Dodgy car sold by dealer, court case opened!

iolanthe07

I'm afraid you can't expect much of a motor for £3K, especially one bought from a dealer who has to factor in his mark up to make a profit. As others have said, the car is 9 years old, not 7 months old. Things deteriorate, particularly if previous owners were not too concerned about maintenance.

We all may be wrong, though. We live in an age of consumer rights and suing at the drop of a hat. Please let us know how it all pans out.

woowoor75

The car had only one owner and it was in really good condition for its age. According to Vauxhall, the whole thing started from the back light that was missing one screw and all the water and condensation went into the electrics, but....according to the guy from Vauxhall that fixed my car, all the problems it has, the water ingress and corrosion couldn't have all happened within 7 months since I had the car....we'll see how it goes....

peter12345678910

I think that you paid too much for this car. These cars can be bought with better mileage and more new for 3,000. The dealer may have not known about all the problems, the missing screw problem could have creeped in during the period the car was on show during washing and rain.

I am guessing it is a 7 chair model, it may not be safe for your family if it is the model that goes on fire.

Do an internet check on the car, have the rac or aa check it, when they are checking it casually tell them this unfortunate event in the history of this car. Then make a decision?

mb101_2

Circumstantially, based on what you say about the dealer's behaviour when you visited for repairs and what you say about the facebook group comments, yes he does clearly sound like a dodgy bloke.

However, I think you have completely failed to distinguish between your subjective impression (which I am sure is right) and the objective facts you can present at court. Unfortunately "seeming like a dodgy character" is not evidence.

While I don't think anyone here (including me) is a lawyer, based on the evidence you have told us it seems very likely that you are wasting your money. Although, if he's a dodgy character, perhaps you can hope that he doesn't turn up to court or doesn't enter a defence!

woowoor75 wrote: »

The car had only one owner and it was in really good condition for its age....

Self-evidently this is not the case, because you also say that:

all the problems it has, the water ingress and corrosion couldn't have all happened within 7 months since I had the car....

And you have also confirmed that you do not personally have the expertise to assess a car's mechanical condition.

Also, to reiterate:
1. From what you have told us, the heater resistor unit failed 2 months after you bought the car, so that fault was not present at the point of sale.

2. The following MOT advisories are all normal wear and tear and I doubt they could be proven to be present at the point of sale (moreover they are only advisories, not failure items!):
- Front discs worn into a lip
- Rear break discs worn into a lip and pads approx 75%
- Centre exhaust section deteriorating

3. The following MOT advisory could be anything and may be trivial or may be a sign of something serious, and I doubt it could be proven to be present at the point of sale:
- Signs of oil residue from the front of the engine.

dannyrst

woowoor75 wrote: »

The car had only one owner and it was in really good condition for its age. According to Vauxhall, the whole thing started from the back light that was missing one screw and all the water and condensation went into the electrics, but....according to the guy from Vauxhall that fixed my car, all the problems it has, the water ingress and corrosion couldn't have all happened within 7 months since I had the car....we'll see how it goes....

If you can get this in writing officially, you could enter this as evidence that the fault was there prior to sale. This would help your case.

macman

woowoor75 wrote: »

They have offered before to give statements but once the case has actually gone to court and a hearing was set, I have asked them for statements but they have now backed down.....

All of which would be irrelevant to your case. To win, you need to prove beyond the balance of probabilities that he knowingly sold you a dodgy car-not someone else. On what evidence you've presented so far, your chance of success is minimal.

arcon5

Well courts do tend to surprise us with barmy rulings... so it's anyones game at this point.

Remember that poster recently that sold a car privately, described a fault, got sued and lost because it was more serious than the seller had implied....

macman

Point taken, but in that case there was not 7 months between sale and fault.

Marktheshark

Suing the right entity is the hardest part, trading names hiding the company, sole trader ?
A mine field, they can trade as one name and be part of another firm.
That and most close down and morph every 12 months after the CCJ drawer wont close any more.

This not aside, a Vauxhall Zafira is end of life last legs at 120k+
In fact many would have been happy to get 120k out of one before it fell apart.

arcon5

when is the court day.........................