Soga

pinkshoes

Morning!

I'm assuming the sale of goods acts applies to only new purchases?

So having spent £8k on a 3 year old motorbike less than a week ago, and done 140 miles of it (with 80 miles driving it home from the private seller...), it has just gone bang and lost all power.

Is it just a case of tough luck?

The seller seemed genuine so I'm sure they didn't know anything was wrong.

Browntoa

PRIVATE SALE.....buyer beware

SOGA not apply

neilmcl

pinkshoes wrote: »

Morning!

I'm assuming the sale of goods acts applies to only new purchases?

So having spent £8k on a 3 year old motorbike less than a week ago, and done 140 miles of it (with 80 miles driving it home from the private seller...), it has just gone bang and lost all power.

Is it just a case of tough luck?

The seller seemed genuine so I'm sure they didn't know anything was wrong.

Your assumption is wrong, SOGA applies to all sales, new and used alike. However, unless the sale and the condition of the bike was misrepresented you will have no comeback.

browneyedbazzi

SOGA applies to all goods sold in the course of a business (new and used) - but not to private sales.

Private sales are caveat emptor - it is up to you to properly inspect the goods before making the purchase as you have no right to redress if they are/become faulty.

antrobus

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

SOGA applies to all goods sold in the course of a business (new and used) - but not to private sales. ...

SOGA 1979 "applies to contracts of sale of goods made on or after (but not to those made before) 1 January 1894". SOGA applies to private as much as business sales.

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

...Private sales are caveat emptor - it is up to you to properly inspect the goods before making the purchase as you have no right to redress if they are/become faulty.

S14 of SOGA 'Implied terms about quality or fitness' only applies were a "seller sells goods in the course of a business". However s15 which requires an implied term that the "goods will correspond with the description" has no such restriction..

Of course it's always possible that a sale by a private seller could include an express term about quality or fitness, but highly unlikely in practice.:) So in these circumstances, unless the seller has somehow misdescribed the goods in question, there is no legal redress available.

pinkshoes

Which one is it?? I'm assuming there's nothing we (DH) can do.

The bike has always been serviced at the main dealer. Just phoned them, and they can't fit it in to be fixed until mid September due to a recall on another model.

DH is gutted.

InsideInsurance

pinkshoes wrote: »

Which one is it?? I'm assuming there's nothing we (DH) can do.

Your direct question - "does SOGA only apply to new purchases?" the answer is no. SOGA also applies to purchase of secondhand goods.

As others have pointed out though SOGA only covers sales by a business and not private sales. So buy a secondhand item from a shop and you have SOGA protection. Buy it from a private seller advertising in the paper/ebay then you dont.

Unless you can prove the seller definitely knew about the issue and that it will have contradicted something in the advert then there is nothing you can do. Buyer be warned on all private sale

pinkshoes

antrobus wrote: »

Of course it's always possible that a sale by a private seller could include an express term about quality or fitness, but highly unlikely in practice.:) So in these circumstances, unless the seller has somehow misdescribed the goods in question, there is no legal redress available.

The advert said "in like new condition", "pristine condition" and "you won't be disappointed"!

How ironic!

InsideInsurance

pinkshoes wrote: »

The advert said "in like new condition", "pristine condition" and "you won't be disappointed"!

How ironic!

So, if you can demonstrate that they knew of the problem then there would be a case.

Obviously it depends what is wrong with the vehicle and how likely it is that they knew of the problem. If theres a big hole in the engine that they've just put gaffa tape over then you've got a fairly clear case that this wasnt "like new condition". If its just one of those things and an internal part has just failed then its bad luck.

tykesi

BMW I assume? What's actually gone wrong? Going bang and losing all power isn't exactly a technical description of the fault. Doesn't have to be a main dealer who looks at it, why not get it to a local workshop for a look initially so you can begin to look at options once you know?

shaun_from_Africa

InsideInsurance wrote: »

As others have pointed out though SOGA only covers sales by a business and not private sales. So buy a secondhand item from a shop and you have SOGA protection. Buy it from a private seller advertising in the paper/ebay then you dont.

The SOGA does apply to private sales as well as those from businesses, it's just that not all of it applies.
There are specific sections that are limited to business purchases (the sections that state goods must be fit for purpose and durable), but unless specifically stated in the legislation, all of the rest applied to sales from private individuals.

It is stated in the legislation which sections only apply to business purchases and if there is nothing stated to this effect, then the relevant requirements of the act apply to all sales irrespective of them being private or commercial.