My car is defiantly as described

charlie1968

Can anyone help me please with some advice? I bought a car from a guy on eBay 17th January this year. The car is described as "very high spec including built in DVD player, cd multichanger, air con, cruise control, alloys, electric windows, electric folding mirrors everything works as it should. Interior in very good condition with no rips or tears, all plastics good with no broken bits. Engine and gearbox all good. Comes with MOT til jan 2013". Well the cd multichanger does not work, there are a lot of broken bits on the plastic interior, the MOT must be dodgy as the horn does not work and on of the tyres was not just bald but down to the metal and the gearbox needs to be topped up with transmision fluid once every two weeks. It appears the fluid is somehow leaking into the water so the radiator and the water system are now contaminated with oil causing the car to overheat. Repair cost for this is approx £500. Since I've had the car I have had to join the rac as an emergency and have already used them three times. The guy I have bought this from does not answer any of my emails and it appears is no longer registered with eBay. E bay would not help with this even when he was registered. What can I do? Someone help please.

im-lost

caveat emptor.. you had the chance to check it over, get an inspection etc etc
you were happy to buy, ergo everything was fine.

who's to say you haven't broken these things in the past 2 and a half months.

charlie1968

The previous owner contacted me through eBay to tell me the faults with the car before he sold it to the guy I bought it from, I did check it out and he was right. The tyre, the horn and the gearbox. I tried to contact the guy who sold it to me early February in the first instance.

Joe_Horner

Presumably you had the seller's details including address in order to collect the car?

Assuming he was a genuine private seller about the only thing you might have a shot with is the car being unroadworthy (tyre and horn - gearbox isn't a roadworthiness or MOT issue) because it's an offence for ANYONE to sell am unroadworthy car unless it's made clear that it isn't - saying it'll have a new MOT isn't telling you it shouldn't be used on road!

That said, with the time that's lapsed you'd be very hard pressed to show that those faults were there at the time of sale. The message from the previous owner might help with that but would he / she be prepared to stand up in court if needed to confirm?

If the guy was selling as a business (doesn't matter if he admits it, it depends on trading pattern more than anything) then you're on slightly better ground but still likely to be an uphill struggle.

To be honest, the tyre and horn should have been obvious when you collected the car and enough to make you doubt the MOT / general honesty of the seller. EBay allows you to reject cars at collection which probably would have been the sensible thing to do here

TrickyWicky

I know this doesn't help much now but always research your potential car to find out its weakpoints and common faults. Some cars are mint via ebay, others will be guaranteed trouble. Thats why you need to do research because if its a bad one then you can guarantee the current owner has neglected its repairs due to expense and just wants to shift the problem onto someone else.

forgotmyname

Its taken almost 2 months to notice these defects?

Private sale? Its tough luck really. It may have a DVD player etc, But did he specifically say DVD player fully tested and works?

Did you not notice all the broken plastic bits when you inspected the car and tested all the electrics??

I presume its an auto and the cooler is corroded and leaking, Are you sure its going to cost £500?

charlie1968

The cars a Chrysler grand voyager, nothing is cheap on them.

Sgt_Pepper_2

So when did you notice the cords on the tyre?

They obviously had tread on them all when you bought it else you'd have noticed it.

Did the horn work when you checked the car prior to buying it?

I don't think plastic trim is included on the mot. How can you say it is not a genuine one as you either didn't check the car or they were ok when you bought it?

Hintza

If the car is being "defiant" then a good thrashing should sort it out.

Premier_2

charlie1968 wrote: »

Can anyone help me please with some advice? I bought a car from a guy on eBay 17th January this year. The car is described as "very high spec including built in DVD player, cd multichanger, air con, cruise control, alloys, electric windows, electric folding mirrors everything works as it should. Interior in very good condition with no rips or tears, all plastics good with no broken bits. Engine and gearbox all good. Comes with MOT til jan 2013". Well the cd multichanger does not work, there are a lot of broken bits on the plastic interior, the MOT must be dodgy as the horn does not work and on of the tyres was not just bald but down to the metal and the gearbox needs to be topped up with transmision fluid once every two weeks. It appears the fluid is somehow leaking into the water so the radiator and the water system are now contaminated with oil causing the car to overheat. Repair cost for this is approx £500. Since I've had the car I have had to join the rac as an emergency and have already used them three times. The guy I have bought this from does not answer any of my emails and it appears is no longer registered with eBay. E bay would not help with this even when he was registered. What can I do? Someone help please.

What would you like to happen?

Notmyrealname

Sorry but you sound like someone who should only buy a brand new car from a dealership. The tyre would have been immediately obvious as it was bald.

You have only yourself to blame for not looking round it when you picked it up. You have few rights buying a second hand car from a private seller.