Car Private Seller Problem

einalem

If this is in wrong place please move.....I didn't know whether to out it here or ebay forum




Please be gentle as I feel very silly about the below and looking back I realise I am daft. I will give the background and then my question is at the bottom….sorry its long:
I got some unexpected money (tax refund )
I found a cheap car for £795 on ebay, advert said mechanically great, so made an offer of £650 seller said she would accept £700. I agreed and sent the offer through ebay. I emailed her through paypal a £100 deposit(I stated in the that it was for the car with advert ebay number xxxxxx)
Picked up car paid rest in cash as agreed in ebay messages(I still have these). This was all 7 weeks ago.Car always had very noisy suspension but I just thought it was an old car(2002). 3 weeks later horrible noise……..few more days later broke down………AA towed me to garage. Needed new clutch and gearbox…….paid this approx £580.
Yesterday car made a new noise sounded all souped up like a boy racer. Took for inspection told it needs new catalytic convertor, middle pipe and that the front arms were not the correct ones, hence my funny suspension noise earlier on. Told basically its not worth it by garage as will cost over £700.
Visited seller today(actually the house was a relative of theirs as that’s where I picked car up from and after arguing and persuasion seller came round to talk).
She denies she knew anything about this. Garage says this was there at the time of sale though. After the gearbox went wrong I contacted her and gave benefit of doubt as they denied all knowledge but now this has gone wrong I am unsure. Either way whether she knew or not the advert stated mechanically sound and it is not and garage has said problems were there at time of sale so I can get a report if needed. So I am thinking of taking her to small claims court.
Now this is the bit I am unsure of. After I made the offer of £700 through ebay offer in ebay seller messaged me we arranged picking up but she just ended item instead of accepting offer(didn’t know this till I got home) so ebay cannot help as transaction completed outside of ebay. She is saying there is no proof now that she sold me the car as working she just ended the car item.
So evidence I have:
1) Ebay advert says “mechanically with paypal email stating deposit paid for item number of car.
2) I have the reg doc
3) Messages saying she will accept £700 and arranging sale
4) Bank statement showing I took £600 out of my bank on day of sale
Is that enough proof to prove I bought the car and that she stated it was sound?
I know that whether the problems were there at the time of sale relies on a garage inspection report and I not asking for advice on whether I will win or anything just about whether this is proof she sold it to me as working.

Any advice would be welcome
Please don’t tell he how daft I am as I already know that!

vax2002

You bought a second hand car complete with all faults and imperfections from a private seller. You had every opportunity to examine the vehicle for defects.

You only recourse will be proving the seller is acting as a dealer.

Is the VC5 in the name of the person you bought it from ?
If not and you have a contact number, get a friend to call up and ask about the car for sale, if they are a dealer, they will fall straight for it.
If so contact trading standards, Inland revenue and let them have whats coming to them !

Tilt

SOGA does not cover private sales unless you can show that the seller deliberately falsified the car's description. Vax gives good advice though.... if the seller turns out to be a trader then that would change things dramatically.

einalem

the v5 is the person I bought from. they are not a dealer

einalem

thanks for replies direct.gov says: If you buy a car from a private seller or at a car auction for traders, you have fewer rights. The car only has to:
match the description given by the seller. It does not match description.
The lady at consumer direct said I have the option of small claims?

einalem

if I bought it with no description and it broke I agree no comeback

however this had an advert that was described as working mechanically

they actually stated this in writing(well ebay!)
i

einalem

I thought I had rights as in the following example:

Misleading description of a second hand car
I bought a second hand car from a private seller who advertised in the local paper. He said that the car was in excellent condition and had been serviced regularly but a week after I bought it, it broke down and now needs expensive repairs. What can I do?
Since it is clearly not true that the car was in ‘excellent condition’, you have two possible claims against the seller: ‘breach of description’ and ‘misrepresentation’. In either you can reject the car and get your money back, or keep it and ask for compensation (usually the cost of repairs).
Contact the seller, explaining what happened, and what you want done. If they refuse to do what you ask, you will have to take them to small claims court. However, you must have the seller’s address to be able to do this.

Sorry not trying to contradict advice already given as I know SOGA does not aply I think but what about breach of decription and misrepresentation? Thanks

missile

Well, ....... it was

working mechanically

you drove off in it.

Can you post the e bay description? If all it says is

mechanically great

If it broke down on the way home, you MAY have a case, but I don't think you can expect a refund when 10 year old car bought for £700 breaks down 3 weeks later.

einalem

heres the advert bits that state about condition:

"THE CAR ITSELF HAS A FANTASTIC ENGINE VERY SMOOTH AND CANNOT SEE ANY PROBLEMS ARISING FOR A LONG TIME AS IT IS WELL BELOW AVERAGE MILES FOR AGE

THERE ARE NO LIGHTS ON DASH THAT SHOULD NOT BE THERE ALL ELECTRICS FINE NO PROBLEMS

MECHANICALLY THE CAR RUNS GREAT"

vax2002

But you opted outside of E.aby, so the description went with it

einalem

I paid £100 deposit on paypal stating on paypal this is the deposit for car item number xxxxx etc so would this not count vax? Is an advert not an advert?