Sold a vehicle that I have been told in unroadworthy

motorguy

Almost certainly buyers remorse or they're looking some money back just because they can squeeze you.

Ignore them.  You sold the car in good faith.  Private sale, no warranty implied or given.

If you 

elsien

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.

But you didn’t knowingly do any such thing, so you’re in the clear. 

Aretnap

elsien said:

Coop1234567890 said:

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

But you didn’t knowingly do any such thing, so you’re in the clear. 

On a slightly pedantic point the law makes it an offence to sell an unroadworthy vehicle, full stop. It doesn't say anything about "knowingly".

It's an academic point however because the police have better things to do than get involved in an argument over a private car sale and will not be interested, and it's explicitly not grounds for the buyer to demand a refund - the Road Traffic Act is not a piece of consumer legislation.

jimjames

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.

Once it has left your possession you have no idea what they might have done with it or to it. If it passed the MOT before you sold it then you have done everything you can to sell a roadworthy car so have nothing to worry about. What exactly are they claiming is wrong?

molerat

If they took it to somewhere like Kwik-Fit for a health check then it will definitely, according to the report, need at least new discs, pads, shocks & tyres !

greyteam1959

Ignore them.
Or you could be heading for being scammed big time 

Bigwheels1111

Sold as seen buyer beware.

you sold it, he bought it and drove off.
Your all done.
As above ignore all requests.

seatbeltnoob

tell them to jog on.

you have an MOT done and they have had the car looked at by someone who stands to profit from getting work done on it, claiming it's unroadworthy.

I would err on the MOT tester whose passed it.

Out of curiosity what was the defect that makes the car unroadworthy? it could be trivial like a worn ball joint which costs £50 to fix. A worn ball joint could easily be down to a matter of opinion of the engineer. one engineer says it's showing signs of wear, another engineer says showing signs of failure, another engineer will tell you catastrophic failure is imminent.

I don't know what it is about people are cars these days, a bit of rust and they cry "unroadworthy", "not fit to be on the road" etc. I always had the view that if the engine and gearbox is fine then everything else is a cheap fix.

facade

seatbeltnoob said:

I always had the view that if the engine and gearbox is fine then everything else is a cheap fix.

In The Olden Days it was the opposite- far far easier to change an engine/gearbox/axle than try to repair structural rust.

prowla

From a layman's perspective...

• The seller putting the car through its MOT just before the sale would suggest that they've taken all reasonable measures to confirm its roadworthiness and that it's fit for purpose. In fact, the car has gone through two MOTs: one which pointed out an issue and another testing it after that documented issue was resolved.
  
• In contrast, the buyer hasn't really done due diligence - buying the car unseen and without even a road test.

Who knows what the buyer's subsequent "health check" was and they should've done their tests before buying.

I don't see that the buyer has a case.