Ebay caravan, dangerous condition.

lin8907

Hi. I bought a caravan off ebay. On way home with it, on M1 motorway, a wheel flew off hitting the following car. The seller had told me he'd put 2 new tyres on the caravan. The recovery driver believed that the bolts on 'missing' tyre had not been tightened and found that the bolts on remaining tyre were loose. He is willing to testify to this. Where do I stand with regard to the cost of damage to following car (hopefully just a new allow wheel), the missing tyre and wheel, and cost of having the caravan transported home ? My receipt is signed and dated and does not state 'bought as seen'.
Cheers. Lin

Alter_ego

The condition of a vehicle (Including a caravan) on the road is the sole responsibility of the driver.

chib

Yip, the minute you drove that from his property it was your responsibility to ensure it was roadworthy. In some cases you could argue this (IE - A rented vehicle) as part of the service is having the car prepared for you.

To help with the damage to the other car, rather than going through the insurance (Do they know you were going to be pulling a caravan... or do they need to??) you may be cheaper paying for a new Alloy Wheel and having the tyre moved over if possible.

Oliver14

Alter_ego wrote: »

The condition of a vehicle (Including a caravan) on the road is the sole responsibility of the driver.

Yes the OP should have checked that but even for a Private sale the SOGA applies in that the Caravan should have been accurately described and of Satisfactory Conditions.

So yes you would have a case if you can back it up.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?117106

System

I'm sorry but SOGA does not come in to it. There was no fault with the caravan. The driver should have carried out all the checks required to ensure that the caravan was fit to take on the road including lights, braking system and wheel security.

It sounds as though the OP paid the money, hitched up and drove off without making any checks whatsoever.


RTA trumps SOGA

Alter_ego

Oliver14 wrote: »

Yes the OP should have checked that but even for a Private sale the SOGA applies in that the Caravan should have been accurately described and of Satisfactory Conditions.

So yes you would have a case if you can back it up.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?117106

Yes S13 might apply if the buyer did not have an opportunity to inspect before the contract was concluded.

pendulum

Oliver14 wrote: »

Yes the OP should have checked that but even for a Private sale the SOGA applies in that the Caravan should have been accurately described and of Satisfactory Conditions.

So yes you would have a case if you can back it up.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?117106

From your link: 3. Goods must be of satisfactory quality (s.14)
Further down:S.14 only applies where the seller sells goods in the course of a business. It therefore does not apply to private sales.

In other words, goods sold in private sales do not have to be of "satisfactory quality", they are sold as seen by default, faults and all.

It may be illegal under the Road Traffic Act to sell a caravan in an unroadworthy condition, see http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/75 - this applies to "vehicles and trailers", it may apply to caravans. It will be very hard to enforce this, but printing it out may convince the seller to take some responsibility.

Freddie_Snowbits

Good, that will be another caravanm off the road then

custardy

lin8907 wrote: »

Hi. I bought a caravan off ebay. On way home with it, on M1 motorway, a wheel flew off hitting the following car. The seller had told me he'd put 2 new tyres on the caravan. The recovery driver believed that the bolts on 'missing' tyre had not been tightened and found that the bolts on remaining tyre were loose. He is willing to testify to this. Where do I stand with regard to the cost of damage to following car (hopefully just a new allow wheel), the missing tyre and wheel, and cost of having the caravan transported home ? My receipt is signed and dated and does not state 'bought as seen'.
Cheers. Lin

and will he testify there was no way you could have done anything to the caravan when it was in your possession?
is he willing to testify the wheel nuts were not at the correct torque when yuo purchased the caravan?

System

pendulum wrote: »

From your link: 3. Goods must be of satisfactory quality (s.14)
Further down:S.14 only applies where the seller sells goods in the course of a business. It therefore does not apply to private sales.

In other words, goods sold in private sales do not have to be of "satisfactory quality", they are sold as seen by default, faults and all.

It may be illegal under the Road Traffic Act to sell a caravan in an unroadworthy condition, see http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/75 - this applies to "vehicles and trailers", it may apply to caravans. It will be very hard to enforce this, but printing it out may convince the seller to take some responsibility.

It would not have been unroadworthy if the buyer had completed the standard checks before taking it on the road. You can not use the law to cover up somebody's negligence (unless you are an MP)

DVardysShadow

OP is responsible to other roadusers in civil and criminal law for the state of the caravan and the consequences.

Seller is responsible in civil law to OP for state of the caravan and consequences to OP.