this is a good one with a car dealer , need advise please

jamesey

earlyer in the year my dad had an accident in his van someone run into the back of him and made some damage to the back of his x plate mazda b2500 crew cab pick up , the insurance company said for him to get it repaired and they would send a guy out to look at the work when it had been done
it needed a new rear valence and a new bumper bar and spraying up , £700 of work to be exact , my dad paid his exess and claimed it back as the accident wasnt his fault
he got the van back all happy and merry
NOW hes traded the van in for another simular l200 pick up and this was a month ago now and the dealer is ringing my dad up and saying the pick up was wrote off earlier this year as a cat c
this wasnt the case as the insurance company aviva paid up for the repairs
the dealer was threatening my dad to come up to his house and take the l200 back with some spare keys hes found
we have done a hpi on our phones with one of these text check things and the old pick up has come back as being a cat c pending vic check , so who is to blame there , it shouldnt have been a cat c and the insurance company are at fault or the dvla , the dealer should have done a hpi before the deal , but on my dads log book he gave the guy it wasnt marked as cat c , what a pickle ive told him to get some legal advice
what do you think

System

I'm not sure who is responsible for ensuring that the HPI check databases are up to date. But, the dealer can phone the HPI company and point out that they think the cat c data is WRONG and then the HPI company SHOULD INVESTIGATE I would think.

More importantly, since the dealer has informed you that he has found a second set of keys for the new vehicle, you need to go and collect this 2nd set of keys which belong to you, not the dealer.

If the dealer attempted to use this 2nd set of keys to drive your vehicle, he would be a thief and you would call the police.

You have a contract of sale which shows that you own the new vehicle.

P.S.
It sounds to me like this dealer is a bit of a cowboy because:
a) A reputable car dealer should know that HPI databases can be wrong and should have known to request confirmation of status
b) A reputable dealer would never hold onto a 2nd set of keys for a vehicle they were selling (MOST vehicles have more than one set)

Make sure that when you go to collect the spare keys, more than one of you go together and be ready to dial 999 if the dealer starts to be threatening

rev_henry

Well, the dealer can't do anything, its his own stupid fault for not HPI-ing the pickup before he took it in.

But for belt and braces I'd get onto aviva and demand to know why the hell they've cat c'd it, and get them to change it asap.

motorguy

rev_henry wrote: »

Well, the dealer can't do anything, its his own stupid fault for not HPI-ing the pickup before he took it in.

But for belt and braces I'd get onto aviva and demand to know why the hell they've cat c'd it, and get them to change it asap.

+1

The dealer is the 'expert' its up to him to know the history of the vehicle he is buying.

jamesey

its not really the dealers fault but hes not got the right to say hes taking the l200 back

richardvc

Buyer beware - he should have hpi'd it before he bought it - that is in essence all it has been. Two sales just at different values.

If he takes the other one back it's theft and secondly why weren't the second set of keys passed on to your dad - contact the Police if in any doubt as the dealer has threatened to take it !

Good luck !

motorguy

jamesey wrote: »

its not really the dealers fault but hes not got the right to say hes taking the l200 back

it IS the dealers fault. They should have HPI'd it before purchase, not after.

colino

It is the insurers fault, god bless them, with premiums to rake in and legitimate claims to ignore, they must have been too knackered to update the db properly.