Car auction & fraudulent mot

PEARLSOFWISDOM_2

Any help on the following would be appreciated please,


1. 2 weeks ago at a car auction I purchased a car approx. £3500 SOLD AS SEEN it had 1 years mot,only issued 3 days
prior to auction,on the night of the auction I stood by car as it was started and there was no evidence of any major
problem as no engine warning lights were flashing apart from seat belt as a result of above I bought car.
2. Within the hour paid via CREDIT CARD and drove away.
3. Within half a mile it was clear the car had a major problem i.e lack of power,AIR LEAK AFFECTING TURBO


NOW THE PART I'M FURIOUS ABOUT - In the last 10 days the vehicle has been inspected and it emerges the vehicle has been in a shunt NOT RECORDED VIA INDEMNITY CHECKS as the drivers air bag has been used/air box crushed and the warning light that would have displayed this doesn't come on as somebody
HAS DISCONNECTED 2 WIRES AND TAPED THEM TOGETHER PREVENTING THEM SHOWING FAULT SO HOW ON EARTH DID THIS PASS AN MOT JUST 4 DAYS BEFORE I BOUGHT IT.


AS I WRITE I FEEL IN A TOTAL JAM AS HOW DO I SELL THIS VEHICLE ON
TO DATE I'VE CONTACTED 1. DVSA where an option of vehicle being reinspected has been proposed.
+ 2. CITIZENS ADVICE who outlined the pitfalls of me just selling car on at auction


It is uneconomical to get all repairs done as I could potentially be looking at a further £2000.
I do not wish to keep vehicle so it will be definitely sold


ANY IDEAS WOULD BE APPRECIATED IN HOW I SHOULD BEST DEAL WITH THIS I PERSONALLY FAVOUR AN APPROACH TO CAR AUCTION HOUSE TO INFORM SELLER OF VEHICLE THE IMPLICATIONS THAT WILL FOLLOW IF MY MONEY ISN'T REFUNDED,AS I'M EVEN CONSIDERING INVOLVING POLICE AS I DO BELIEVE A POTENTIAL CRIMINAL ACT HAS BEEN COMMITTED BY TAMPERING WITH ELECTRICS EITHER BY SELLER OR GARAGE WHO ISSUED MOT.


many thanks

AdrianC

PEARLSOFWISDOM wrote: »

NOW THE PART I'M FURIOUS ABOUT - In the last 10 days the vehicle has been inspected and it emerges the vehicle has been in a shunt NOT RECORDED VIA INDEMNITY CHECKS

All that says is that the damage wasn't claimed from insurance, or the insurance repaired it (albeit, it seems, badly). It's only insurance write-offs that are recorded.

as the drivers air bag has been used/air box crushed and the warning light that would have displayed this doesn't come on as somebody HAS DISCONNECTED 2 WIRES AND TAPED THEM TOGETHER PREVENTING THEM SHOWING FAULT SO HOW ON EARTH DID THIS PASS AN MOT JUST 4 DAYS BEFORE I BOUGHT IT.

Lack of the self-test of an airbag warning light isn't an MOT fail.
https://www.mot-testing.service.gov.uk/documents/manuals/m4s05000401.htm

You didn't notice the lack of self-test when you watched the car being started?

I'M EVEN CONSIDERING INVOLVING POLICE AS I DO BELIEVE A POTENTIAL CRIMINAL ACT HAS BEEN COMMITTED BY TAMPERING WITH ELECTRICS EITHER BY SELLER OR GARAGE WHO ISSUED MOT.

It hasn't. There is no such law.

Did the auctioneer say the car hadn't been in a collision?

No? Then caveat emptor.

ssparks2003

Sadly I would agree. From what you have written the mot was sound and you did not inspect the car well enough

motorguy

PEARLSOFWISDOM wrote: »

Any help on the following would be appreciated please,


1. 2 weeks ago at a car auction I purchased a car approx. £3500 SOLD AS SEEN it had 1 years mot,only issued 3 days
prior to auction,on the night of the auction I stood by car as it was started and there was no evidence of any major
problem as no engine warning lights were flashing apart from seat belt as a result of above I bought car.
2. Within the hour paid via CREDIT CARD and drove away.
3. Within half a mile it was clear the car had a major problem i.e lack of power,AIR LEAK AFFECTING TURBO


NOW THE PART I'M FURIOUS ABOUT - In the last 10 days the vehicle has been inspected and it emerges the vehicle has been in a shunt NOT RECORDED VIA INDEMNITY CHECKS as the drivers air bag has been used/air box crushed and the warning light that would have displayed this doesn't come on as somebody
HAS DISCONNECTED 2 WIRES AND TAPED THEM TOGETHER PREVENTING THEM SHOWING FAULT SO HOW ON EARTH DID THIS PASS AN MOT JUST 4 DAYS BEFORE I BOUGHT IT.


AS I WRITE I FEEL IN A TOTAL JAM AS HOW DO I SELL THIS VEHICLE ON
TO DATE I'VE CONTACTED 1. DVSA where an option of vehicle being reinspected has been proposed.
+ 2. CITIZENS ADVICE who outlined the pitfalls of me just selling car on at auction


It is uneconomical to get all repairs done as I could potentially be looking at a further £2000.
I do not wish to keep vehicle so it will be definitely sold


ANY IDEAS WOULD BE APPRECIATED IN HOW I SHOULD BEST DEAL WITH THIS I PERSONALLY FAVOUR AN APPROACH TO CAR AUCTION HOUSE TO INFORM SELLER OF VEHICLE THE IMPLICATIONS THAT WILL FOLLOW IF MY MONEY ISN'T REFUNDED,AS I'M EVEN CONSIDERING INVOLVING POLICE AS I DO BELIEVE A POTENTIAL CRIMINAL ACT HAS BEEN COMMITTED BY TAMPERING WITH ELECTRICS EITHER BY SELLER OR GARAGE WHO ISSUED MOT.


many thanks

Sadly you've bought a pup because you DIDNT do ANY DUE DILIGENCE.

