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_3

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_3

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.