Dodgy Used Car Salesman...

Fluffball

Hi I'm looking for some advice on how to deal with having bought a used car from a private dealer that is way below the condition we were told it was...

My partner needed to trade in her car and get a new one asap - we had very little time to get it done.
We found a private dealer with a Toyota Corolla that he was willing to trade for hers. She's always driven Toyotas & that's what she wanted again because they are built to last and in the time scale we had, there weren't too many options.
We traded her car plus paid £300 cash for it after test driving it, with no issues - we looked for obvious stuff and couldn't see anything wrong, plus it had had only 2 previous owners and came with a service history.
So, we took a chance on it. And she loves the car, but several, costly issues, as well as some other more minor ones, have come to light...many of them would be MOT failures...
On the invoice/used car warranty from the seller, it states that although her car doesn't come with a warranty, due to the age of it, all cars are fully inspected and must be roadworthy and comply to MOT standards.
That combined with the Sale of Goods Act puts him firmly in the wrong.
We emailed him yesterday to let him know of the faults and asked him to get the necessary repairs done to bring the vehicle up to the standard it should have been but he has replied simply saying that if we are not happy with the car, to return it and we will get our cash plus the car we traded for it back.
But we don't want that car back - we would just be in the same position as before, except worse off, plus it's not like returning a cd to a shop! We have obviously had the insurance changed on it, taxed it and even spent some money on the Corolla to sort minor issues, plus, we don't even have the registration paperwork through yet!
My partner loves the car, but just wants it to be in the condition it should have been in when we bought it just a few weeks ago.

Does anyone know what our next step would be? Is he within his rights to simply offer a refund? Or is there a way to actually get him to cover the cost of at least the repairs that would bring it up to MOT standard?
Would the suggestion of getting trading standards involved hold any weight?...since it's likely that the majority of his cars are being sold through in an under par condition?

I'd really appreciate some advice on this from anyone who has the knowledge and experience to help.
Many thanks

colino

As he (no such thing as a private dealer) is a trader and has offered you a complete refund, take it, he is under no obligation to do anything else. He could refund, repair or replace, and has offered you what every objective arbiter would see as a good and satisfactory resolution to your complaint.

OddballJamie

Sounds like a decent bloke offering a refund, many would just avoid you.

What are the actual faults with the car and the age and mileage?

What was wrong with your previous car for you to need to get rid so quickly and what was the trade value?

BTW there's no such thing as a 'private dealer', either private or trader.

Fluffball

Thanks for the replies...the list of stuff wrong isn't exhaustive but long enough - front pads & discs need replace, rear caliper seizing, clutch worn, washers not working (broken motor), something wrong with the air pump, fuses that needed replaced, rusted and loose heatshield and engine lights on (think this is related to the air pump).
The car we traded in had exhaust issues (which he recognised, so knew about) and we suspected something else that would be pretty costly, so we reckoned we were better off trading it in than spending the money on it. And if the one we got was at least up to the standard it should have been, that would have been the case.
We're not stupid - we realise that it's a risk buying an older, used car and that there are likely to be general maintenance stuff to be taken care of but when you advertise and sell a car as being in good order and make out it will pass an MOT when that's far from the case, it's a bit off.

Fluffball

Forgot to say it's 11 years old and has done about 100,000 miles

OddballJamie

Take the refund and go elsewhere, if you already have the V5 back in your name you can claim the VED back minus admin and 1 month.

Your old car sounds in better shape.

Did the new car come with a full MOT? You can check online to see if it had many advisories.
https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status

tykesi

What's an 'air pump'?

Was it Kwik Fit or Halfords or someone like that who told you the brakes need replacing?

JimmyTheWig

There is nothing that says he has to give you what you thought you were getting.
The best you can legally hope for is to be put back in the position you would have been if none of this had happened.

If he is systematically and deliberately mis-describing cars then it can be reported to trading standards, but that will only get him into trouble rather than be of any benefit to you. I'm not saying don't report him, just that you won't personally gain by reporting him.

To put you back in the position you were in wuold mean to return your car and cash to you and to cover any out of pocket expenses you have incurred (e.g. change in insurance, repairs, etc). Is he prepared to do this? If not, you might win in court. If he is a "private dealer" (I accept what others say about there being no such thing but I take this to mean a one-man-band operation rather than a dealership with a forecourt, etc) he may wind the company up if you win in court and you'd end up with court costs and nothing back in return.

If you don't want to take it to court and don't want your old car back anyway then it's about finding a comprimise between you and the garage that benefits you both.
Note that businesses have costs and need to make a profit. It you've only paid £300 in cash the chances are you have ended up with a car that is worth less than the one you gave him.

How much are you looking at for the repairs to get it back to MOT standard?

Fluffball

We don't have the V5 through yet.
The old car is due to be taxed at the end of October, plus we think the clutch was slipping on it as well as needing the whole exhaust replaced...

So, although the new one maybe has a longer list of things wrong, they aren't all as urgent and costly as with the other one, especially as we can get the parts and know someone who can do the work, plus we have until April to get it to MOT standard.
It just seems like a massive hassle to swap the cars back, deal with the paperwork, change the insurance again (which would cost us), and then have to try and find someone else willing to to take the old car as a trade in for another one....

fivetide

Did you let the trader know about the issues with the other one? I notice you said he realised there were issues with the exhaust not that you went in and told him all about it....

On an 11 year old car that has done 100k of course the clutch will be worn and the brakes may need replacing. If they are legal though, that's up to you now not him. It is wear and tear not a fault.

The issue is whatever is throwing the engine light on. That's a fault so go with that but given he sounds like he's being quite reasonable in offering you a refund then I am not sure how much you can expect.

I do hope you did let him know about the issues with your own car though.

ILW

I would not expect much after spending £300.00 on car.