Question about private sale of car

macman

arcon5 wrote: »

I believe the court can use some discretion when awarding parties costs, for legal advice I believe the cap is £90. The guy can though ask for a judge to award travel costs and I believe he can also ask for lost wages if he wins, again capped, just don't know what at.

Any claim should focus on the car being misrepresented - as a claim based on the car having faults will fail with it being a private sale. He should have checked the car over before buying it, especially when buying what I imagine to be an old worn motor.
Even if faults did surface, the guy could simply say he was unaware of them as he is not trained in motor engineering.

Checking its MOT history now won't do much good.

No it won't, because the vendor allegedly stated 'there is nothing wrong with it'. Which is a very dumb statement to make, whether he knew there was or not. All he had to say was 'here is the car, I'm selling it as seen, if there are any faults then it is up to you to establish them'.
Even with a private sale, the vendor has to comply with the following:

• the seller must have the right to sell the car
• the vehicle should match the description given by the seller
• the car must be roadworthy - it is a criminal offence to sell an unroadworthy car and an MOT certificate from a test several months ago is no guarantee that the car is roadworthy today.

In this case, point 2 has allegedly not been complied with, and possibly point 3 (depending on the faults). Since point 2 is down to who said what (with the onus on the plaintiff to prove what was said), it might be easier to launch a claim based on point 3, if circumstances allow.

ILW

It's a £1200 banger. If roadworthy I doubt OP will have much luck.

shaun_from_Africa

macman, even though you appear to be disagreeing with what arcon posted, they stated basically the same thing as you in that any legal action would be need to be based on the state of the car being misrepresented.

What arcon stated about the claim failing because of the car having faults is totally correct due to it being a private sale of a used vehicle and therefore faults are to be expected.
This is why they stated that:

Any claim should focus on the car being misrepresented

and not simply claiming because there were faults present.

unholyangel

macman wrote: »

• the seller must have the right to sell the car
• the vehicle should match the description given by the seller
• the car must be roadworthy - it is a criminal offence to sell an unroadworthy car and an MOT certificate from a test several months ago is no guarantee that the car is roadworthy today.

In this case, point 2 has allegedly not been complied with, and possibly point 3 (depending on the faults). Since point 2 is down to who said what (with the onus on the plaintiff to prove what was said), it might be easier to launch a claim based on point 3, if circumstances allow.

Point 3 doesnt apply to private sales, only if its a dealer selling the car.

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

When you buy a car from a private seller, you have the following rights:

• the seller must have the right to sell the car
• the car must match its description.

arcon5

wealdroam wrote: »

...except to perhaps establish that the seller should've known about any adverse conditions, and should therefore have disclosed them.

Op will have have the current mot certificate so can hardly now say he's only just found out about it, anything else will merely be historical advisories. Doesn't really build a strong case IMO, especially since it passed.

George_Michael

unholyangel wrote: »

Point 3 doesnt apply to private sales, only if its a dealer selling the car.

There is nothing in the Road Traffic act that states that the selling of unroadworthy vehicles is only an offence for business sellers.

Vehicles not to be sold in unroadworthy condition or altered so as to be unroadworthy.(1)Subject to the provisions of this section no person shall supply a motor vehicle or trailer in an unroadworthy condition.

(2)In this section references to supply include—
(a)sell,
(b)offer to sell or supply, and
(c)expose for sale.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/75

This is further backed up by Citizens advice.

The Road Traffic Act makes it illegal for anyone to sell a car that is not roadworthy. This applies equally to private sellers and car dealers. Anyone who sells an unroadworthy car may be prosecuted and fined £5000. If you are found driving an unroadworthy car, you can also get points on your driving licence, and even be fined.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/nireland/consumer_ni/consumer_cars_and_other_vehicles_e/consumer_problems_with_the_car_you_bought_e/the_car_you_bought_is_not_roadworthy.htm

ILW

George_Michael wrote: »

There is nothing in the Road Traffic act that states that the selling of unroadworthy vehicles is only an offence for business sellers.



http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/75

This is further backed up by Citizens advice.



http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/nireland/consumer_ni/consumer_cars_and_other_vehicles_e/consumer_problems_with_the_car_you_bought_e/the_car_you_bought_is_not_roadworthy.htm

Nothing to suggest that the vehicle is not roadworthy though.