If selling a car privately, can the buyer come back to you after it is sold?

Emskii

Hi All,

Just looking for some advice.

I have a 59 Ford Focus zetec which I would like to sell privately. It has done 68k miles and is in perfect working order. The only one problem is that it has an intermittent fault, and has done since I bought it from a dealer (but didn’t know) 18 months ago.
Within the first 5 mins of a journey the car’s revs jump about and it can stall, but not every day. After the first 5 mins of the journey the car is fine!!

If someone buys the car from me, do you they have any Right to come back to me demanding a refund or money off because the car has a fault?

I’ve taken it to the garage twice and because the fault can’t be replicated and as it doesn’t do it all of the time, the mechanic can’t fix it. I’ve even bought one of those car code engine fault readers/ data scanners that you plug into the car to read faults, but no faults are found.

If I were to put ‘sold as seen’ in the advert – would this cover me? Or simply highlight a potential problem with the car?!

Any advice?

Thanks

Spicy_McHaggis

Disclose the fault and there would be no comeback.

timbo58

and ensure the buyer signs something stating the fault and recognising the price they are paying accepts this fault entirely.

Aretnap

Legally speaking as a private seller caveat emptor applies - the car has to be as you described it, and you have to be honest when answering the prospective buyer's questions, but you have no duty to volunteer information, and the buyer has no comeback simply because you didn't disclose a fault that he didn't ask about.

That said, from a moral rather than a legal standpoint, I'd suggest that the honest thing to do is to disclose it.

rs65

Emskii wrote: »

It has done 68k miles and is in perfect working order. The only one problem ......

Don't describe it as perfect working order when it isn't.

Joe_Horner

Aretnap wrote: »

Legally speaking as a private seller caveat emptor applies - the car has to be as you described it, and you have to be honest when answering the prospective buyer's questions, but you have no duty to volunteer information, and the buyer has no comeback simply because you didn't disclose a fault that he didn't ask about.

rs65 wrote: »

Don't describe it as perfect working order when it isn't.

Between them these two sum it uo quite nicely.

There's very little comeback for a private sale as long as anything you do say is truthful. What you don't say doesn't count for anything.

BUT, as soon as you say it's a "great runner" / "perfect working order" / "runs well" or anything similar, you open a door for them to say you weren't truthful when they discover a running fault like this.

It's also hard to see anyone buying a car without some sort of question about how it runs, at which point failing to mention the fault could well be taken as false information.

So, morally and legally, the safest thing to do is to let any prospective buyer know beforehand.

forgotmyname

As above if you claim its perfect and its clearly not then they can take you to the small claims and have a good chance of winning.

You know the fault exists so protect yourself and have a happy buyer. Make them aware of the fault and put it on the receipt.

Emskii

Thanks all - if I do sell it, I'll declare the fault and price accordingly.

Joe_Horner

Make sure it's noted on the receipt so they can't claim afterwards that you didn't tell them

OddballJamie

Emskii wrote: »

Thanks all - if I do sell it, I'll declare the fault and price accordingly.

Maybe worth getting a quote off WBAC.

ratrace

Emskii wrote: »

Hi All,

Just looking for some advice.

I have a 59 Ford Focus zetec which I would like to sell privately. It has done 68k miles and is in perfect working order. The only one problem is that it has an intermittent fault, and has done since I bought it from a dealer (but didn’t know) 18 months ago.
Within the first 5 mins of a journey the car’s revs jump about and it can stall, but not every day. After the first 5 mins of the journey the car is fine!!

If someone buys the car from me, do you they have any Right to come back to me demanding a refund or money off because the car has a fault?

I’ve taken it to the garage twice and because the fault can’t be replicated and as it doesn’t do it all of the time, the mechanic can’t fix it. I’ve even bought one of those car code engine fault readers/ data scanners that you plug into the car to read faults, but no faults are found.

If I were to put ‘sold as seen’ in the advert – would this cover me? Or simply highlight a potential problem with the car?!

Any advice?

Thanks

If you have had it hooked up to a diagnostic machine and no faults are stored in the ecu's memory then it sounds mechanical worth getting it checked out at a ford specialist they might know better about them

mate has a focus 06 plate 1.8tdci and has nothing but trouble with it

when you have sold it dont buy another ford please