Car bought privately 2 months ago... mechanical issues

cozlw

Hi all,

My partner bought a car 2 months ago from a private party, a 2001 Seat Leon, petrol, 118000 miles on the clock for £1500 with full MOT and service, however since owning the car there has been numerous problems.

• Brake pads not replaced
• Hole in radiator, now needs replacing
• Central locking is faulty, may need replacement
• Oil light keeps coming on despite oil being in car and now cuts off the engine
• Battery doesnt hold its charge

I know that there are restrictions when buying a car privately but I honestly believe that these are things that should have been picked up at the service or MOT. I have the guy's address from the registration documents... would we have any legal stance as far as this all stands, as the car is now sat outside literally a hazard to drive!

Any advice would be appreciated as we plan to contact the seller for mis-selling the car but am unsure of where we would stand.

Thanks in advance!

DKLS

The MOT isnt some kind of guarantee for a year, get it fixed.

mollycat

Several people will be along to shoot me down shortly, but IMHO you have no comeback.

Buying a car from a private seller is always a risk, you need to check is as thoroughly as possible and ask loads of questions.

None of the issues you have with this car, (other than the brake pads which you could have worn down yourself in 2 months dependant on driving style) are of interest to a MOT tester.

Sorry, thats the way it goes.

If i'd bought that car, id have taken it on the chin and resolved to be more thorough next time.

JPS29

cozlw wrote: »

Any advice would be appreciated as we plan to contact the seller for mis-selling the car but am unsure of where we would stand.

The car had full service history, it had a full MOT and now it is developing problems after the sale. Whether or not these were there before the sale or not is irrelevant. It's a used car bought privately with no guarantees whatsoever.

You asked for advice and here it is. Either pay the money yourself and get the faults rectified or get shut of the car. You have NO COMEBACK WHATSOEVER with this car, why on earth would you think you did???

Anihilator

How did the seller missell it?

motorguy

cozlw wrote: »

Hi all,

My partner bought a car 2 months ago from a private party, a 2001 Seat Leon, petrol, 118000 miles on the clock for £1500 with full MOT and service, however since owning the car there has been numerous problems.

• Brake pads not replaced
• Hole in radiator, now needs replacing
• Central locking is faulty, may need replacement
• Oil light keeps coming on despite oil being in car and now cuts off the engine
• Battery doesnt hold its charge

I know that there are restrictions when buying a car privately but I honestly believe that these are things that should have been picked up at the service or MOT. I have the guy's address from the registration documents... would we have any legal stance as far as this all stands, as the car is now sat outside literally a hazard to drive!

Any advice would be appreciated as we plan to contact the seller for mis-selling the car but am unsure of where we would stand.

Thanks in advance!

For kick off a 'service' could consist of simply an oil and filter change, so expecting minor issues to be picked up and resolved by a 'service' is a bit naive. Also, an MOT only checks specific things on a specific day. It doesnt warrant the car against failure during the coming year.

I'm not seeing anything here that i wouldnt expect in any £1500 car bought privately.

Brake pads not replaced

Simply needs new pads. Thats a normal wear and tear issue. £30 for the pads, and £20 to fit.

Hole in radiator, now needs replacing

Could have happened any time. Did you check for leaks at purchase time. If not, why not?

Central locking is faulty, may need replacement

Probably a seizure somewhere or a minor electrical failure. Again nothing major and quite typical of happening during the winter on an older car.

Oil light keeps coming on despite oil being in car and now cuts off the engine

This one is more serious. You would need to get that looked at. You could be damaging the engine by driving it. The oil light coming on wont cut out the engine, so there is definitely something there needs investigating by a mechanic.

Battery doesnt hold its charge

Either a worn out battery or a worn out alternator. Normal wear and tear. Probably £60 for a battery or refurb'd alternator.

I suspect you didnt check the car thoroughly at the time or have an expert do it for you?

Therefore, Buyer beware, i'm afraid.

McKneff

118,000 miles on the clock:eek:

My gawd he saw you coming.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

motorguy

cozlw wrote: »

Any advice would be appreciated as we plan to contact the seller for mis-selling the car but am unsure of where we would stand.

I am actually cringing that you think this is anything but regular wear and tear AND / OR not getting the car checked out thoroughly before purchase. :eek:

And a prime example of 'blame culture' britain - its always someone elses fault.:mad:

aqueoushumour01

you're now in ownership of the car so you are responsible for these items. Same thing happened to me and I had to get things fixed. It's annoying but it's not really the other person's problem anymore.

Radsteral

118 .000 miles is not masive... unless you are used to buy 1 year old cars.

i bought my van with 213.000 miles and went to 290 k before i sold it becaue the turbo failed but absolutely nothing else faulty.. not even an indicator for 80 k miles i drove it .

cozlw

Thanks for the advice, I guessed that there wouldnt be anything that could really be done rather than repair the car, but it just seems that there are a lot of faults that I thought would have been picked up at time of MOT etc. Taken on the chin as a learning curve I guess.