Dodgy car dealer sold me a broken car

northo

Oh, he asked us to initially send it to a different address, we're not doing that now, we're sending it to the business address. He's a proper dealer, they've got a big place on an industrial estate and are searchable on companies house etc.

Paid via bank transfer after multiple requests for cash by the dealer but said I couldn't do cash.

Thanks for the tip on first class. Do you think it's worth sending first class and via recorded delivery just to be safe?

macman

Bank transfer or cash, same thing-you have no protection. Since a bank transfer is instant and costs the recipient nothing, did that not ring alarm bells? A reputable dealer will not insist on cash.
No, for legal purposes you do not need to prove delivery.

northo

Aghh really, I had no idea. What an idiot I am. Because of their overwhelmingly positive online reviews and how nice he was, it really didn't ring any alarm bells with me. I think that must show my lack of life experience...and obvious stupidity. Does that mean there isn't much I can do?

Man, tough lesson.

macman

Unfortunately, you have gone well over the time limit (30 days) to do a straight rejection under CRA.
It occurs to me that the vehicle was 8 years old. KIa's have a 7 year warranty in the UK, so that is probably why it has a dealer service stamp to 2016, to maintain the warranty. The previous owner presumably didn't bother servicing it in 2017 as it would have soon been out of warranty...another red flag. Despite the dealer's glowing description, it hadn't been serviced for 2 years?
You can still try to reject it, but the burden is now on you to prove that the faults were pre-existing.
If he described it as having no mechanical faults, then that is misrepresentation. The vehicle also has to be roadworthy, which it appears not to have been.
PS: 2nd hand car dealers are always nice, lovely people. Until you've handed over your cash...

northo

Well, they said it had a full KIA service history in it's ad (which I have found and saved!). He did flick through the stamps with me, but it's only looking back I see there is no stamp after 2016 - again, stupid stupid stupid.

macman

Just rereading your thread again: too late for you now but it might help someone else: check that you have possession of and read the service history, V5C, MOT cert before agreeing to buy. Don't rely on any excuses or other tactics. Do your own HPI check, don't rely on the dealer. if you are spending £3.5K.

northo

Agreed - buying a car is stressful enough. Save yourself all the drama I'm going through by just doing more research and asking more questions...

Mercdriver

At least you were sensible enough to save the ad. So not all that stupid really.

northo

Well I've got a lot of stupidity to make up for here, so at least that's a start... :A

System

You need to start by never returning to the garage which told you grease was getting into the car and causing the fuel smell. I wouldn't trust them to fix a bicycle.