Sold car privately, buyer wants refund

treeroy

Hi. Yesterday I sold my mum's car privately, to a couple - they messaged me on the advert listing and turned up and bought it within the hour.
Today they called my parents and told us the clutch is broken and that we are scammers. The bloke says he "called some mechanics who said the clutch will break within the next week".

The clutch works fine and the car was listed & described correctly in the advert. It's a 2014 Renault Clio and they paid £4,500. They now want their money back.

Both my mum & dad spoke to them on the phone and there was a loud argument. My parents are suggesting some things which i think are bad ideas. Parents said to me that they could take the car back and sell it to Evans Halshaw who already gave a £4,100 offer. Buyer suggested we can go with him to an independent garage to determine whether the clutch needs replacing.

Every fibre of my being says NO, do not try to negotiate with them, do not give them leverage, do not give them control. I think my parents understand that there is no legal implications and the buyer cannot force us to refund.
But my parents are concerned because "He knows where we live", "What if he comes back with more people" etc.

I am looking for some reassurance I can give to my parents. Maybe some formal advice either from this site or somewhere else. Can anyone help with this? I can't find much on google.

I have said to parents that the car has now been out of our hands for 24 hours, and I'm confident the buyer has been driving those 24 hours with no insurance. So even if they took it back its possible that the car has been damaged. They said I'm being silly and they feel the buyer genuinely feels scammed. He may be genuine but I need to convince them not to bargain with him or refund him.

Thanks and sorry for long post.

Grumpy_chap

It sounds to me like the buyers are the scammers.
Don't give them anything.

neilmcl

treeroy said:

Hi. Yesterday I sold my mum's car privately, to a couple - they messaged me on the advert listing and turned up and bought it within the hour.
Today they called my parents and told us the clutch is broken and that we are scammers. The bloke says he "called some mechanics who said the clutch will break within the next week".

The clutch works fine and the car was listed & described correctly in the advert. It's a 2014 Renault Clio and they paid £4,500. They now want their money back.

Both my mum & dad spoke to them on the phone and there was a loud argument. My parents are suggesting some things which i think are bad ideas. Parents said to me that they could take the car back and sell it to Evans Halshaw who already gave a £4,100 offer. Buyer suggested we can go with him to an independent garage to determine whether the clutch needs replacing.

Every fibre of my being says NO, do not try to negotiate with them, do not give them leverage, do not give them control. I think my parents understand that there is no legal implications and the buyer cannot force us to refund.
But my parents are concerned because "He knows where we live", "What if he comes back with more people" etc.

I am looking for some reassurance I can give to my parents. Maybe some formal advice either from this site or somewhere else. Can anyone help with this? I can't find much on google.

I have said to parents that the car has now been out of our hands for 24 hours, and I'm confident the buyer has been driving those 24 hours with no insurance. So even if they took it back its possible that the car has been damaged. They said I'm being silly and they feel the buyer genuinely feels scammed. He may be genuine but I need to convince them not to bargain with him or refund him.

Thanks and sorry for long post.

Then the clutch's not broken now is it. Tell them to jog on, you owe them nothing.

If they continue to contact you then tell them you'll report them to the police for harassment.

Supersonos

Legally, when it's a private sale, so long as you didn't mislead them (ie say it was serviced last week when it was actually serviced a year ago) then it's up to the buyer to ensure they are happy before buying it.

The law doesn't give them any protection or any right to a refund.

Regarding the mechanic who says it's going to break in a week, they should have asked the mechanic before making the purchase, not after.

If they want a right to a refund, they should have bought from a trader, not you!  Ignore them.

AdrianC

They have zero comeback under consumer rights legislation, providing the car was accurately described.

However... there are merits in both your parents "They know where we live" attitude, and in your concern as to what's happened to the car in the intervening period. It's your judgement call as to whether cutting your losses on the £400 difference between the private sale price and the EH trade-in is worth the potential hassle of dealing with stroppy idiots.

McKneff

So the clutch is not broken  some 'mechanic' told0 them it will break in a week. 
You sold the car in good faith, it is now theirs. 
They are entitled  to nothing. 

macman

Even if the clutch WERE broken or about to fail, they would still have no right to a refund, unless your parents misrepresented the car. Did they? Otherwise, private sale, caveat emptor. Don't respond to the scammers, block their number. Once you engage with them, they will never let it go.
The only response is: 'the car was sold as described and seen, no refund, see you in court if you want to pursue it'.
If they threaten to pay a visit, it's a call to the police.
PS: they 'called' a mechanic. Who has the telepathic ability to diagnose an imminent clutch failure over the phone? I don't think so.
Since they are asking for a full refund rather than a discount for the cost of the clutch, it's possible that have bought the car and swapped good parts for their own bad parts. If they didn't haggle over the price or test drive it, which you imply, that is an indication of something fishy. Either that, or buyer's remorse.

Were_Doomed

Tell your parents to block their number. If they don't know how to do that, show them/instruct them.

DiddyDavies

Were_Doomed said:

Tell your parents to block their number. If they don't know how to do that, show them/instruct them.

But only after they have contacted the buyers again and obtained the phone number for the mechanic so they can call him up and find out what the winning lottery numbers are going to be next week.
After all, if he can predict that the clutch will fail in a week, foreseeing the numbers shouldn't pose too much of a problem.

missile

I can understand why your parents might be concerned may turn up on their doorstep. It might have been better if you had given seller your address and phone number.

treeroy

macman said:

Even if the clutch WERE broken or about to fail, they would still have no right to a refund, unless your parents misrepresented the car. Did they? Otherwise, private sale, caveat emptor. Don't respond to the scammers, block their number. Once you engage with them, they will never let it go.
The only response is: 'the car was sold as described and seen, no refund, see you in court if you want to pursue it'.
If they threaten to pay a visit, it's a call to the police.
PS: they 'called' a mechanic. Who has the telepathic ability to diagnose an imminent clutch failure over the phone? I don't think so.
Since they are asking for a full refund rather than a discount for the cost of the clutch, it's possible that have bought the car and swapped good parts for their own bad parts. If they didn't haggle over the price or test drive it, which you imply, that is an indication of something fishy. Either that, or buyer's remorse.

Car was not misrepresented either online nor in person when they looked at the car. And yes I agree about the telepathic mechanic bollox.
For what its worth, this is the advert:

Seller's description

2014 Renault Clio Dynamique MediaNav. 1.5 diesel. 65,000 miles.
Really good condition. No dents, scratches or damage on body. Interior is excellent condition (and very red).
Features: Satnav - cruise control - parking sensors - keyless entry & keyless start - Stop/Start - Bluetooth
Renault service history, 2 keys. £0 road tax and it gets 70mpg easy.
Bad points: scuffs on 2 alloys - one tyre will need replacing soon
Genuine reason for sale: bought it last year as a commuting car and now work from home.
£4750. Location CB23
Please message me for any info, questions or pictures. Thanks for reading.

--
 Thanks for the replies. I should have been clearer in the OP - I do fully understand that the buyer has no rights.

@missile I am not sure what you meant to say but I live with my parents.