Bought a lemon from private seller!
gonthemicrobe
Posts: 57 Forumite
in Motoring
Hi folks, long one and I know I've been stupid but here goes...
Last week I bought a used car from a private seller. It had low mileage, a full year's MoT, plenty of receipts and looked great for its age. It was advertised as immaculate and during an email chat with the seller (through Auto Trader's email system) it was described as faultless and in showroom condition. On inspection and test drive it appeared to be and so I bought it after some haggling.
After purchase, within a few hours the brake lights had failed (a common problem but only around £20 to fix the relevant switch) and an occasional burning smell started coming through the vents. Within a few days the gearbox started rattling at idle.
I got it to a mechanic today who said that it needed a new clutch and power steering rack and from what he could see, major faults with both these systems had been covered up in order for it to pass an MoT and be sold. He described the power steering situation in particular as dangerous and a long-term issue caused by pipe corrosion. I've to take it in early next week for a diagnostic and costings etc.
I called the seller who denied all knowledge and claimed it wasn't his problem, but said that "out of courtesy" he'd be willing to talk next week when I have prices. As he already blocked me from one phone number during a previous discussion I have my doubts about this.
I plan on also taking it to an official VW dealer on Friday to see if they agree with the diagnosis that faults had been clearly covered up. Should this be the case, do I have a leg to stand on legally? The car was advertised as faultless and I have correspondence from the seller affirming this.
I know I'm probably shafted but any advice would be great!
Last week I bought a used car from a private seller. It had low mileage, a full year's MoT, plenty of receipts and looked great for its age. It was advertised as immaculate and during an email chat with the seller (through Auto Trader's email system) it was described as faultless and in showroom condition. On inspection and test drive it appeared to be and so I bought it after some haggling.
After purchase, within a few hours the brake lights had failed (a common problem but only around £20 to fix the relevant switch) and an occasional burning smell started coming through the vents. Within a few days the gearbox started rattling at idle.
I got it to a mechanic today who said that it needed a new clutch and power steering rack and from what he could see, major faults with both these systems had been covered up in order for it to pass an MoT and be sold. He described the power steering situation in particular as dangerous and a long-term issue caused by pipe corrosion. I've to take it in early next week for a diagnostic and costings etc.
I called the seller who denied all knowledge and claimed it wasn't his problem, but said that "out of courtesy" he'd be willing to talk next week when I have prices. As he already blocked me from one phone number during a previous discussion I have my doubts about this.
I plan on also taking it to an official VW dealer on Friday to see if they agree with the diagnosis that faults had been clearly covered up. Should this be the case, do I have a leg to stand on legally? The car was advertised as faultless and I have correspondence from the seller affirming this.
I know I'm probably shafted but any advice would be great!
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Comments
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I am far from an expert or knowledgeable on this subject so take this with a pinch of salt, but if stuff has been covered up to pass an MOT, that would be the responsibility of the garage that issued the MOT, not the owner of the vehicle.0
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Sorry, perhaps phrased that wrong.
The suggestion was that the someone deliberately covered up the fault, then put the car trough its MoT and the fault was missed. An MoT station would have no vested interest in covering up a fault like that.0 -
Have you heard the phrase ''buyer beware''?
If indeed he was a private seller (as opposed to a trader who happened to sell this vehicle from his home address) I can't see you getting any recompense unless he agrees to it.
The time for the car to be examined was before you parted with your cash.
Probably not what you want to hear.
It would be totally different if you could prove he was a trader.0 -
Not quite true. Although there's no requirement for a car bought from a private seller to be of satisfactory quality or fit for purpose but legally the seller must accurately describe it's condition and, more importantly, not misrepresent the details of the car. It seems in this case, and if the OP can prove it, the seller has indeed done both things.jonesMUFCforever wrote: »Have you heard the phrase ''buyer beware''?
If indeed he was a private seller (as opposed to a trader who happened to sell this vehicle from his home address) I can't see you getting any recompense unless he agrees to it.
The time for the car to be examined was before you parted with your cash.
Probably not what you want to hear.
It would be totally different if you could prove he was a trader.0 -
Yeah it's a long shot but there might be a chance. Main proof I have comes from...
- Autotrader ad which described car as immaculate
- Email correspondence where I directly asked about any known faults. I was told there were none, that the car was "faultless", "in showroom condition" and that it had "always been serviced and looked after."
- Opinion from mechanic that dangerous power steering problem was long-term, must have been known to the seller and upon inspection looked like there had been some attempt at covering it up.
I'll get an assessment from an official VW mechanic next and see if it comes up similar.0 -
Have you googled any personal phone numbers you have for him? Just to see if he has been selling a large number of cars/is really a trader.0
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!!!! Hit the nail on the head! He's a trader. Has been selling cars on Gumtree from same number. Cannot believe I was such an idiot not to check this.
What's my best course of action now?0 -
Report him to hmrc for a start0
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How much money are we talking about here? If it was £500 then forget it, but if it was £20k, we'll...0
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gonthemicrobe wrote: »!!!! Hit the nail on the head! He's a trader. Has been selling cars on Gumtree from same number. Cannot believe I was such an idiot not to check this.
What's my best course of action now?
Firstly get screen shots of as many of his ads as you can
Did you meet him at his own address? Surely the address would have been different on the v5c.0
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