used car I sold claimed unroadworthy

dissenchanted

Hi, can anyone help a damsel in distress please? I sold a car yesterday which I believed to be fine, though it needed a few things doing for it's upcoming MOT at the end of April and these were clearly stated in the advert I place and also discussed at the time of the sale. The buyers have now come back to me saying they want their money back as there is corrosion underneath (which I was not aware of) and they want to reject the car. I sold the car in good faith and had no idea of this corrosion. The reciept I gave them clearly states sold as seen and approved. But on researching stuff like this it appears I can be held accountable for selling an 'unroadworthy' car even though I had NO idea it was! How can his be proved?? The garage that has inspected the car (I spoke to them this morning) have said that the corrosion is significant and is extremely unlikely to have gone unnoticed during its last MOT when I bought it. There was no advisory to say that there was corrosion. They've told me I have no recourse with the issuing MOT station as the fault has been discovered more than 6 months since the MOT was issued.
Any advice peeps? Getting seriously stressed about the whole thing and don't have the money to refund these people - it's already gone as deposit on a new car! HELP!!!!

richard734

Private sale? Buyer beware and all that. they inspected, purchased and drove off, thier problem now.
You are not a dealer, so the buyer can not 'reject' the car.
Sold as seen covers it.

Chopper_Read

You spoke to the buyers garage over the phone or face to face and saw the rust?

What car and how much?

Can you post a copy of your Ad?

Chopper_Read

richard734 wrote: »

Private sale? Buyer beware and all that. they inspected, purchased and drove off, thier problem now.
You are not a dealer, so the buyer can not 'reject' the car.
Sold as seen covers it.

Sold as seen should cover it. It not a get out for dishonesty.

JQ.

They should have got the car inspected by a garage BEFORE they bought it. It now belongs to them and is their problem. Private car sales come with no warranty or protection for the buyer. They are trying it on.

cb1979

Just because it passed the mot last year and did not fail on corrosion does not mean it will pass a year later

Some cars rot away pretty quickly once rust gets hold, and you have no way of knowing what the car was like at the last MOT unless you looked under it at the time of testing

As it was a private sale, sold as seen applies and do not communacate with the buyer or garage anymore, you do not need to

motorguy

O/P

As others have said - private sale, not your problem any more.

Ignore them and their calls.

andy13

"Sold as seen" has no legal meaning in law. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 and 1994 however does. You may be liable as the goods sold "Must be fit for purpose". I would phone Citizens Advice.
Some very poor advice given out on here.

harleq1962

Ive seen cars pass an mot one year and the next the floor is near falling out, one old guy i know had a car that was mint to look at he polished it every week, but he parked it in his front garden which was over grown with grass so the underneath was permanently wet,
ive bought cars sold as seen, you get what you get, its up to the buyer to check its road worthiness, an mot is only a guarantee that it was ok when they checked it,

jaybeetoo

There is some good advice here http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_cars_and_other_vehicles_e/cars_buying_a_car_e/cars_buying_a_secondhand_car_e/cars_what_to_watch_out_for_when_buying_a_second_hand_car_e/buying_a_car_from_a_private_seller_what_you_need_to_know.htm

Kiran

andy13 wrote: »

"Sold as seen" has no legal meaning in law. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 and 1994 however does. You may be liable as the goods sold "Must be fit for purpose". I would phone Citizens Advice.
Some very poor advice given out on here.

Affraid the information you are providing is not accurate.

See the "private sale" section.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/the-second-hand--car-i-bought-has-a-problem/

Hope this clarifies.