r problem. please help.

mrshaz

Hello

i really need advise im at my wits end. We bought a car from a 'friend' it wasfor £1000. Paying £100 a month weve had it less than 4 weeks (paid £100) and we found out today the gasket ison the way out (it hasnt gone yet). we've returned the keys to him but hes threatening to take us to small claims court. He is still in possesion of log book (he refused to sign itover to us till the balance was paid) and reckons my husband signed something it was sold as seen but he doesnt think he did. But i dontknow what to do we cant afford to pay the £900 balance and the hundreds of pounds to repair it. Hes saying he will take the car back if we repair it first. But it is in the state we bought it as he has no proof that it wasnt. Heis now in possesion of car,keys and log book.

Sorry its a bit garbled buti cant stop crying!!

System

Private sales like this would be difficult to enforce in a small claims court. I am also surprised he kept the log book but gave you the car. The fact you've never taken legal ownership (got the log book transferred over ) probably helps your case.

I would guess you've lost the £100 from him, but just drive the car round, post the keys through the letterbox and forget about the whole thing.

EDIT

I see he has the car and keys. Just forget about the whole thing and call his bluff.

mrshaz

Thank you for replying. Thats what i want to do but worried theres gonna be somecome back. The best think is he said he will except the car back if we pay to get it fixed. Right cos im gonna be £100's of pounds out of pocket to give him back a car that works properly lol i would like tovsay the car still works the gasket hasnt gone its just its on its way out. We had a mechanic take a look today as the heating was playing up. X

bris

Legally you bought the car and as a private sale the contract is secure and he holds the aces. Whether or not he wants to take if further is a different matter.

From what you say there is nothing acrually wrong with the car and to me it seems like buyers remorse, for £1000 of course things are going to be "on their way out", I am curios as to how a gasket can be on it's way out mind you, what gasket are you talking about?

System

ask for a copy of what your oh signed if there is a written agreement then i cant see how you can get out of it , if not forget him put the £100 down to experience and move on.

gb12345

You don't seem to have much luck with cheap cars do you https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3614893=.

fluffnutter

bris wrote: »

Legally you bought the car and as a private sale the contract is secure and he holds the aces. Whether or not he wants to take if further is a different matter.

Why would he? He's in a better position than before. He still has his car, the keys, the logbook and a cheeky £100 too.

Imagine how many times he could 'sell' this car....

Geodark

bris wrote: »

Legally you bought the car and as a private sale the contract is secure and he holds the aces. Whether or not he wants to take if further is a different matter.

From what you say there is nothing acrually wrong with the car and to me it seems like buyers remorse, for £1000 of course things are going to be "on their way out", I am curios as to how a gasket can be on it's way out mind you, what gasket are you talking about?

Totally agree with this - the amount of times I have had conversations with people about their head gasket being on the way out - they are either gone or fine!

Geodark

mrshaz wrote: »

Hello

i really need advise im at my wits end. We bought a car from a 'friend' it wasfor £1000. Paying £100 a month weve had it less than 4 weeks (paid £100) and we found out today the gasket ison the way out (it hasnt gone yet). we've returned the keys to him but hes threatening to take us to small claims court. He is still in possesion of log book (he refused to sign itover to us till the balance was paid) and reckons my husband signed something it was sold as seen but he doesnt think he did. But i dontknow what to do we cant afford to pay the £900 balance and the hundreds of pounds to repair it. Hes saying he will take the car back if we repair it first. But it is in the state we bought it as he has no proof that it wasnt. Heis now in possesion of car,keys and log book.

Sorry its a bit garbled buti cant stop crying!!

So what are the problems you are having with the car? what are the symptoms that has made someone think that the Head gasket is gone? Let us know what the car is etc and we might be able to help you get the car sorted. Might also be worth you posting this in the motoring section to see if anyone can help resolve the problems.

r01

mrshaz wrote: »

Hello

i really need advise im at my wits end. We bought a car from a 'friend' it wasfor £1000. Paying £100 a month weve had it less than 4 weeks (paid £100) and we found out today the gasket ison the way out (it hasnt gone yet). we've returned the keys to him but hes threatening to take us to small claims court. He is still in possesion of log book (he refused to sign itover to us till the balance was paid) and reckons my husband signed something it was sold as seen but he doesnt think he did. But i dontknow what to do we cant afford to pay the £900 balance and the hundreds of pounds to repair it. Hes saying he will take the car back if we repair it first. But it is in the state we bought it as he has no proof that it wasnt. Heis now in possesion of car,keys and log book.

Sorry its a bit garbled buti cant stop crying!!

Has your machanic given you a written quotation confirming the problem is definitely a head gasket blown??? They are not usually on the way out - it's either gone or it is not. You can deduce what's wrong by simply opening the radiator expansion tank (after a run but when it is cool - not when hot unless you want a nice scalding shower) and looking in at the water. Are there any oil globules floating in it ?? If not, it is probably not the head gasket. Also, is the oil mysteriously disappearing after topping up ?
If it wasn't overheating one month ago, three weeks ago, two weeks ago or even one week ago, your friend, not being psychic would not have known the head gasket was about to go in four weeks time so probably sold the car in all good faith. If it was overheating four weeks ago you should have taken it straight back the next day and demanded your money back on the grounds he failed to tell you the fault with the car, not driven it around for a month.

I used to be in the motor trade and it could quite easily be something far less sinister such as a thermostat sticking, blocked pipe, leaking hose or a number of other far less expensive things.

Go to a second garage and ask them for their opinion and get a written quote stating exactly what is wrong together with a firm price before you decide what to do. Frankly, I think you stand little chance of getting any money back off your friend as the £100 you've paid is peanuts compared to the cost of hiring a car for a month (which is effectively what you have now done).

You say he has no proof the car isn't in the condition it was, but the fact you accepted it and then drove it around for a whole month clearly shows it was not overheating at the time you bought it, or for a whole month (or three weeks, or whatever) after.

Additionally, the fact he was prepared to allow you to pay it off monthly for almost a year suggests he had confidence the car would be OK for that length of time, so it suggests to me you have just been unlucky - it could happen to any of us at any time as a head gasket going is just one of those things that none of us can ever predict. He is entitled to sue you for the balance but if he is really a friend and not merely an acquaintance he probably won't.

Try talking to your friend and point out if the head gasket had gone before he sold it he wouldn't have been able to sell the car without paying for the full repair himself, then ask him if as a friend he would agree to pay say half the cost and allow you to add your half to the repayment schedule, that way he still sells his car, you get a car with a new head gasket and know it's reliable and you stay friends, although I wouldn't be surprised if he wouldn't agree as he is the one laying out all the nmoney and taking the risk you won't be back in a couple of weeks with another "problem".

Personally, I never would sell a car to a friend or family member for this reason - I have only ever GIVEN a car to a friend who ran it for a year, it went wrong and he scrapped it - guess what ? We're still friends