Second hand vehicle purchased privately... my rights?

Gavin83

Im no expert on this, but Im fairly sure covering something up and delibrately deceiving someone with a misleading advert is breaking the law.

bingo_bango

Gavin83 wrote: »

Im no expert on this, but Im fairly sure covering something up and delibrately deceiving someone with a misleading advert is breaking the law.

It does, under S.2 of The Fraud Act 2006. But good luck getting the police to take it seriously.

2Fraud by false representation

(1)A person is in breach of this section if he—
(a)dishonestly makes a false representation, and
(b)intends, by making the representation—
(i)to make a gain for himself or another, or
(ii)to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.

(2)A representation is false if—
(a)it is untrue or misleading, and
(b)the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading.

4743hudsonj

moonrakerz wrote: »

In this case, the seller could say: "yes, there was sealant there, but it has been there for thousands of miles, I've had no problem with it"
.

This is where a professional opinion comes in to prove silicone sealant has no place in an engine because it perishes with heat (and just doesnt make a very good gasket/o-ring), so it must have been there to deceive prospective buyers........

Caveat emptor is not a get out of jail free card for fraudsters....

Freddie_Snowbits

I normally sell my car when the cam belt is due to be replaced.

The buyer is never told of this, as to me it is none of his business. It is tuff

MetalMinx

I don't know much about the law when it comes to any come back you may have on him, but one thing I wanted to point out....that ebay listing says MOT until July 2011. That means it just passed an MOT and I'd be surprised if a decent mechanic would have passed the car with the engine in that state. So why not take it back to who did the MOT and ask a few questions there. Wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be his 'mate'.
Just a warning, cause you could find that it doesn't actually have a valid MOT with this kind of fault.

I know its depressing, but try not to get too wound up about it. These things happen. I have bought and sold many a car on ebay and unfortunately it happens, and you won't be the first. (I understand you didn't actually buy on ebay, but its the same thing, its on there for a reason!).

clarkey3262

MetalMinx wrote: »

I don't know much about the law when it comes to any come back you may have on him, but one thing I wanted to point out....that ebay listing says MOT until July 2011. That means it just passed an MOT and I'd be surprised if a decent mechanic would have passed the car with the engine in that state. So why not take it back to who did the MOT and ask a few questions there. Wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be his 'mate'.
Just a warning, cause you could find that it doesn't actually have a valid MOT with this kind of fault.

The one part of a car that an MOT Test does not look at/test is the engine. The reason for this is that failure of most engine components is not deemed a safety risk.

4743hudsonj

MetalMinx wrote: »

I don't know much about the law when it comes to any come back you may have on him, but one thing I wanted to point out....that ebay listing says MOT until July 2011. That means it just passed an MOT and I'd be surprised if a decent mechanic would have passed the car with the engine in that state. So why not take it back to who did the MOT and ask a few questions there. Wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be his 'mate'.
Just a warning, cause you could find that it doesn't actually have a valid MOT with this kind of fault.

I know its depressing, but try not to get too wound up about it. These things happen. I have bought and sold many a car on ebay and unfortunately it happens, and you won't be the first. (I understand you didn't actually buy on ebay, but its the same thing, its on there for a reason!).

An MOT does NOT mean a vehicle is roadworthy or mechanically sound, and VOSA mention this. As long as it meets emissions on that day at that time and has no glaring safety issues then it passes, but equally it could have HGF, blow camshaft seals, unseated pistons etc etc. IE in no way mechanically sound (obviously these make emissions harder to meet but not impossible.)


So the car having an mot doesnt prove anything. Beside it may well have failed since, prompting an immediate sale, therefore still meaning the possibility of misrepresentation.

Directgov wrote:

The MOT certificate confirms that at the time of the test, without dismantling it, the vehicle met the minimum acceptable environmental and road safety standards required by law. It doesn’t mean that the vehicle is roadworthy for the length of time the certificate is valid. The MOT certificate is also no guarantee of the general mechanical condition of your vehicle. The test doesn’t cover the condition of the engine, clutch or gearbox.

gRoberts

4743hudsonj wrote: »

An MOT does NOT mean a vehicle is roadworthy or mechanically sound, and VOSA mention this. As long as it meets emissions on that day at that time and has no glaring safety issues then it passes, but equally it could have HGF, blow camshaft seals, unseated pistons etc etc. IE in no way mechanically sound (obviously these make emissions harder to meet but not impossible.)


So the car having an mot doesnt prove anything. Beside it may well have failed since, prompting an immediate sale, therefore still meaning the possibility of misrepresentation.

I looked at the history on VOSA and it passed every single MOT, only the last had an advisory... for an oil leak of all things.

That said, the guy had the car repaired at the same place all the time, funnily enough where all the receipts and MOT's were done. His brother in law.

4743hudsonj

gRoberts wrote: »

I looked at the history on VOSA and it passed every single MOT, only the last had an advisory... for an oil leak of all things.

That said, the guy had the car repaired at the same place all the time, funnily enough where all the receipts and MOT's were done. His brother in law.

What is the exact nature of the issue? would take some leak to require a new engine......