Sold car privately - Now told the car was misdescribed

pinkshoes

25th Feb 2020. Three gentleman turned up to view the car, they all inspected it and one of them also test drove it giving it the green light and confirmed that the car works and drives well. I mentioned that the timing chain will need changing soon and I also agreed on a £150 discount based on this.

X Feb 2020 I received a text message asking me for £150 toward the replacement of the timing chain as this was going to cost him £400. I politely declined by saying that I already discounted £150 of the original price and I also informed him of the timing chain.

DATE: I receive a phone call from the buyer telling me that he now found out that the car has been in an accident and it also has different engine and he now wants his money back. I was not aware the car had ever been in an accident, nor that it had a different engine. 

List all the dates he kept contacting you and the date you called your solicitor to get him to stop. 

State WHO you bought the car from, enclose an advert of the car from when you bought it (do you have this) and state that the car was sold in good working order and you informed them of the timing chain issue that you were aware about.

(why did you only own the car for 8 months - this will seem suspicious...)

MariusAdam

pinkshoes said:

25th Feb 2020. Three gentleman turned up to view the car, they all inspected it and one of them also test drove it giving it the green light and confirmed that the car works and drives well. I mentioned that the timing chain will need changing soon and I also agreed on a £150 discount based on this.

X Feb 2020 I received a text message asking me for £150 toward the replacement of the timing chain as this was going to cost him £400. I politely declined by saying that I already discounted £150 of the original price and I also informed him of the timing chain.

DATE: I receive a phone call from the buyer telling me that he now found out that the car has been in an accident and it also has different engine and he now wants his money back. I was not aware the car had ever been in an accident, nor that it had a different engine. 

List all the dates he kept contacting you and the date you called your solicitor to get him to stop. 

State WHO you bought the car from, enclose an advert of the car from when you bought it (do you have this) and state that the car was sold in good working order and you informed them of the timing chain issue that you were aware about.

(why did you only own the car for 8 months - this will seem suspicious...)

Thank you for the reply. I haven't got the add from when I bought the car however I have messages from the seller saying that the car is "HPI clear, unrecorded as any cat".
I don't see why owning the car for 8 months will seem suspicious. It was a 3 door car and it no longer suited my needs. My family is growing so I needed a family car.

waamo

Read this it might help you a little https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvqu3bask5m0zir/money-claim-online-How-to-Acknowledge.pdf?dl=0

pinkshoes

MariusAdam said:

Thank you for the reply. I haven't got the add from when I bought the car however I have messages from the seller saying that the car is "HPI clear, unrecorded as any cat".
I don't see why owning the car for 8 months will seem suspicious. It was a 3 door car and it no longer suited my needs. My family is growing so I needed a family car.

In your defence, use the text messages you have from the previous buyer stating that it was HPI clear and unrecorded as any CAT.

Did YOU do an HPI check? Did the new owner do an HPI check? Have either of you since done an HPI check?

I consider 8 months to be quiet a short period of time to own a car. Correct me if I'm wrong, but most people who buy second hand cars either keep them a couple of years, or drive them until they die?!? So YOU may not see that owning a car for 8 months is suspicious, but someone else might e.g. it could look like you were moving the car on as you found something seriously wrong with it...

pinkshoes

Also, from your other post where you posted more detail:

1. If it had 16 electrical faults, and the bulbs had all been removed, why did they not spot that all the lights didn’t come up on the dash board when you start the car? One of the three should have surely spotted this?  (Had you ever noticed this??)

2. How do they know the car doesn’t have its original engine? Have you seen a copy of this report yet? If not, ask for one. 

born_again

OP has now posted this....

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6148477/received-a-civil-money-claim-please-help#latest

waamo

Stick to one thread otherwise confusion will reign.

MariusAdam

pinkshoes said:

MariusAdam said:

Thank you for the reply. I haven't got the add from when I bought the car however I have messages from the seller saying that the car is "HPI clear, unrecorded as any cat".
I don't see why owning the car for 8 months will seem suspicious. It was a 3 door car and it no longer suited my needs. My family is growing so I needed a family car.

In your defence, use the text messages you have from the previous buyer stating that it was HPI clear and unrecorded as any CAT.

Did YOU do an HPI check? Did the new owner do an HPI check? Have either of you since done an HPI check?

I consider 8 months to be quiet a short period of time to own a car. Correct me if I'm wrong, but most people who buy second hand cars either keep them a couple of years, or drive them until they die?!? So YOU may not see that owning a car for 8 months is suspicious, but someone else might e.g. it could look like you were moving the car on as you found something seriously wrong with it...

Yes, I also did a HPI check that came all clear before I purchased the car.  

MariusAdam

pinkshoes said:

Also, from your other post where you posted more detail:

1. If it had 16 electrical faults, and the bulbs had all been removed, why did they not spot that all the lights didn’t come up on the dash board when you start the car? One of the three should have surely spotted this?  (Had you ever noticed this??)

2. How do they know the car doesn’t have its original engine? Have you seen a copy of this report yet? If not, ask for one. 

 I used the car daily for a 15 mile + commute. I never had an issue with the car in the 8 months of owning it and probably would have kept it if it had 5 doors.
1.From what I remember lights were on the dashboard, however I'm not sure what light must be on or not. (the fuel light was working)
2. Regarding the engine, he said that the code on the engine doesn't match the v5 and he sent me a blurry photo of the code 

DoaM

Ref. point 2 ... https://itstillruns.com/match-car-vehicle-identification-numbers-4562632.html

The entire code is not meant to match; only the last few digits. (Unless I'm misreading what it says).