Second hand car nightmare

nazarineo

Hi all

My partner purchased a second hand car from a dealer on friday for £2600,on sunday two warning lights appeared for the power steering and the braking rendering it useless unless the problem is found
On contacting the dealer this morning my partner was told that the car was sold as a private sale on behalf of a private individual and that therefore he was not liable for any repairs to the vehicle
My partner also somewhat naively signed the invoice/reciept which states
"this vehicle is a private sale on behalf of the above customer and no warranty/guarantee is implied or given"(the details of the private individual are given)
she did believe that she was purchasing a vehicle directly from the dealer untill this invoice was handed over for signing and signed it with out proper thought on the matter , the money was paid by bank transfer directly to the dealer not the private individual.
I believed that we had rights regardless of a warranty under the sales of goods act and would be grateful of some light on the issue and any advice on our next step

thanks

bris

It wouldn't hold up if he was making commission from it and it was done on a regular occurrence.


If however he was just a go between for a friend then then you will struggle, the time to walk away was when the receipt was produced.


Contact the seller on the receipt to see if it was a business deal between them and the dealer, if so you have a case.

unholyangel

If you can show the car was not roadworthy at the time of sale - it wouldn't matter if its a dealer or private seller - its illegal to sell an unroadworthy car (unless you can prove you made them aware the car would be illegal to use on the road and that you were sure it was not going to be used on the roads until it had been repaired into a roadworthy state).

How many previous owners on the v5? Do the previous owners details match with whats on the invoice?

nazarineo

i believe she only has the new keepers section of the v5 as it was only bought on friday so the rest will follow in the post
it would also be hard to prove it was unroadworthy , as 2 warning lights mean very little
i had hoped for maybe something on the thirty day right of reject or to force the dealer into repairing the vehicle

unholyangel

nazarineo wrote: »

i believe she only has the new keepers section of the v5 as it was only bought on friday so the rest will follow in the post
it would also be hard to prove it was unroadworthy , as 2 warning lights mean very little
i had hoped for maybe something on the thirty day right of reject or to force the dealer into repairing the vehicle

Would always depend on whats actually wrong with it - even when purchasing brand new from a trader, they have no liability if you caused the fault (not saying your friend did of course).

Try and find out if the trader did indeed ask the trader as a friend to sell their vehicle. Check it matches with v5 details. If its a private sale, the only thing it needs to do is match any description given about it.

Of course precise details could make a difference here. If the trader had ever held himself out to be the seller perhaps. Might be worth getting a free half hour consultation with a solicitor (or legal cover on car insurance or failing that....citizens advice).

"in the course of a business" changes depending on the legislation. For example, previously people could be determined to be acting in the course of a business under the trade descriptions act, even if they didn't qualify as a business under the sale of goods act.

nazarineo

i believe she was just caught out , the car was sat on the forecourt amongst lots of other vehicles for sale , he had allready taken payment when the invoice was shown and the fact that he was just selling the car on was brought to light

s_b

sounds like a case of unfair trading to me

nazarineo

i would guess that citizens advice would probably be the next best step , and defining if he voids all his responsibility by stating that it was a private sale , i believe the definition of private sale is one private individual to another ,it isnt easy to find that answer online in the uk which is suprising as i found it quite easily in citizens advice for new zealand !
"The dealer won’t take responsibility for the faults in the car he sold me, because it was sold on behalf of a private individual. What are my rights?

When the sale of a vehicle has been arranged by a motor vehicle trader, even if the trader is selling it to on behalf of a private individual, you have the same rights as you would if the trader is selling a vehicle they own. The trader can’t refer you on to the previous owner and tell you it was a private sale.

This means that if the car turns out to have faults soon after you have bought it, and the trader had not disclosed them to you before the sale, you are entitled to have the problem remedied (see the previous question) – and it is the trader who is responsible for fixing problem, not the individual on whose behalf they are selling it"
if only i lived there

paddyrg

My hunch is that a judge would find for you - if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, etc.

Sounds like they think they have a way around the law, and considering how bent the image of the motor trade is I'm sure there will be truths stretched which will be revealed in court.

bingo_bango

This is similar a case which went to court and saw a successful fraud prosecution by Trading Standards in NI a few weeks ago. I suggest you contact your local TSS and point them in the direction of the following article (LINK HERE). They will be able to make contact with the investigating officer in this case to liaise if needs be.

There is a difference here in that the salesman above did not declare this as a private sale at any point (not until the customer went back at least), but the fact that the payment was made directly to the dealer in OP's case would perhaps indicate a course of action intended to mislead the buyer. You probably won't be able to determine if this is usual practice for them, but TSS will.

Additionally, the problems that became so quickly apparent may indicate further issues with the car (sounds like it has been clocked). Certainly worth asking them to have a look at this for you.

Fraud prosecutions can be simpler than trading Regs prosecutions to prove, so it might be worth pointing them in that direction.

nazarineo

just as a quick follow up , finally got the v5 through and the last registered keeper that this car was sold on behalf of to my partner shares the same address as the garage she purchased the car from
it is infact another sales garage selling vans and campervans right next door .all occupying what used to be a petrol station
it shows him as having aquired the vehicle in august , and on checking google street maps the car can be seen on the forecourt in august