Problem with 2nd hand car bought Saturday!

shellonabeach

Hi Guys

Firstly please don't eat me alive, yes I am female and yes I bought a used car 2 days ago which now has a problem! I'm after a bit of help on how to proceed and would be grateful for any advice.

Car was bought from a trader who was selling it from his home and not his garage forecourt as he stated it had too many miles to be sold on his forecourt. Receipt just confirms price paid and vehicle type and reg etc it also has his home address on it and not his business name / address.

Viewed a 2002 ford focus 1.6 petrol 110K miles on the clock Friday night in the pouring rain and put down a deposit, all seemed ok to my very novice eye, test drove handled nicely etc and the price reflected the milage on the car (paid £900)

Picked up the car Sat morning and drove it to the nearest town 10 miles away to do some shopping, I popped into a shop (partner driving) and noticed when I came outside that smoke was coming from the exhaust. Took it straight to the nearest garage who said there was no problem with the exhaust they could see (just a tyres and exhaust type place)

A check that evening showed it was almost empty of oil (no warning light on on dash) we re-filled the oil and it was still smokey. It hasn't been driven since apart from to the garage and back this morning and we have only done 40 miles in it total!

Took it to a small independent garage today who have said that it is burning oil, various small clips etc weren't done up like the radiator hose clips and his opinion was that the engine was on its way out and we should return it to the dealer from where we bought it.

When we bought it the dealer advised us several times it needed a service, and indeed it was booked in for a service today at the garage who looked at it and told us to return it. However given it had a service 6 months and 5500 miles ago it appears it isn't due for another service yet anyway.

I'm not quite sure where to go from here!

I need to speak to the dealer but am not sure what to say! Obviously I don't want to spend any money on getting it serviced etc when it appears there is a major problem and if the engine is on its way out cannot see how the dealer can repair it...

scotsbob

Either you spend a lot of money on repairs OR you sell it on, ideally on a dark, rainy, night to someone who doesn't know about cars and is desparate to have one.

I'm sorry if that is harsh but it is the reality of the situation. Sell it on or spend money on it.

maninthestreet

With a 110,000 miles (at least) on the clock, you would expect some wear in the engine. Unfortunately, Caveat Emptor might apply. How did you find out about the car in the first place?

shellonabeach

scotsbob wrote: »

Either you spend a lot of money on repairs OR you sell it on, ideally on a dark, rainy, night to someone who doesn't know about cars and is desparate to have one.

I'm sorry if that is harsh but it is the reality of the situation. Sell it on or spend money on it.

Yes I was that person on the dark rainy night who needed another car quickly!

Do I really not have any rights to go back to the dealer?

shellonabeach

maninthestreet wrote: »

With a 110,000 miles (at least) on the clock, you would expect some wear in the engine. Unfortunately, Caveat Emptor might apply. How did you find out about the car in the first place?

It was advertised for sale on the internet on a car selling site

I realised it was high milage but expected another 40-50K miles out of it at least

Strider590

shellonabeach wrote: »

When we bought it the dealer advised us several times it needed a service,

To me, this indicates the dealer knew it had problems......

Indout96

It sounds like it was sold from his house as a "private" sale because he knew it was not fit to be sold via the garage. Does not sound like the type of person who will take it back and return your money to be honest.

shellonabeach

Indout96 wrote: »

It sounds like it was sold from his house as a "private" sale because he knew it was not fit to be sold via the garage. Does not sound like the type of person who will take it back and return your money to be honest.

This is my concern as the receipt has his home address on it, however he confirmed he was a dealer and that he had taken it in part-ex. The advert states trade with the garage number on it and the dealer part of the log book has gone, we have the whole log book with the previous owners name in it.

Consumer Direct have told us to ask the seller to repair / refund, I have called a couple of times but no answer yet...

getmore4less

How big is the dealer site what sort of stuff does he normaly sell

Would it be inconvenient to have this car turn up with a unhappy customer

photome

scotsbob wrote: »

Either you spend a lot of money on repairs OR you sell it on, ideally on a dark, rainy, night to someone who doesn't know about cars and is desparate to have one.

I'm sorry if that is harsh but it is the reality of the situation. Sell it on or spend money on it.

Or return it and ask for a refund as the guy is a dealer, may not be that easy of course

s_b

get back to this drive now and stick the thing up to his door
tell him you want your money back or your cousins are coming for him

next time as im sick to the back teeth of saying do not buy cars from peoples homes without a proper inspection