Selling a faulty car

Fletch7

Morning everyone, I tried searching but all I got was threads of people who had bought a faulty car, I want rid of mine so hopefully you can help me.

So my car's been on the blink for a while, it first packed up in March I was queuing in traffic when the engine just cut out and refused to start again. RAC roadside rescue diagnosed a faulty ignition coil, he replaced it and off we went.

Broke down again in September, driving down the A1 when the engine started shuddering, engine warning light came on so I pulled into the next layby. Car would start but shuddered really violently. By the time the RAC turned up it was behaving itself, he plugged in the diagnostics and from my description of what happened he thought it was the ignition coils again. He towed me home and I replaced all 4 ignition coils the next day.

That was the last straw and I've been looking for a new car since. Haven't driven mine much since September, just local trips to the supermarket etc.

Last night I was on my way to Tesco when the alternator warning light came on, I immediately turned round and drove home and just made it back to my street when the power steering packed up which made parking it on the drive fun. Started the car again about an hour later, alternator warning light is still on but the power steering was back. Same story when I started it this morning.

Now I know nothing about cars but I'm guessing I have gremlins in the electrics. Having a warning light on plus I'm not going to drive it anywhere so won't be able to get it to a dealership to part ex it is going to put a bit of a dent in my part ex value which isn't a fortune even if the car was issue free.

So what options do I have for getting rid of it? I don't want to pay for repairs as I'm getting a new car.

Its a Seat Ibiza 1.4 petrol and I bought it new in March 2005.

foxy-stoat

An honest advert in ebay with "spares or repairs" in the title, price it half of what other working cars are going for - 30 day classified advert for £14.99.

Or tow/limp it to the scrap yard.

Ebe_Scrooge

^^^ This. Or advertise it on Gumtree for free.


So long as you are honest in your description of the car, list the known faults, any buyer will have no comeback. Hearing some of the horror stories on here, I'd even go so far as to get the buyer to sign a receipt stating that it was bought with known faults.

JP08

If you're set on selling then what the others said and be honest.

But it doesn't sound a particularly dear fault, to be honest. My gut feel is it is going to be as simple as battery or alternator - assuming the power steering is electrically and not hydraulically assisted. There's simply not enough juice in the system to power things.

But that's gut feel from a distance only. It's just finding someone competent you trust to look at it.

stator

If you're really willing to lose the value of the car put it on eBay as 'spares of repair' with a reserve price of the scrap value, about £100

foxy-stoat

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

^^^ This. Or advertise it on Gumtree for free.


So long as you are honest in your description of the car, list the known faults, any buyer will have no comeback. Hearing some of the horror stories on here, I'd even go so far as to get the buyer to sign a receipt stating that it was bought with known faults.

No need to pressure the buyer to sign anything, just print off the advert and use the back of it as a receipt and hand it to them when they collect it (keep a copy for yourself). Thats what I have done in the past, I refered to the advert on the back so the advertised condition is listed should it need to be refered to in the future.

I suspect that its going to be sold for £100-200 though, what was the value you where thinking of for the part ex? These cars are advertised for £500 privately.

Fletch7

I've been offered between 500 - 1000 for part ex by various dealers. I'm aware that those figures represent how much they want to sell me a new car rather than its actual value.

To be honest I just want rid of it now, it's been nothing but trouble since it turned 10 and I don't want the agro.

stator

Fletch7 wrote: »

I've been offered between 500 - 1000 for part ex by various dealers. I'm aware that those figures represent how much they want to sell me a new car rather than its actual value.

To be honest I just want rid of it now, it's been nothing but trouble since it turned 10 and I don't want the agro.

Yep. If you took in cash you could probably get 500-1000 off the price of your chosen car too!

macman

As a private seller you are not required to disclose any known faults, only to be truthful if asked questions about the vehicle, and not to misrepresent it.

=rizla=

JP08 wrote: »

If you're set on selling then what the others said and be honest.

But it doesn't sound a particularly dear fault, to be honest. My gut feel is it is going to be as simple as battery or alternator - assuming the power steering is electrically and not hydraulically assisted. There's simply not enough juice in the system to power things.

But that's gut feel from a distance only. It's just finding someone competent you trust to look at it.

The battery light being on normally means the battery isn't being charged, so as JP08 said battery/alternator are normally the worst case, it could be as simple as a broken belt, or even a loose lead (worth checking as the person who changed the coils a month ago may have disconnected them!!)


Whilst you may not HAVE to disclose faults as macman says (i'm not a lawyer so I don't know) a big red light on the dash WILL be a giveaway.


Ref the other 2 breakdowns if in March they only changed one coil, then chances are in September one or more of the others failed, remembering they are probably the same age, if you'd changed all 4 in March you probably wouldn't have broken down in September.

bigjl

I second what foxy-stoat said.