self declared idiot seeks redress

akathatman

Perhaps someone with experience of seeking redress against a private car Seller might like to comment on my post?


I'll try and stick to the bare facts:

Car advertised in Gumtree in May of this year, Private sale, 1 year old Golf 1.4tsi SE NAV, 11000 miles, one owner, excellent condition.
Inspected visually, took for test drive, agreed to buy, left deposit.
Seller delivers car to me, Car left in garage for 4 weeks until my old car sold and I could transfer the insurance.
Now the bit which makes me a prize idiot...
When I test drove the car there was an amber warning light on, questioned the owner who responded "haven't noticed that". Wowed by the appearance and drive of the car I let it pass but asked for a VW service before completing the purchase...owner said fine, he'd book it in to the vw dealership. Owner phoned next day, said he'd booked it in but service not due until 2019, car had extended service interval plan, better for me if he lowered the price and I could have it serviced when necessary. Guess what?
Before transfering money asked about amber light being on, Seller says "haven't noticed it" A complete lapse of sanity on my part interpreted this as "no, it's reset"
First time car taken out of garage, amber light, bought Calista OBD11 diagnostics device from Amazon, fault code front right ESP valve. Removed front wheel (not the faintest idea what an ESP looked like) and found inner wing holed, second.hand suspension, hub, disc and steering arm fitted, bodged but still working fine brake components installation.
Wrote to Seller requesting money back, reply "you inspected the vehicle and bought it as seen, not my problem".
I can't afford to throw away this much money, I've never before had a car of this value and this was a retirement present to myself. Trading Standards say I can make a case for false advertising referencing the use of the word Excellent used to describe the car.....would this stand up? Honest John thinks it should. Taking this to court without a cast iron case could leave me bankrupt if I lose and have to pay all costs, or even if I lose and only have to pay my own solicitor, barrister and court fees..
There's structural damage, bodged repairs and a sheared metal engine mount. If this makes the car unroadworthy there's a clear case for prosecution but would such faults necessarily render a vehicle unroadworthy? An impartial and independent engineers report admissable as evidence costs over £600.


If you've got this far thank you for your patience!.

sevenhills

akathatman wrote: »

First time car taken out of garage, amber light, bought Calista OBD11 diagnostics device from Amazon, fault code front right ESP valve. Removed front wheel (not the faintest idea what an ESP looked like) and found inner wing holed, second.hand suspension, hub, disc and steering arm fitted, bodged but still working fine brake components installation.
Wrote to Seller requesting money back, reply "you inspected the vehicle and bought it as seen, not my problem".
If you've got this far thank you for your patience!.

Your inner wing is holed, but everything elese is fine? Not very much for a court case. Has the car been in a acident?

debtdebt

Is it showing HPI clear? Did you specifically ask if it had been accident repaired?

Private sale so there!!!8217;s little comeback I!!!8217;d say.

peter12345678910

Such a bad repair could affect warranty.

Nodding_Donkey

As the warning light was on for your test drive I would expect the seller to say that you knew about it. What sort of redress do you expect?

AdrianC

akathatman wrote: »

Car advertised in Gumtree in May of this year, Private sale, 1 year old Golf

And that didn't get the alarm bells ringing?

If this makes the car unroadworthy there's a clear case for prosecution but would such faults necessarily render a vehicle unroadworthy?

Yes, but not by you.


Your options are restricted just to your basic consumer rights - and if this is a genuine private purchase, they're very limited indeed. Misdescription is about the only grounds, and you've got a strong case there - except you've left it a month before doing anything, and you freely admit the big clue was there (and discussed) on the test-drive.


I'm guessing it's over £10k, so you won't be on the small claim track if you take it to court. I think I'd be looking into the cost to get it properly repaired, as the cheapest way to resolve this impasse.

wgl2014

With regards to the warning light you have no case as per Nodding Donkeys post.

However..... As the car is only a year old presumably the chap you bought it from is the first owner, if there is significant damage consistent with an accident then they must have been aware and therefore were not describing it accurately by saying excellent condition. (If the seller only just acquired the car it will be difficult to prove they were aware of the issues)

I would suggest that you do a bit more research including an HPI check if that's not been done already.

AdrianC

wgl2014 wrote: »

I would suggest that you do a bit more research including an HPI check if that's not been done already.

HPI won't show anything relating to any collision unless the insurance wrote the car off, which is unlikely for relatively minor damage on a near-new car.


What's far more likely is that the previous owner never claimed, and just got it kicked straight as cheaply as possible.

caprikid1

I would suggest two things, take it to a VW specialist and get it thoroughly checked and quote to put it right.


Then gather all the evidence speak to a specialist solicitor and see what they say.


If you can still do a previous keeper check it might be worthwhile getting their info. Has the seller had it long ? you may be able to search and find where it was sold if it was accident damaged. What do the checks come up on the car is it a CAT declared car ?.

System

Define inner wing holed. Often there are access holes and holes put in for stuff fitted to other models.

TooManyPoints

Private sale - "caveat emptor" (Let the buyer beware)