Vehicle not as described - dealership not interested

slowmoped

Good afternoon everyone,

I must admit that I have been a long-time lurker of these forums but I have now registered and look forward to contributing where I can.

I was hoping that one of you could assist me with an issue that I am currently having with a motor dealer.

I won an eBay auction for a vehicle between Christmas and New Year. In the advert the following problems were described:

Heater stuck on warm air only
Slight blow from the exhaust
Scrapes on rear bumper

I went to collect the vehicle a couple of days after winning the auction. On the way back from collecting the vehicle it became apparent that the ventilation system was not stuck on warm, it was stuck on cold.

When I got the vehicle back to my parent’s house I researched the ‘stuck on cold’ issue online. My research pointed towards a much more significant problem than I had expected, based on the information in the advert.

I contacted the dealer by email after ascertaining the severity of the problem and asked to return the vehicle. The following day I received an email from the dealership sales manager fobbing me off and asking for a mechanic’s report into the problem.

The festive season meant my local specialist for the particular marque was closed and I was unable to get the car inspected. Without any heating the car was unable to clear the windscreen in the cold weather so I left the car at my parent’s house (where there is off street parking) and returned to my home (about 70 miles away).

This weekend I had the time to get the problem assessed. We found that part of the ventilation unit has been removed (specifically a motor that moves the air flow between hot and cold).

I have made enquiries with my local marque specialist and they advised that the missing part is unavailable individually and a complete ventilation unit must be sourced to remedy the issue. The complete unit is over £1000 including VAT and the specialist quoted 10 hours labour to complete the task.

I emailed the dealership sales manager with the new details and a photograph of where the missing part should be. I requested that his business cover the cost of the work to which he replied that I had entered into a ‘trade-sale’ and dismissed my request. He later added that I should check my invoice because it will say “eBay sale no warranty implied trade sale as described”

The invoice does not refer to a trade-sale and the eBay advert does not mention a trade-sale. I am not sure how it can be a trade-sale because I am an individual and not a member of the motor trade. The only addendum on the invoice says “eBay sale no warranty implied”. Furthermore, at the bottom of the invoice there is a paragraph which says “Nothing herein contained is intended to affect, nor will it affect a consumer’s statutory rights under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 or the Unfair Contracts Act 1979 or any amendment thereof”.

The trader is an independent main dealer (i.e. not part of Vertu or Pendragon etc.) and I am surprised at how unreasonable their response has been.

Please could some of you suggest the best way to move forward? I have not used the car apart from driving it back from the original purchase and I don’t have £1,700 to spend on the repair.

So far I have the email chain, a copy of the original advert and my invoice which is signed by the dealership.


Thank you for reading

JJ_Egan

To be clear you bought a motor car sight unseen from Ebay .
The invoice says .
The only addendum on the invoice says “eBay sale no warranty implied”.

Dont suppose you have a copy of the page it was for sale on .

DoaM

Was it advertised on eBay as being sold by a dealership?

How did you pay? Paypal? Credit card?

References to SOGA are irrelevant ... the Consumer Rights Act 2015 has been in place since (I think) October 2015, so any consumer purchase thereafter is covered by CRA not SOGA. No warranty implied is irrelevant; you may have legal rights that the seller can't just make you waive away.

As above, the eBay listing ID should help us determine the situation better.

slowmoped

Thanks for the replies so far.


Item number is 112243144465.


Yes I bought the car unseen and the dealer's eBay account is in the name of the dealership which gave me some confidence.

wealdroam

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112243144465

hollydays

Are you aware their feedback score was not good?
Was the vat shown on the invoice?

lincroft1710

If you look at the Q&A part of the eBay ad the seller says it is a "trade car". Also only had 6 months MOT, definite no-no buy.

wealdroam

lincroft1710 wrote: »

If you look at the Q&A part of the eBay ad the seller says it is a "trade car".

Do we know whether that answer in the Q&A was given before the OP placed his winning bid?

Not that that really matters, because a consumer remains a consumer, whatever is written in the advertisement.

The seller has accepted a purchase by a consumer and as the seller is a trader, The Consumer Rights Act applies.

bris

It was sold with a dodgy heater he got a dodgy heater. Time to check was before buying not after.


People buy faulty goods on Ebay all the time, when it turns out not to be such an easy fix this is what we get, happens all the time.

unforeseen

There's a big difference between a dodgy heater because it's broke and a dodgy heater because somebody's removed a chunk of the system!

davidwood123

I suggest you take someone with you to hold your hand next time OP