Money Claim for used vehicle

PiggieBank

bazzyb wrote: »

Lawgistics are very experienced in motor claims, and if the dealer are defending they have almost certainly run it by them and they have advised them to do that.

It may be useful to get some advice and support on here by giving an idea of an overview of your claim, and what Lawgistics said in their response as to why you had no basis for a claim against the dealer.

Hi Bazzy,

Lawgistics did not go in to much detail in their initial letter, other than the vehicle was sold as seen and with this in mind no further action will take place in terms of repairs or refunds. They also reiterated (as mentioned by another post in this thread) that this is a 9 year old car and also taking into account the mileage, it cannot be expected to be of perfect condition.

Background information - Vehicle purchased mid-August 2017, test drove the vehicle and noticed some very faint smoke from the vehicle on acceleration. I queried this and was assured it is due to the vehicle being sat since being taken in part-ex and would momentarily pass, further assuring me that the person who part-ex'd the vehicle is a reoccurring customer who is a mechanic by trade. After some negotiations a price was met and the vehicle was driven away on the day after paying via debit card.

After a week of ownership, I noticed the vehicle was still producing this smoke substance under acceleration and a light knocking noise (somewhat akin to a tick?) appeared, and with this in mind I took it to a local garage and left it with them. I was then contacted to say that they believe the turbo to be suffering and after further inspection they believed a lack of serving (I assume oil etc) has caused damage to the engine which is where the tick (best way I can describe) appeared. It was at this point I collected my car and have since left it sat on my driveway. I was afraid to turn the engine over given what I was advised, so a few weeks letter a friend of the family who is a mechanic came over to have a nose and is under the opinion the engine has ceased.

My contact with the garage who sold the vehicle -
I contacted the car sales group who sold the vehicle after booking it into a local garage to give them a run down of the situation, at which point I was informed by their Manager that their vehicles no matter what age they are, are sold as seen and that they are under no obligation to assist me with the matter with that in mind. However, if it was a newer vehicle, a warranty would have been issued. It was at this point I contacted trading standards and here I am!

waamo

Just to clarify did you buy this vehicle to use for your business or did you buy it purely as a consumer?

PiggieBank

waamo wrote: »

Just to clarify did you buy this vehicle to use for your business or did you buy it purely as a consumer?

Hi,
It was purchased with the sole intention of making life easier for me to get A-B with my young baby as my previous car was very small and costly to insure. Hope that helps

waamo

You are a consumer and have rights as such. They cannot sell you a vehicle "sold as seen" and wash their hands of any responsibility.

Ectophile

First thing to remember about lawyers is that if you aren't paying them, they are not working for you. Don't ever take at face value anything that somebody else's lawyer tells you.

The whole "sold as seen" thing is just trying it on - it has no legal validity for a retail sale to a consumer.

I was afraid to turn the engine over given what I was advised, so a few weeks letter a friend of the family who is a mechanic came over to have a nose and is under the opinion the engine has ceased.

Do you really mean ceased (as in Norwegian blue parrot), or seized? You were driving it around for weeks, so it obviously wasn't seized when you bought it.

The first garage suggested that it was suffering from a lack of servicing. But from the sound of it, instead of giving it a major service, you just drove it home and abandoned it on the driveway.

bris

Age and mileage have a huge bearing on used car sales as you buy wear and tear with the vehicle.


Due diligence is a must here and tbh you bought it knowing there was smoke. Why would you believe a used car salesman, isn't that like a big no no.


You don't have an easy win here, yes you have consumer rights but the are restricted by what you bought.

PiggieBank

Thanks for replies.

I'll see how it plays out. I obviously can't turn back the clock, as much as I would like to! I'll keep you posted on what comes of it.

Thanks again folks.

arcon5

How can the engine have seized if you drop it back and have had it parked up since?

I think you need an expert report as your claims at present seem inconsistent since one garage has said turbo oil seals are leaking causing smoking and rough running and your mechanic friend is claiming engine seizure.

forgotmyname

I can see why they have pushed you aside. Its clear you parked the car up not want to damage it further so it was not seized.

I was then contacted to say that they believe the turbo to be suffering and after further inspection they believed a lack of serving (I assume oil etc) has caused damage to the engine which is where the tick (best way I can describe) appeared

They believe? Why has the turbo damaged the engine? In what way did it damage the engine?

No real proof of whats wrong with it and nothing 100% they "believe".