Trader selling private car from their forecourt

scottp3000

condition inside and bodywork wise is immaculate - sadly looks like it’s hiding the truth underneath 😕

Grumpy_chap

I assume you saw the car and took a test drive before purchase?  Several of the items you list as faults would be noticeable from a visual inspection by the untrained eye.  Some of the other items are wear&tear consumable.

However, there must be a reason why this "trader" is trying to pass the sale as "private".  Surely that could not be to avoid the liabilities that go with a professional trader making the sale?

AdrianC

scottp3000 said:

Q5 Sline - 70k miles 

There are more than 1,250 Q5s on Autotrader.
Only 40-odd are <£8.5k.
Just four of them are <90k miles.
Only one of those is <£8k - and that's considerably newer, which makes me wonder what's wrong with it...
None of the 40-odd are S-Line, which will carry a price premium over lower-spec cars.
Equivalent cars to yours start around £10k.

So - this is a dirt cheap example. 

The very low price, I suspect, is why you travelled to a garage that "isn't local" for an apparent bargain. Y'know the old saying about gift horses? Well, this wasn't a gift, so definitely deserved a dental checkup.

And that price further feeds into your realistic expectations for legal comeback. What are reasonable expectations of a bottom-end-of-price-bracket 12yo car? Low.
Bald tyres, faulty aircon, non-folding folding mirrors, clicking driveshafts... All would have been apparent on any reasonable pre-purchase inspection.
Worn bushes, brake pads, unchanged brake fluid - it needs a good service.
That good service would also pick up the other reasonable wear and tear items, like the balljoint and CV boot.
Had the stored fault codes put the engine management light on? How long since they'd last been cleared? Have any come back since clearing?

mattyprice4004

It's a 12 year old car being sold at rock bottom price, so any faults will take that into account. 

Aircon compressor fault - it's 12 years old, the A/C system is also 12 years old so repairs being needed are expected
brake fluid tests as poor - this in itself isn't a fault, it's just something in poor condition that you can choose to replace or leave
faulty folding mirror motor - did you not spot this when inspecting and during test drives etc? 
tyres worn below 1.6m inner edges - this should have been picked up before parting with your cash, it's a wear and tear part
rear inner brake pads below 2mm - this should have been picked up before parting with your cash, it's a wear and tear part
front upper suspension ball joint split - that will just be the rubber cover, I'd expect them to fix this
o/s brake pipe perished, and metal pipe kinked - rubber perishes with age so this is wear and tear, but a kink in the metal pipe needs to be addressed 
o/s CV boot split - I'd expect this to be sorted
both front shock absorber bushes perished - rubber perishes with age, most bushes will look tired at 12 years old 
welding on inner seals - this itself isn't an issue unless you were told it had no welding, most cars will need a bit at some point
CV joint knocking on o/s - I'd expect this to be sorted
Fault codes in various ECU modules - depends entirely what the codes are. Minor things like heater blend valves out of spec are to be expected as wear and tear, but 'serious' codes should be sorted

You may disagree, but that's my take on the issues you've mentioned. 

scottp3000

Nope, when you put it that way sounds reasonable - revisiting the list I agree with your balance if wear and tear and the few faults, hopefully the garage will be reasonable too 

sweetsand

scottp3000 said:

Don't worry, i'm happy to give them a chance to put things right - and being nice is always my way of dealing with things (probably too soft!) - just want to have all the info if they start pushing back.
issues are:
Aircon compressor fault,
brake fluid tests as poor
faulty folding mirror motor
tyres worn below 1.6m inner edges
rear inner brake pads below 2mm
front upper suspension ball joint split
o/s brake pipe perished, and metal pipe kinked
o/s CV boot split
both front shock absorber bushes perished
welding on inner seals
CV joint knocking on o/s
Fault codes in various ECU modules

Its a 2008 audi, so the parts are going to be quite pricey to replace! 

Surely, some of that must have showed up on the mot?
Anyway, good luck and I hope its sorted.

sweetsand

Grumpy_chap said:

You paid £8k for a 12yo Audi.  I hope it had extremely low mileage and good condition for that price!
Was it an S8?
I heard someone recently selling one of those that burst into flames!

its a fair price for a well looked after one two owner car and good service history. they still look good imo

Mercdriver

sweetsand said:

scottp3000 said:

Don't worry, i'm happy to give them a chance to put things right - and being nice is always my way of dealing with things (probably too soft!) - just want to have all the info if they start pushing back.
issues are:
Aircon compressor fault,
brake fluid tests as poor
faulty folding mirror motor
tyres worn below 1.6m inner edges
rear inner brake pads below 2mm
front upper suspension ball joint split
o/s brake pipe perished, and metal pipe kinked
o/s CV boot split
both front shock absorber bushes perished
welding on inner seals
CV joint knocking on o/s
Fault codes in various ECU modules

Its a 2008 audi, so the parts are going to be quite pricey to replace! 

Surely, some of that must have showed up on the mot?
Anyway, good luck and I hope its sorted.

What qualifications do you have to be able to state this with certainty?  Are you a mechanic, technician, MOT tester?  You state everything so emphatically, yet I'm not sure you are speaking with any authority based on knowledge.

AdrianC

sweetsand said:

Grumpy_chap said:

You paid £8k for a 12yo Audi.  I hope it had extremely low mileage and good condition for that price!
Was it an S8?
I heard someone recently selling one of those that burst into flames!

its a fair price for a well looked after one two owner car and good service history. they still look good imo

It's the cheapest non-write-off <100k Q5 S Line in the country by a large margin.

Christ knows why people would pay so much for a 12yo A4 on stilts, but there we go.

foxy-stoat

It would be highly likely that the mechanic knew about all them faults and also highly likely the trader knew the retail price for this car so you have bought a cheap lemon which will be expensive to fix, and there will probably be a few faults that havent come up yet, but they will.

If the receipt was in the name of the garage it would more than likely be classed as a trade sale so you have protection.  I would try and reject it, don't bother asking them to fix it as they probably wont, doubt the warranty will settle any of that lot.