Private car sale sold as seen??

quacker700

Hi All need a bit of advice.

Last week i viewed a car for sale on e-bay, i went to the private sellers address and took the car for a test drive and it appeared to be ok. The e-bay list said that the car had been in the family for 10 years, was reliable and the seller drove it around 100 miles a week.

We agreed a fair price of £430 for a P reg corsa which is in average condition for its age.

I picked up the car yesterday and paid the remainder of the balance in cash.

Whilst driving the car home ( a journey of 30 miles) the car developed a knocking noise from the engine. I pulled the car over and found that it wouldnt start. I called the RAC who stated that the crank shaft had seized and that really the cheapest option would be a replacement engine at around £500 inc fitting.

I have spoken with the seller who says that he didnt know that anything was wrong with the car and that he isnt prepared to do anything.

I understand when buying an older car there may be things that need to be fixed like a punctured tyre or a leaky window but do i have any rights as it is a major mechanical fault and the car didnt even get me home??

Please help

Esqui

You have few rights against private sellers. It's buyer beware, unfortunately.

4743hudsonj

Caveat Emptor (buyer beware). You have no rights whatsoever and it was really down to you to get the vehicle properly checked beforehand.

The only recourse you could possibly have is if the seller has misrepresented the car by stating falsities. So if they knew the engine was knocking and the crank was going and they stated it ran fine, you could sue, however this is very unlikely to be proved (how can you?) Scrap the car for £75 quid to minimize the cost and buy again.

bribri_2

Although you say it is a private seller, just check that that is true. See if they have other cars or google their phone number.

maninthestreet

£430 for a P-reg Corsa?? - even if it didn't have this fault, you were paid way too much for it.

pendulum

maninthestreet wrote: »

£430 for a P-reg Corsa?? - even if it didn't have this fault, you were paid way too much for it.

"You were paid way too much for it."?
What's that supposed to mean? They bought it, they didn't sell it, how can they be paid too much for it?

Who knows what you were trying to say... if you meant they paid too much for it even if it didn't have this fault, how do YOU know? You don't know anything about the MoT duration, amount of tax included, trim level, interior/exterior condition.

pinkshoes

Difficult one. In theory it's buyer beware, but there have been MANY cases where the buyer has won in court and been issued a full refund.

Would there have been any signs leading up to the crank shaft seizing?

Was it sold in good working order? If so, then given you didn't even get it home, I'd first try opening a "significantly not as described" dispute on ebay, and if that doesn't work, there's always the option of the small claims court.

maninthestreet

pendulum wrote: »

"You were paid way too much for it."?
What's that supposed to mean? They bought it, they didn't sell it, how can they be paid too much for it?

Who knows what you were trying to say... if you meant they paid too much for it even if it didn't have this fault, how do YOU know? You don't know anything about the MoT duration, amount of tax included, trim level, interior/exterior condition.

Typo on my part, I mean't to say '....you paid too much for it'.
A 13 or 14 year old Corsa simply isn't worth £430 regardless of the MOT duration, road tax left, trim level and condition.

pendulum

maninthestreet wrote: »

A 13 or 14 year old Corsa simply isn't worth £430 regardless of the MOT duration, road tax left, trim level and condition.

:rotfl: The old ones are still popular with new drivers or as economical run arounds, your pricing's well off, £430 has to be about average selling price for a half decent Corsa with a longish MoT. There's dozens of 1997 Corsas advertised on Autotrader between £500 and £600+.

pulliptears

older corsas became quite sought after with the scrappage scheme making sure that decent runarounds for new drivers and teens were crushed.

toffe

pinkshoes wrote: »

Difficult one. In theory it's buyer beware, but there have been MANY cases where the buyer has won in court and been issued a full refund..

Have there? do you have any links to past court cases?

It's my understanding that a private seller has no liability if you buy a duff car friom them, you had the chance to ispect the vehicle before making payment, the seller is not legally oblidged to disclose any known faults (to my knowledge) and therefore if you inspect the vhicle and make payment there really is no come back, usually. as the car was "sold as seen".