Private Purchase - Car has lots of hidden damage!

burlingtonfl6

AnneGR said:

Thank you all for your comments.
The ad just listed the details of the car - age, mileage, etc and then there was a section listed 'Faults' which was:

"Has front fog light blank missing (stolen) £15 

on eBay some scratches on wheels"

I did ask in an email if the car was accident free, registered at category s/n etc and the seller stated the car was accident free.  I did an HPI check and the car was clear.  The damage does need to be repaired.  The bumpers have been put together very badly and is going to take some work to get them off to get to the headlights which are completely loose so will definitely fail.  The cheapest quote I have is the £700 to repair which replacing any parts.  However, I have been told by 3 companies that because of how the bumpers have been sealed, there is a risk they might crack when taking them off, so the £700 could land up being a lot more.  

The seller has denied all knowledge of the damage as I did make contact about this.  The seller owned the car from new - for 9 years and I have had it 6 weeks.  The car is a 11 reg.

I have certainly learnt a lot of hard lessons through this!! I bought private as my funds were limited and I used a small amount of inheritance money I received to get a new car.  Was hoping there was some rights a private buyer but not holding my breath.  

It's not a new car

Grumpy_chap

This is a 2011 car purchased via Ebay.  What type of car, mileage, condition and what did the OP pay for it?
It could be that the savings made on the purchase are sufficient to cover the repairs required and the OP still "up" on buying from a dealer.

fred246

It's pretty easy if the car only had one previous owner. Obviously he has been in an accident and knows the car is damaged and is selling it by telling lies. It's a great one for a face to face with a judge. I would be very surprised if the seller would go to court. I would expect them to pay up out of court. Hopefully the OP has a proper name and address and the seller has enough money to pay the bill?

macman

burlingtonfl6 said:

AnneGR said:

Thank you all for your comments.
The ad just listed the details of the car - age, mileage, etc and then there was a section listed 'Faults' which was:

"Has front fog light blank missing (stolen) £15 

on eBay some scratches on wheels"

I did ask in an email if the car was accident free, registered at category s/n etc and the seller stated the car was accident free.  I did an HPI check and the car was clear.  The damage does need to be repaired.  The bumpers have been put together very badly and is going to take some work to get them off to get to the headlights which are completely loose so will definitely fail.  The cheapest quote I have is the £700 to repair which replacing any parts.  However, I have been told by 3 companies that because of how the bumpers have been sealed, there is a risk they might crack when taking them off, so the £700 could land up being a lot more.  

The seller has denied all knowledge of the damage as I did make contact about this.  The seller owned the car from new - for 9 years and I have had it 6 weeks.  The car is a 11 reg.

I have certainly learnt a lot of hard lessons through this!! I bought private as my funds were limited and I used a small amount of inheritance money I received to get a new car.  Was hoping there was some rights a private buyer but not holding my breath.  

It's not a new car

If the seller stated that by return email ,then the OP has considerable evidence of misrepresentation to use in the small claims process. If evidence of accident damage is produced, along with evidence that the car was owned by him from new, then I cannot see why a court would not find in favour of the OP.
Usually these kind of claims degenerate into a he said/she said squabble, and the verdict is 50/50, but in this instance the OP does seem to have the firepower, if he is prepared to go to court.
As always, I would start with an LBA, requesting a full refund with reasonable expenses for travel etc.

fred246

Yes you could do a letter before action stating "give me my money back or I will have the car professionally repaired and take you to court for the cost of the repair". Hopefully the seller would be scared by the cost of the professional repair and just give you your money back.

AdrianC

AnneGR said:

The bumpers have been put together very badly and is going to take some work to get them off to get to the headlights which are completely loose so will definitely fail.  The cheapest quote I have is the £700 to repair which replacing any parts.  However, I have been told by 3 companies that because of how the bumpers have been sealed, there is a risk they might crack when taking them off, so the £700 could land up being a lot more.

Presumably this damage was visible to even the most casual pre-purchase look...?

Jack_Cork

AdrianC said:

AnneGR said:

The bumpers have been put together very badly and is going to take some work to get them off to get to the headlights which are completely loose so will definitely fail.  The cheapest quote I have is the £700 to repair which replacing any parts.  However, I have been told by 3 companies that because of how the bumpers have been sealed, there is a risk they might crack when taking them off, so the £700 could land up being a lot more.

Presumably this damage was visible to even the most casual pre-purchase look...?

The OP said that there was damage, but 'not visible to the untrained eye' apparently 

foxy-stoat

What car is it?  

If you post up a photo of the front with the bonnet open we can see if a reasonable person would of spotted the faults/damage.

fred246

There's no point. It was sold as an 'accident free' car. It obviously isn't and the seller knew it wasn't. No point trying to belittle the buyer. It's very sad when people come on this forum asking for helpful advice and all they get is nasty comments from the regulars.

Carrot007

fred246 said:

There's no point. It was sold as an 'accident free' car. It obviously isn't and the seller knew it wasn't. No point trying to belittle the buyer. It's very sad when people come on this forum asking for helpful advice and all they get is nasty comments from the regulars.

'accident free' Not in anything but coval communication it seems so just conjecture.

It may go OP's way in court and should from what they have said. But as the seller would be asked to provide the proof it was damaged by them it may not. They probablyu have not had an insurance claim if it is bodged so what proof is there?

Maybe they lent the car to somene for 6 months and got it back like that?

I know you are just a troll but try harder.