Legal rights regarding sale to We Buy Any Car

foxy-stoat

Suppose its proper mileage is now 105,000 - so worth less than the original quote.

You could go after the dealer you bought it off but doubt you will get anywhere - worth reporting though as they probably have done the same to many other cars.

robatwork

It's illegal to sell a car that you know has been clocked, not to mention a criminal offence to commit fraud. So it sounds like a previous dealer has committed a crime, perhaps bring that to their attention or that of the boys in blue.

motorguy

robatwork wrote: »

It's illegal to sell a car that you know has been clocked, not to mention a criminal offence to commit fraud. So it sounds like a previous dealer has committed a crime, perhaps bring that to their attention or that of the boys in blue.

I cant see the BiB being that interested and likewise we dont know that they supplying dealer clocked it.

Wouldnt stop me taking it up with the dealer though, from the perspective of the clear devaluation of the car.

agrinnall

I'm not sure how a photo of an odometer can be conclusively linked to a given car. It seems just as likely that WBAC have made an error as it is that the car has been clocked.

Herzlos

motorguy wrote: »

Nobody is forcing the O/P to accept the lower offer. If he accepts it then its an agreed price - not sure how far that would get through the small claims court....

You could argue there's some duress here - it was accepted at the higher rate and changed, and that the O/P feels they have to take the lower offer because it's not practical to collect the car again.

They apparently have photographic evidence and seem confident its the same car - as does the O/P. Presumably if they can get the information for the O/P they can produce the same audit trail for TS or in a small claims court.

I'm not sure how they can prove the photo of the odometer was taken of the car in question. Like I said it's quite possible that it's a different car and a typo in the recording system.


If you could cast doubt on the car being at WBAC or having that mileage, then would it be enough to sway a judge? I'd be willing to give it a go, or at least see if I could disprove WBAC.


I'm not sure how likely it'd be to get money out of the dealer; all he'll say is that it was at 77k when he bought and sold it and show the MOT at the time to prove it. Then how do you prove who is correct?

DoaM

Add in the fact that OP says the selling dealer has closed down and phoenixed as a new company then there'd be 2 hopes of getting anything back from them - Bob Hope and No Hope.

forgotmyname

I would put doubt on whether the photo was of your actual car, Sister bought a car from CarCraft. Oh my but she did....

Bought a Ford yet when she got home and wanted a read through all the handbooks and paperwork they had actually given her the logbook for a LandRover.

AdrianC

robatwork wrote: »

It's illegal to sell a car that you know has been clocked

No, it isn't.


If it was, then the OP would be committing an offence selling it to WBAC now.

not to mention a criminal offence to commit fraud.

Yep, that's the bit that actually matters. It's perfectly OK to sell a car that's covered 98k but the odometer says 85k. Or 5k. Or 0.
Asking for more money based on that incorrect information is where it becomes fraud.


In other words, just be honest...


(and, p'raps, if car buyers got over this ridiculous fixation on mileage...)

Stoke

No point going the plod, they'll probably tell you it's a civil matter, even though it's illegal.

Regardless, if you have enough time, take it back. !!!! WBAC.... Seriously.

motorguy

Herzlos wrote: »

You could argue there's some duress here - it was accepted at the higher rate and changed, and that the O/P feels they have to take the lower offer because it's not practical to collect the car again.



I'm not sure how they can prove the photo of the odometer was taken of the car in question. Like I said it's quite possible that it's a different car and a typo in the recording system.


If you could cast doubt on the car being at WBAC or having that mileage, then would it be enough to sway a judge? I'd be willing to give it a go, or at least see if I could disprove WBAC.


I'm not sure how likely it'd be to get money out of the dealer; all he'll say is that it was at 77k when he bought and sold it and show the MOT at the time to prove it. Then how do you prove who is correct?

They could prove it because they no doubt have an audit log of the car arriving with them, the miles recorded and the checks performed at that time, which presumably the person trading it in will have signed for.

They would also have any subsequent auction reports / invoices with the mileage on it.

If you think theres a realistic chance that the O/P could :-

• Accept the revised offer
• Accept the car mileage was incorrect
• Accept their terms and conditions of sale
• THEN take that through a smalls claims court to say the valuation was unfair
• AND expect WBAC not to produce compelling evidence of the mileage and checks

They Go You but i think the O/P is on a hiding to nothing on that front.