Buying a car and what cover do I get?

alex_knight_2

Hi. Im looking to buy a car from a private seller for £10,000. Im worried that despite me doing checks that the car may turn out to be a clone, stolen or not what it seems. If I pay for some of the car on one of my credit cards will I be covered if it happens the car is a dud


Many thanks for your help

[Deleted User]

A private seller won't accept a card payment.

Terry_Towelling

Not quite in the right part of the forum, so you might not get the responses you were hoping for.

However, if you pay for some of the car on a credit card (not sure how you are going to do that with a private seller) and there is a breach of contract or misrepresentation by the seller that gives you a legal claim against that seller, you would have a like claim against the supplier of credit - i.e. your credit card company (subject to all the usual S75 qualification criteria).

Given the fact this looks to be a private sale, you aren't going to be able to pay by card but you will still be entering into a contract with the seller and you will still have rights for breach of contract, misrepresentation etc - but any claim would have to be resolved directly with the seller or through the courts - and you'd probably need to have a written contract to show what you were promised and how that was not fulfilled to be successful.

alex_knight_2

Ah thank you all Totally understand



Kind regards

MallyGirl

I will move this to the standard credit card section as it is not about stoozing

18cc

I would google for tips about buying second hand cars from private sellers eg always go to their house (don't meet half way etc etc). You are pretty much on your own - eg if it was stolen then the rightful owner would reclaim it and you would lose your £10,000 unless you can take the seller to court and they have assets.

They will almost certainly want cash (I would before parting with my car) so you have no comeback. Make sure you get a receipt (so they can't claim it was stolen from them) and ideally take someone with you s a witness.

jonesMUFCforever

I would never buy a car for ten grand from a private seller.

Ben8282

You may find these links helpful.


https://www.theaacarcheck.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl_fp2bKq4gIVzZPtCh1OqQoeEAAYASAAEgKvy_D_BwE


https://www.theaa.com/vehicle-inspection/?source=Google&ito=87770&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhuOql7Oq4gIVgr_tCh3V5gs8EAAYASAAEgIDofD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#/mini-details


When purchasing the car ask the seller for valid photo ID and ensure details on the ID correspond to details on the car documents.
Would suggest paying by bank transfer rather than cash and don't just accept the details from the seller. Copy them yourself from a bank statement or a cheque contained in a cheque book and check name on the account corresponds.
If excuses are made or you have any concerns take your business elsewhere.

Sea_Shell

The other thing to bear in mind, following a recent thread on a similar topic, is to look carefully at the length of time the car's been owned by the current owner for.

I'd be really wary of anything under a year.

In that particular case, it appears that although all the paperwork and ID checked out, it had been previously purchased using a fake/stolen card!!! The car was then siezed by police.

rockey100

From my experience, there is always some risk when buying privately. Even car history checks aren't a guarantee that a car isn't a write off or stolen. But, they do significantly reduce the risk of buying a dud. I'd avoid relying on an old car check with the current keeper as data might be out of date.

Normal checks:

See that the car number plate is registered with DVLA: https://www.carveto.co.uk

Make sure you view the car at the seller's address (not a supermarket car park)

Check the V5 log book name and address matches where you are having a viewing

See how long the owner has had the car (preferably 12-months or more)

I also check the number of previous keepers remembering that I need to add on the existing keeper to that tally. I was surprised when I bought a car with four previous keepers to find out I become the sixth! Ouch

If the car has a cambelt make sure it has been replaced in manufacturer guidelines.

Finally, a good look through any mot history in case of advisory notes that might be failures on the next test: https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

MovingForwards

Post is 2 year old.