Sold a vehicle that I have been told in unroadworthy

Coop1234567890

Good evening.

I'm very worried after selling a vehicle privatley. The buyer has come back to me saying they have had a health check done and have been told it's unroadworthy and want me to have it back and give their money back. They are seeking legal advice.

I have been doing some research online, and it looks like it's a criminal offence to knowingly sell such a vehicle.

I had been thinking of selling for a while to be able to buy a smaller car for my son to be able to learn. The MOT was due in November so I decided to wait till I could get a full 12 months test before I put it up for sale, I put it through the MOT and it first failed on something trivial. I purchased the part and replaced it. It then passed with one advisory. I put it up for sale with 13 months test and sold it within a week. The buyer came to view and I explained what work had been done in the last few years and pointed out a few cosmetic issues. The buyer had a look around but did not take a test drive. They agreed to purchase and transfered the money and picked up the car a week later. 

I sold the car in good faith, obviously presuming the the very recent MOT proved that the car was ok. The car had only done 100 miles since the MOT was issued. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I can't afford to refund the money as now bought car for son.

Thank you.

theoretica

Look around on this site - there has been quite a rash of similar cases - all fraudsters/chancers. 

Grumpy_chap

Coop1234567890 said:

Good evening.

I'm very worried after selling a vehicle privatley. The buyer has come back to me saying they have had a health check done and have been told it's unroadworthy and want me to have it back and give their money back. They are seeking legal advice.

I have been doing some research online, and it looks like it's a criminal offence to knowingly sell such a vehicle.

I had been thinking of selling for a while to be able to buy a smaller car for my son to be able to learn. The MOT was due in November so I decided to wait till I could get a full 12 months test before I put it up for sale, I put it through the MOT and it first failed on something trivial. I purchased the part and replaced it. It then passed with one advisory. I put it up for sale with 13 months test and sold it within a week. The buyer came to view and I explained what work had been done in the last few years and pointed out a few cosmetic issues. The buyer had a look around but did not take a test drive. They agreed to purchase and transfered the money and picked up the car a week later. 

I sold the car in good faith, obviously presuming the the very recent MOT proved that the car was ok. The car had only done 100 miles since the MOT was issued. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I can't afford to refund the money as now bought car for son.

Thank you.

Simply ignore the buyer. 
Let them spend money on legal advice if they choose. 
Don't give them anything back. 
Don't take the car back.
You have nothing to worry about.

Alanp

Surely they should have done a health check BEFORE they bought the car, if you take it back you don’t know what they’ve done to it…

natlol

 Have they said why it is not roadworthy? 

Coop1234567890

natlol said:

 Have they said why it is not roadworthy? 

Yes, and if they are telling the truth, it should not have passed the MOT. But how am I supposed to know that? I have sold it thinking all was good. Thats why I'm worried.

theoretica

You are not a car mechanic - therefore it is reasonable for you to trust the MOT.  If it should not have passed the MOT they could report the mechanic to DVSA - not your wrongdoing.

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/knowledge-base/what-to-do-about-a-poor-mot

ontheroad1970

Coop1234567890 said:

natlol said:

 Have they said why it is not roadworthy? 

Yes, and if they are telling the truth, it should not have passed the MOT. But how am I supposed to know that? I have sold it thinking all was good. Thats why I'm worried.

You sold it in good faith.  That is all you have to do legally.  As you are presumably not a professional car dealer, you are not expected to be an expert in this field, hence why the purchase price the buyer paid would have been substantially lower than what he would have paid for the car at a dealership - even one selling at the bottom end of the market.  When a buyer buys privately, they are placing a bet.  That for the saving, that there is no expensive fault with the car.  They may or may not have lost that bet, but that's not your problem.  

Block their number and keep any correspondence safe but don't reply to anything that hasn't come from a court.  

Aretnap

In a private sale, pretty much the only ground for the buyer to have the right to a refund is if the vehicle was not as described. If you described the car as having a year's MOT then you are in the clear because it unquestionably did have a year's MOT, whether or not it should have passed, or would have passed on the day that you sold it. If you described it as "in excellent condition" or something along those lines then things might be a little greyer, which is why it's best to avoid terms like that and stick to simple facts.

While it is technically an offence to sell a vehicle in an unroadworthy condition even in a private sale, this is explicitly NOT grounds for him to demand a refund, unless the vehicle was also not as described. Subsection 7 of the relevant law makes this clear - that's what "shall not affect the validity of any contract" means. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/75

All he could do is report you to the police, who are extremely unlikely to be interested in the private sale of a car with a possibly over-generous MOT pass. 

The_Fat_Controller

Do not engage in any further dialogue with the buyer.

It does seem odd that despite them looking at the vehicle they did not drive it.

maxmycardagain

Scammer, block em, let em whistle into the wind