Private car sale rights

xvickyx

Hi

Ok, a little help please.

I sold my golf a while ago, nearly a month now, after getting it fixed and running fine, as I didn’t want to sell it whilst not working.

The guy came from London to come and view, didn’t test drive the car, just looked around and asked if it started and ran OK, which it did, we had driven it for miles the day before!

He emailed the day after saying it had cut out on his way home.

The car was “sold as seen and tested” but he never actually tested it, which I found strange, anyone who buys a car test drives it don’t they? Well anyway we fixed it and spent over £200 sorting it out and it was working to the best of our knowledge when we sold it.

I hadn’t heard from him for a month until today he said he has fixed the problem at £245 and if I don’t get back to him he says that he will take me to court?!

Arrghhhhh I am getting so !!!!ed off with all this!

Surely does he have a leg to stand on after a month?!

Help!

Vicky x

somethingcorporate

Given it was a private sale he has no rights at all - Caveat Emptor - buyer beware.

Unless you deliberately lied or misled during the sale he can do nothing about it.

He obviously had the opportunity to test drive it / get it professionally looked at and chose not to - that's his look out.

Be nice and polite in telling him to sling his hook.

Equaliser123

No he doesn't have a leg to stand on unless you have misrepresented the car in some way or have made an express contractual provision. Sounds like you have done neither.

xvickyx

Thank you, this is what I thought

I am starting to feel that he is trying to scare me into paying this money back!

somethingcorporate

xvickyx wrote: »

Thank you, this is what I thought

I am starting to feel that he is trying to scare me into paying this money back!

That is exactly what he is trying to do.

Googlewhacker

just show him your snake, make him run a mile!!!

pinkshoes

He should have got a quote or three for the work to be done, and asked you to pay it (which you could have refused, or perhaps offered to take the car back obviously after checking he really had only done a few miles...).

As it's a month later, and he's obviously done many miles on it, and had work done, then he hasn't got a leg to stand on.

Equaliser123

pinkshoes wrote: »

He should have got a quote or three for the work to be done, and asked you to pay it (which you could have refused, or perhaps offered to take the car back obviously after checking he really had only done a few miles...).

As it's a month later, and he's obviously done many miles on it, and had work done, then he hasn't got a leg to stand on.

Why? He wouldn't have had a leg to stand on anyway as it is a private sale, sold as seen.

Aginoth

somethingcorporate wrote: »

Given it was a private sale he has no rights at all - Caveat Emptor - buyer beware.

Unless you deliberately lied or misled during the sale he can do nothing about it.

He obviously had the opportunity to test drive it / get it professionally looked at and chose not to - that's his look out.

Be nice and polite in telling him to sling his hook.

Buyer beware yes but only if you as the seller did not misrepresent the vehicle in your advertisment.

I won a court case 3 weeks ago against a guy who sold me a van. he claimed he had spent every penny required to maintain it and that it had passed it's last MoT.

turned out it needed £500 of welding and had failed it's previous MoT because of dangerous corrosion, which he had had disguised with underbody paint and glued on plates.

Judge found in my favour and required him to cover cost of repairs as he misrepresented the van in his advert. He has still failed to pay and I have now asked for court baliffs to get my money.

Equaliser123

Aginoth wrote: »

Buyer beware yes but only if you as the seller did not misrepresent the vehicle in your advertisment.

I won a court case 3 weeks ago against a guy who sold me a van. he claimed he had spent every penny required to maintain it and that it had passed it's last MoT.

turned out it needed £500 of welding and had failed it's previous MoT because of dangerous corrosion, which he had had disguised with underbody paint and glued on plates.

Judge found in my favour and required him to cover cost of repairs as he misrepresented the van in his advert. He has still failed to pay and I have now asked for court baliffs to get my money.

As post 3.

As a matter of interest, did your defendant turn up?

Aginoth

Equaliser123 wrote: »

As post 3.

As a matter of interest, did your defendant turn up?

nope, sent me a final threatening letter the day before the case then didn't bother to show up...bit of an embugrance because he had had the case move to his local court; a seven hour round trip for me, but that added £100 in travel costs to his final amount owing.

Baliffs fees have just added another £100 and the additional baliff visit cost should add another £300-400 to that.

If he had just settled originally it would have cost him just short of £500, after court £700, after baliffs around £1100.