him and then to trading standards, also i thought about a cheque bouncing but u thought that then i would maybe have some leeway taking him to court if i have a bounced cheque??

Yes, normally when you take someone to court, you have to prove to the judge (guy sitting in a big chair behind his desk in a small office/room) that you are in the right.

If someone sends you a cheque and it bounces, it is then classed as a debt under UK law. You can then sue for the debt, there isn't really any defence against it, because by sending the cheque they have deemed that they owe you that money.

[jeannieblue]

hi
further update spoke autotrader who said he has advertised a lot of cars in the last 12 months and he is definately classed as a trader no matter what he says, they advised me to conact trading standards etc, but that there were no guarantees i would win, but he would get investigated etc.

so i rang the man back told him i did not want the car to go to york that i wanted it done here and i wanted more than the hundred pounds he was offering, explained about autotrader also threatened him with the tax man, he then offered me £175 half of the £350 we had been quoted, i said not good enough in the end i got him to send me a cheque for £200

not fantastic not the whole amount that i wanted, but at the end of the day if i drag it through courts ive no guarentee of winning anything, i really love the car, apart from the head gaket it is a lovely car and has just had new brakes and exhaust etc for mot, i want to keep the car!! and not have it sat on my drive for months aiting to be sorted out.

i rang the mechanic wo looked at the car last night and he agreed to do the job including skimming pressure testing, new cam belt etc for no more than £350. (he said he would charge me no more than 350)

he can come and strip it down on sunday get it skimmed and sorted on monday!

so it is still gonna cost me 150 but i will know the job is done properly, and i will have my car back!

do you think i did te right thing by accepting £200????

If you get all that work done for £350 - I applaud you.

I wouldve thought a lot more than that for all that work, but hey, you probably have a good guy there that is helping you out!

Good luck

[sportage1kia]

hi
right last tuesday i bought a car from an ad on auto trader, it was marked as a trade seller, went up to get the car it is a renault megane scenic 1.6 s reg it had just got a years mot, but had no tax so the bloke said i could have £100 off and i bought it for £800, picked it up from his house he said he sells a few cars so dont know if this counts as a private seller?
started engine all sounded fine, this is my first car so have no idea what im looking at lol and told the bloke as much when looking at the car he said it was all fine just had new parts etc etc.... signed a piece of paper saying sold as seen, but had witnesses with me when he was saying the car was in fine repair....
drove the car home and then when looking throught the paperwork noticed that the registration document i had filled in and he gave me the oter half was not for my car but for a ford maverick! rang him the next day as it was late when we got back he said he had given me the one for his car by mistake and would send the proper one to me first class,
i could not drive the car for three days as could not get tax until the reg document ad come. got the tax yesterday and took it for a 20min drive (i am on a provisional lisence - go for test next month)
got back home hubby had a look under bonnet and noticed the radiator was empty, so we filled it up started engine looked again and it had dropped again went and got some more coolant put it ina nd car started billowing white smoke from the exhaust, he checked the oil which was like chocolate milkshae colour (when we first got car home it was black), looked about and we think it is the head gasket!!

i am going to take it to a garage in the morning to get it checked out but if it is an expensive repair job, do i have a leg to stand on?

i still have his registration doc for his car, is this worth anything?

thanks
i am really worried we have no money left after paying tax and insurance etc, and this £800 was all the money we had!!
I would contact your local trading standards office in the area where you purchased the car and get your money back. Many years ago I purchased a duff car and it ended up a long story and I wanted to sue the dealer.
Contact your local office.
Regards

[astraea]

well up to now the mechanic came this morning and stripped down the engine the head gasket had a big crack in it but we wont know about the main block until its been pressure tested, hes taking it in tom so next couple of days we will know for sure, also need a new manifold as it has a bad welding job on the one thats on, he said hell fit it in with the £350 but well have to pay for the part obviously. he said hell also do an engine clean? and change oil and filters for another £20 seems worthwhile doing it all at the same time!

the cheque came on friday, not cashed it yet waiting to find out if the gasket is ok first, the guy who is fixing the car seems spot on, he is getting it pressure tested before its skimmed to save money incase its busted!

if it is cracked then he said he will ring te bloke we go the car from and have words as the bolts etc were rusted so obviously been like it a while!

will know more once its been pressure tested then well know where we stand for definate!!

know nothing about cars and now its all i talk about lol
just seems like a never ending nightmare!!

[daveonline]

Thanks for the update, just been reading this post and hope it all works out for you, good luck.

[Wig]

Just to let you know, IMHO IANAL TINLA, I believe that you have now done two things which could be a problem

1. You have accepted £200 compensation - though he has nothing in writing to say that this was accepted as a final offer (if I was the seller I would have done that).

2. You have arranged an independant mechanic repair/inspection, this usually means under SOGA that you have accepted the vehicle is yours, which means it cannot now be rejected. But there is still hope, if you can prove that at the time of the sale the vehicle was inherently faulty -engineers report, not a mechanics report- you can still claim compensation.

The best thing you could have done was to negotiate a refund not a repair/£200.

[astraea]

hi
i did not sign anything to say it was a final payment, i am not that stupid hopefully (although debateable with this whole mess!)

the mechanic who is looking at the car does work for trading standards and said he can do an engineers report for us if needed and he said he can say that he was inspecting the car to see if it was faulty at time of purchase, am i doing the right thing not going for all my money back? probably, but also in these times of no money i cannot afford to not have a car and not have the money for the car for the months it would take to go through court.

if the block has a crack in it then the mechanic will ring him again and try to get him to pay up and if that does not work then trading standards here we come the mechanic working on the car says we have a good case. as he said he can proove that the car has been like this for a good while as the bolts were rusty showing water has been getting in for a good while.

[markelock]

before you complete the work, is it not worth adding some figures up.
for example

£200 plus the value of the car as scrap, plus money for new parts if you can get that off of him, you might be able to break even and start again? I know the market could have changed and the scrap value could be minimal, but its worth checking.

unless of course the repairs are the only things that will need doing and it's going to last for a good while longer.

I'm suprised he wouldn't take the car back and refund, rather than start giving you money back.