Cheap cars at auction are cheap for a reason. If you didnt have the ability to check the car thoroughly yourself, you really needed to have brought someone with you who could.

You will have a massive uphill struggle getting anywhere with this.

Out of curiosity, what did you think SOLD AS SEEN meant?

arcon5

Put it back through auction.

System

PEARLSOFWISDOM wrote: »

NOW THE PART I'M FURIOUS ABOUT - In the last 10 days the vehicle has been inspected and it emerges the vehicle has been in a shunt NOT RECORDED VIA INDEMNITY CHECKS as the drivers air bag has been used/air box crushed and the warning light that would have displayed this doesn't come on as somebody
HAS DISCONNECTED 2 WIRES AND TAPED THEM TOGETHER PREVENTING THEM SHOWING FAULT SO HOW ON EARTH DID THIS PASS AN MOT JUST 4 DAYS BEFORE I BOUGHT IT.

Because as you've just found out, a MOT isn't an exhaustive inspection of a vehicle and there are a lot of pitfalls in it, a non-illuminating Airbag warning light being one of them as it is a pass and advise, not a fail. The MOT inspects a very specific list of items to a very specific standard which involves no dismantling or removing of any components.

The airbox IS NOT A TESTABLE ITEM therefore it wouldn't be inspected.

The steering wheel, assuming the airbag had actually gone off and not just been removed and not replaced because it was faulty, must have been replaced otherwise there would be a massive hole where it had been or a big flap of cloth/leather where the bag had forced its way out so it would have been visible when you checked it. If it looked normal then it would have passed a MOT because as I said before, the MOT doesn't involve taking things to bits so they wouldn't start taking off trim and taking apart steering wheels to check for the presence of airbags and it would only fail if it was obvious it was missing - i.e a hole or a flap of material.

If an airbag light doesn't light up it is PASS AND ADVISE.

AS I WRITE I FEEL IN A TOTAL JAM AS HOW DO I SELL THIS VEHICLE ON

You fix it or sell it with the faults stating what they are.

ANY IDEAS WOULD BE APPRECIATED IN HOW I SHOULD BEST DEAL WITH THIS I PERSONALLY FAVOUR AN APPROACH TO CAR AUCTION HOUSE TO INFORM SELLER OF VEHICLE THE IMPLICATIONS THAT WILL FOLLOW IF MY MONEY ISN'T REFUNDED,

What implications? There aren't any implications for anyone. When you buy from an auction it is caveat emptor and this is clearly stated and explained on the buyers guides, the auction T&C and also is stated in a 2 minute waffle the auctioneer makes at the start of every auction where they read out the auction house T&Cs. They bleat on about it so much because of the number of private buyers like yourself who buy from auctions and don't seem to understand the terms on which the sale takes place. The auction house has no liability because they're acting as an agent for the seller the same as Ebay does with auctions on its site.

AS I'M EVEN CONSIDERING INVOLVING POLICE AS I DO BELIEVE A POTENTIAL CRIMINAL ACT HAS BEEN COMMITTED BY TAMPERING WITH ELECTRICS EITHER BY SELLER OR GARAGE WHO ISSUED MOT.

Again, there MOT testing station have not done anything wrong as it appears that they have tested the vehicle in compliance with the rules despite what you have found and unless you asked the seller if there were any faults and they said non then there isn't anything wrong there either. Tampering with the electronics is not illegal.

This is an expensive lesson that as many of us keep banging on about, a MOT is absolutely no guarantee of the condition of a vehicle. Also when buying at auctions you must be extremely diligent in your inspection of a vehicle you're buying and take someone with you if you don't know much. It would appear due diligence by you was more concerned in the cosmetics, how many dents and scratches there were and you took it at face value there weren't any problems because it had an almost full year's MOT. Certainly you should have noticed the crushed airbox if you'd given it a thorough once over. It could pass a MOT perfectly legally with a gearbox so shagged it could barely make it onto the test ramp, that is how good the MOT is as an indication of the mechanical condition..

And why is it going to cost £2000 to put it right? Airbox is £20 from a scrapyard and a 10 minute job to do yourself, a second hand steering wheel airbag will be less than £50 and 30 minutes labour.

Mercdriver

That thing called a caps lock button? Turn it off.

Hermione_Granger

Mercdriver wrote: »

That thing called a caps lock button? Turn it off.

They might not be able to.
Someone may have disconnected the wires from the caps lock switch and taped them together.

angrycrow

It is hard for a private buyer to do well at auctions as they are loaded in the favour of trade, no doubt to avoid buyers like the op going back and making a fuss.

A trader will check the car carefully and may even check for fault codes and then make a bid. If he wins and its a good car he retails it, if it's a Lemon it goes back to auction.

The other traders then go to the next auction and see the same car go across the block again so do not bid. If the traders are passing on a car it is almost certainly a known lemon.

Traders pay less fees than private buyers so take less of a hit if they throw a car back to auction.

As already suggested options are throw it back to auction. Or repair it and move on. Air box is a few £ from eBay or scrap yard. Given the front impact check the intercooler and pipes for damage as this could explain the air leak after the turbo and is a relatively easy and cheap fix if you know how to take the bumper off

AdrianC

angrycrow wrote: »

It is hard for a private buyer to do well at auctions as they are loaded in the favour of trade

Only in that the fees are higher for casual buyers than for regular account-holders. The fees should not be a surprise by the time you're standing there waiting to stick your paw up.

Whether the private buyer is equipped to do any kind of sensible appraisal in the time they have available is another question.