Conned in a private car sale

mattyprice4004

You bought it then had it checked - rookie mistake especially if you know nothing about cars.

Chalk it up to experience and move on.

Lincar

The engineer said to me not to drive the car as it would cause more damage to the engine. The car is going into a big garage on Tuesday to be tested and I will have a report.

Lincar

I did test drive the car, she brought it to the place I work, it should have been when I finished but she brought it just after lunch. I was a bit rushed and when I pulled away from the pavement I said what is that noise? She said she didn't know and she thought it was the brakes that had just been replaced.

I said I was going to have the car look at and if it was anything serious I would let her know. She said ok. I repeated this as I was driving and also when we got back to my work.

I have worked with this woman's father for over 18 months and I trusted what they both told me.

SHAFT

Lincar wrote: »

The engineer said to me not to drive the car as it would cause more damage to the engine. The car is going into a big garage on Tuesday to be tested and I will have a report.

It's a Honda Jazz, it'll fit in a normal garage.

Lincar wrote: »

I did test drive the car, she brought it to the place I work, it should have been when I finished but she brought it just after lunch. I was a bit rushed and when I pulled away from the pavement I said what is that noise? She said she didn't know and she thought it was the brakes that had just been replaced.

I said I was going to have the car look at and if it was anything serious I would let her know. She said ok. I repeated this as I was driving and also when we got back to my work.

I have worked with this woman's father for over 18 months and I trusted what they both told me.

So there's your problem, you knew there was an issue and accepted the car. You told her you would let her know if the problem was serious and she said ok. Of course she would she was being polite, why would she care it's now your car.

Sold as seen mate.

EdGasketTheSecond

It will be the gearbox input shaft bearing; about £30 if you do it yourself. You can see; depress the clutch and the noise should go away; let the clutch up and it will come back as the input shaft spins.

Secondhand gearboxes can be had for around £200 but whether they will be any better than what you have is a gamble.

[Deleted User]

It's one reason why I wouldn't buy a car off a friend, family, or work colleague. Unless it was a £200 banger that I knew what I was getting into.

Jumblebumble

Lincar wrote: »

I don't know what to do!

I bought a Honda Jazz from the daughter of a couple I work with. The father had been telling me how good the car was, well looked after, running perfectly no problems, just about to go through an MOT.

Once the MOT was done, the daughter brought the car to my work. As soon as I started it, I heard a noise coming from the front left of the car, I asked what the noise was and was told, she didn't know, but the brakes had just been done and maybe it was that.

I said I would have a engineer look at it and if there were any problems I would get back to her, she said ok. A few days later the car was taken for a test run and I was told that the gearbox was in a poor state and that it would take over £600 to fix it.

The private seller does not want to know, deal done as far as she is concerned. I now believe that they both, the father who I work with and the daughter who was selling the car, both knew about the gearbox and I was conned. I now have a car that I can't drive, can't sell on and don't have the money to repair myself. I have taxed and insured it as it's parked on a public road. I am not driving it and am still using my old car.

Can I take her to a small claims court? The car is a 2005 Honda Jazz SE and I paid £1,500 for it. I believed them both

One of the mantras that my late father had was
When buying a car or anything else for that matter ignore totally what the character selling tells you.
Wise advice
I also think a car with a short MOT is worth £100 a ton mixed metals at the crusher

motorguy

Jumblebumble wrote: »

One of the mantras that my late father had was
When buying a car or anything else for that matter ignore totally what the character selling tells you.
Wise advice
I also think a car with a short MOT is worth £100 a ton mixed metals at the crusher

A friend of mine has a 2012 Golf GTI for sale with a months MOT. Shall i tell him its only worth £100? :eek:

foxy-stoat

motorguy wrote: »

A friend of mine has a 2012 Golf GTI for sale with a months MOT. Shall i tell him its only worth £100? :eek:

Tell him to put a ticket on it, one less reason for wasters to give him low ball offers.

macman

Lincar wrote: »

I did test drive the car, she brought it to the place I work, it should have been when I finished but she brought it just after lunch. I was a bit rushed and when I pulled away from the pavement I said what is that noise? She said she didn't know and she thought it was the brakes that had just been replaced.

I said I was going to have the car look at and if it was anything serious I would let her know. She said ok. I repeated this as I was driving and also when we got back to my work.

I have worked with this woman's father for over 18 months and I trusted what they both told me.

Yes, but she didn't say that she would refund you the cost of any necessary repairs, did she? You accepted the car with a known fault, failed to have it checked out before purchase, and failed to ask any questions about it's history or condition.
As I suggested before, send an LBA to the daughter anyway, all you have to lose is the price of a stamp.