I have been royally ripped off!

NotMyCar123

Hi, 
So I'll try to keep this concise. About a month ago I bought my dream car, have wanted it since I was a teenager. Two weeks ago the engine tore itself to bits. I was fuming when I found out he had sold it with no oil in the engine(!) despite having told me he serviced it, and then I rang up the DVLA to chase up the V5 so I can sell it for spares, and they had no record of him transferring ownership, which he claimed to have done online whilst I was there!
So now I have a broken car that I don't legally own. My question is, what is my legal recourse with regards to potentially getting my money back for a car I've never owned, which was sold to me with no oil in the engine. The car is obviously not as I bought it. I have no clue when it comes to any of this stuff so any help at all would be really appreciated!

Thanks
J

cymruchris

How do you know the seller had the right to sell the car? Was it their car? Did you complete a history check before purchase to ensure it's not stolen? These checks also confirm if the car has been majorly accident damaged in the past. I wouldn't imagine he would have sold it with no oil in the engine - but you might have had an engine oil leak. Did you inspect the cars mechanics before purchasing? Did you look underneath? How in-depth did you examine it before you bought it? Does it come with a full dealer history? If so - have you checked with the dealer to see if there are any recorded problems on file? The first thing I do whenever I have bought any car is to check the fluid levels myself - oil - water - brake etc. When you say the engine has torn itself apart - what exactly does that mean in real terms? What's actually broken?

facade

It wasn't sold with no oil in the engine as it ran for 2 weeks, it has used it, some cars burn a lot of oil e.g. VW, Subaru, BMW.

You should really have checked the oil when you bought it and again every few days  so as it is down to you that there is no oil in it now, you can't claim your money back. 

Didn't he give you the new keeper part of the V5? You use this to tax the car and transfer keeper when you buy it, his tax expires the second he transfers the car to you and you have to tax or SORN it immediately.

The_Rainmaker

This is going to be a nightmare.  Do you have an admission that he didn't put oil in it?

It must have had some  otherwise it wouldn't have lasted two weeks.

waamo

What does the DVLA have to do with ownership? What makes you think you don't own it?

NotMyCar123

OK so in order, it didn't have nearly enough oil in it, there was some, but the little end bearing went, and when that happened was when I checked the oil to find not enough. I only had it 2 weeks and barely drove the thing at all, wasn't bought as a daily driver. 
I don't have an admission, no. To clarify, at this point I'm not even sure whether I should be looking to claim the car was sold faulty (don't think I'd have a leg to stand on there) or whether my best bet is to look into him being the registered keeper still, and try to get my money back because he took money from me for an item that is still legally his. 
Unless I am mistaken and I am in fact the legal owner despite not being the registered keeper? 

Thanks for responding everyone. Just trying to work out what my options are, even if that just means sorting out the v5 for the car so I can sell it. 

facade

Did he give you the new keeper slip from the V5? You use this to transfer keeper, tax the car and request a V5 in your name if he didn't, but it is inhis interest to get you down as the keeper ASAP. unless he wasn't the keeper.......

If he had the right to sell the car, and you paid for it (do you have a receipt?), then you are the legal owner. The keeper is the person responsible for taxing it, paying parking fines and dobbing in who was driving if an S172 request comes through, the owner and the keeper are usually the same person, but don't have to be.

AdrianC

NotMyCar123 said:

OK so in order, it didn't have nearly enough oil in it, there was some, but the little end bearing went, and when that happened was when I checked the oil to find not enough. I only had it 2 weeks and barely drove the thing at all, wasn't bought as a daily driver.

So you hadn't checked the oil level once in the time you'd owned it...?

Unless I am mistaken and I am in fact the legal owner despite not being the registered keeper?

Read the text in capital white letters on the blue strip.

Do you have the V5C/2 New Keeper slip?

Ditzy_Mitzy

NotMyCar123 said:

OK so in order, it didn't have nearly enough oil in it, there was some, but the little end bearing went, and when that happened was when I checked the oil to find not enough. I only had it 2 weeks and barely drove the thing at all, wasn't bought as a daily driver. 
I don't have an admission, no. To clarify, at this point I'm not even sure whether I should be looking to claim the car was sold faulty (don't think I'd have a leg to stand on there) or whether my best bet is to look into him being the registered keeper still, and try to get my money back because he took money from me for an item that is still legally his. 
Unless I am mistaken and I am in fact the legal owner despite not being the registered keeper? 

Thanks for responding everyone. Just trying to work out what my options are, even if that just means sorting out the v5 for the car so I can sell it. 

What sort of car is it?  And have you got much experience with older cars - they can and do require more maintenance along with sympathetic treatment.  Certain older models require much more regular oil top ups.  If said car happens to be worn or burning oil, it will require checking every few days and ought really to be overhauled.  
You became the legal owner at the point the car was paid for, not at the eventual point of change of registered keeper, as others have already said.  It's not legally the seller's any more and, if it's a genuine private sale, caveat emptor applies. 

macman

So, you are the legal owner, but not yet the registered keeper.
Is this the first time you have bought a car? Because, based on what you have said about coveting this car since your teenage years, you seem somewhat unaware of the basic procedure.
Regarding it's condition, how was it described, and what questions did you ask about it's condition? All the vendor has to do is not mis-describe it, and so far there is no evidence that he did.
Make, model, year, mileage, price? Private sale or dealer? We need some context.

Mercdriver

Many many people misunderstand the procedure and see the documentation being about ownership.  That's in spite of the bold letters on the front of the document.