Can Trader do this?

jadex

Some interesting experience discussed with friends and no definitive outcome after weighing arguments.
Seen a car for sale on one well known free website.
Seller is a trader (not private), seems nice and honest, likeable chap.
The things we discussed are the differences between the advert and the reality.
1. Advertised price is X. Decision after going there is to buy her. At the office dealer asks for a higher price (25% more, but as we are not talking about high value car then nominal value after increase doesn't seem that bad) and claims the price was an error (and to be fair was prepared to cancel the sell).
2. Mileage in the ad is XYk. Odometer shows 13k more... (apparently typo)
3. Advert photos show car equipped with things which have been subsequently removed from the car.
4. Was supposed to be FSH but no service book.

Are those above points normal things in the trade? Lure customer in with a hope he/she would still suck in? Is it even legit?

bigjl

Do you really need advice on why you should walk, no run, away from this deal.

I have advertised for sale loads of cars as do many honest traders, small and big time.

I have never made one of those mistakes let alone all of those.

You already know if the car is problematic you will get one story after another.

There are thousands of cars for sale

I had to find a car for one of our staff and the choice for under £600 was pretty good with lots of cars that will last her several years.

AdrianC

The advert is irrelevant. It did its job when you went to view the car.

From there on in, it's entirely down to what deal you cut with the vendor. The mileage on the car is the one you saw on the odometer (but who cares, if it's a cheap used car?). The price is the one you agree with him. The bits on the car are the bits you agree with him. The service history is what you have documentation to back up.

Mercdriver

Unusually, I will agree with Bigjl on this one. If he's advertised several things but not one thing in reality agrees with his ad, then what are the chances of good after sales, or even there being something worth buying. Run, run like the wind.

George_Michael

AdrianC wrote: »

The advert is irrelevant. It did its job when you went to view the car.

I disagree that the advert is irrelevant.
It shows that the trader is someone who is willing to mislead potential customers in order to get them into his showroom/garage and that one advert would say more to me than any other online reviews ever could.


If the trader is willing to do this to attract potential customers, what might they do if there is a problem with a car shortly after they sold it?

foxy-stoat

Firstly, well done for looking at what is for sale rather than just the advert and taking the word of the sales person.

Now that you can see that the car is not as described, walk away and find one that is.

If 1, 3 or 4 happened to me when buying a used car I would walk away there and then - nr 2 doesnt concern me very much, unless it was a very low mileage car and the price reflected the advertised mileage.

I have seen mileage advertised as 13,000 and the actual mileage was 113,000 or price £999 on the information then on the description its £3999, these try to attrach more buyers - theres a report button on autotrader and ebay for misleading adverts.

arcon5

How much are we talking?
Nothing about it screams accident.
But then some may not even be relevant if your buying a banger for £500 you don't really look at service history and mileage so much as how it runs and feels now.

consumers_revenge

I have a Ferrari for sale with 15 k on the clock. 5 years old. Fsh.

Just if may look like a focus shape with 110k on by the time you get here.

AdrianC

consumers_revenge wrote: »

I have a Ferrari for sale with 15 k on the clock. 5 years old. Fsh.

Just if may look like a focus shape with 110k on by the time you get here.

Not likely to actually sell, then, is it?

consumers_revenge

. Missed lol

Joe_Horner

AdrianC wrote: »

The advert is irrelevant. It did its job when you went to view the car.

No, the advert is far from irrelevant specifically because it "did its job".

That's very much part of why we have laws about false advertising - it's well established that, once face to face, a good salesman can sell many people just about anything. So any material that might cause that face to face contact is expected to be honest and accurate.

Note that in consumer legislation any advertising material is considered to be part of the contract, and under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations an advert so full of incorrect statements (to the point it can hardly be said to be a genuine error) would almost certainly fall foul of sections 3.3.a (professional diligence), 3.4.a (misleading action) and possibly 3.4.d (specific cases) because it's right on the edge of bait & switch.

Obviously no point in reporting any of that, but every point in running a mile and finding a seller who doesn't just "seem" to be honest, helpful, etc (most of the cowboys do!) but one who actually is.