Dodgy Used Car Salesman...

MEM62

Fluffball wrote: »

Hi I'm looking for some advice on how to deal with having bought a used car from a private dealer - No such thing. He either is a dealer or he is not - 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. In other words, you rushed into the deal without proper reflection / consideration.
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. So you have traded your car + £300 for the car. What was wrong with your car that dictated that you had to get rid of it? Also, with £300 in his pocket, how much do you expect the dealer has to throw at making repairs?
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. A lot of back-street dealers wouldn't even go that far. Take the offer, start again but this time check you your potential purchase in more detail.
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

The offer you have from the dealer is as good as its going to get unless you want to protected argument on your hands. Your rush to get the deal done suggests that you didn't check the car our properly in the first place so chalk this one up to experience and move on. £300 plus a car that you 'needed to trade in ASAP' (mechanical issues, looming expensive problems?) is hardly a major investment. This will be taken into account in any legal action / complaints that you might consider taking.

Apologies if this seems a little harsh but all the cards were in your hands before the deal was struck.

nobbysn*ts

Fluffball wrote: »

.............. She's always driven Toyotas, that's what she wanted again because they are built to last ................

You flogged a dodgy Toyota, and bought a dodgy Toyota, and they're built to last? Ever thought of something else?

goonarmy

Air pumps are for lorries and buses so thats not a problem. Private dealers dont exist so thats not a problem. Hes offered a refund so thats not a problem. Remind me what is the problem?

motorguy

goonarmy wrote: »

Air pumps are for lorries and buses so thats not a problem. Private dealers dont exist so thats not a problem. Hes offered a refund so thats not a problem. Remind me what is the problem?

The problem is the dodgy salesman who sold on a car knowing a major bill was looming.

Oh, no hang on, that was the O/P. :eek:

Fluffball

No, I didn't rip anyone off - my partner traded her car in for a few different reasons, mainly, it was a jeep and she didn't like it so we thought that before winter would be the best time to trade it and due to work etc didn't have much time to do so.
We also suspected it would need some money spent on it, maintenance-wise, though we didn't know what or how much until after we'd actually traded it in and discussed it with a friend.

The onus is on the trader to value a car and decide how much to give us for it and also to sell us what he is advertising and guaranteeing.

He clearly agreed that the car was not of the standard it should have been (not roadworthy) as he did actually give us a partial refund towards the cost of making it so.
So, yes - either he is a decent guy after all or he was worried about getting a call from trading standards.

It's easy to jump to conclusions and judge people and certain forums seem to be a breeding ground for that. (All too often I find that people are there to show off their superior knowledge in a very limited area of something)

Whatever makes you happy, eh? (but if you find yourself being unfairly judged, in return, I guess you can blame karma for that....)

Thanks again to everyone who gave me helpful opinions and advice on this - really appreciate it

OddballJamie

Did you end up keeping the Toyota but with some money towards repairs?

Fluffball

Yep - got enough to get the important stuff done.
We've had a mechanic look at it and apart from the maintenance stuff we know about and is expected on a car that age and mileage, it is in really good condition and should run well until we have the finances to upgrade to a newer one for her, so we're happy.

OddballJamie

So apart from "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)" it is on really good condition.

Glad you've got it sorted, I wouldn't have fancied the repair costs on an oldish Jeep either.

Fluffball

Hehehe yeah - like I say, we can deal with the bulk of the major stuff with the money we got, since we only have to pay for parts. We think we have sorted the air pump issue as the engine light is no longer on and we already replaced the fuses which only cost a couple of quid.
Plus the new car is cheaper to insure and much cheaper to run, so all is good.
And thanks.

JimmyTheWig

Did you get any money for repairs from the dealer in the end?