Private Vehicle sale

nfr8590

Advice needed! 

I advertised my hgv lorry on the internet for sale. The advert was truthful and lorry was honestly described. 

The lorry had just over 7 months mot left.

The buyer chatted to me online and asked all the relevant questions and then wanted to come for a viewing. 

They came to view the lorry with a family member, I answered all their questions honestly without any lies and showed them everything on the lorry and how it all worked and where everything was. 

They then took it for a test drive and seemed happy. I even gave them my mechanics phone number as they wanted to discuss some of the work he had done on it in the previous years of me owning it. 

The buyer then contacted me that evening and said they wanted to buy the lorry and offered me £3,000 less than the asking price. 

I accepted this as I needed to sell to repay some debts off. 

They bank transferred a £2,000 deposit that night to secure the sale and I took it offline. 

They then left the lorry for a week before collecting after committing to it. The lorry never left the yard after they put a deposit down on it. 

When they came to collect the lorry a week later she paid the remaining balance and then drove it away. 

40mins later I get a phone called off them threatening to call the police on me as the lorry had broken down and must be dodgy and saying I must of know it was broken. They wanted a full refund as the lorry was not reliable or fit for purpose and wanted to get it recovered back to me. I said no and tried to help them over the phone with solutions to what could of happened. 

I could not believe what I was hearing as I owned the lorry for 3 years and never ever had a problem with it at all and I even gave her all the paper work showing what I had done to it which was in excess of £3,500. 

They got recovered to a nearby garage and it was the turbo that had failed. 

They have paid to have this fixed but now claim that the engine needs a complete full strip down and is going to cost £1000’s 
I have received a solicitors letter from them and they are wanting money to cover them having to hire another lorry and all the work and labour that this lorry now needs. 

They are taking me to court if I don’t pay or settle with them and they are going for a full refund and expenses. 

They are saying I have breached contract and it’s not fit for purpose. 

Where do I stand as I am a private seller they are private buyers. They test drove it, viewed it, called my mechanic, bid me on  price and never brought a professional with them. 

I had absolutely no idea that something was going to go wrong or on it’s way out and then I’m there solicitors letter her mechanic has said no one not even a trained eye could of know the engine or turbo faults from an initial viewing! 

MarvinDay

What exactly did you use the lorry for? as it's extremely unlikely that a private individual would have an HGV for their own personal, non business use.
This is important as your status when selling makes a big difference as to your rights and obligations.

What also needs to be ascertained is the status of the person who bought the lorry. If they were indeed buying as a private individual (but again, why would a non business buyer need such a vehicle?) then their rights are different to someone buying as part of their trade. 

nfr8590

it’s a hgv Horsebox used for private use not a business it was for my own use for my own horses I am a private individual 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

OP for a private sale the goods only need to match the description so it depends upon the wording of the advert and any other information you gave them (I assume anything verbal would be judged on the balance of probability whilst considering what was written). 

A solicitor is probably happy to write a letter so long as they get paid, without knowing what the advert said, any messages, emails, etc between you and what was said verbally it won't be possible to say whether the vehicle was correctly described.

AFAIK the Sale of Goods Act still applies to private sales and states the buyer accepts the goods when the goods have been delivered to him and he does any act in relation to them which is inconsistent with the ownership of the seller so undergoing repair works may be viewed as acceptance, assuming this applies. 

How much was the turbo repair? What is their justification for the engine requiring further work? The two are separate really and should be treated as such when considering whether or not the vehicle was correctly described.  

If they do file through small claims you may wish to seek professional advice from someone well versed in the applicable legislation to ensure you are able to defend the claim successfully (or whether you should concede and refund them for the vehicle and turbo repair).  

daveyjp

Its a well worn scam.  I'd refer their solicitor to the response in Arkell v Pressdram.

nfr8590

They said that the turbo cost £1200 I am not sure if this included labour or just the part but I do believe that they paid this and have no reason to think they are not telling the truth. 

There mechanic just said they have replaced the turbo and topped up all the oil levels and checked everything was okay then started the lorry up.

Upon starting the lorry they said that it had smoke coming out of the crankshaft and that it sounds very rough so they turned it off and it requires an engine strip down. 

My mechanic and mechanically minded friends have all said that a turbo can go at any time with no warning so I wasn’t ever to know. 

The thing is could they not have done the damage to the engine (it it is broken) if they have continued to drive it a little way with a  failed turbo? 

I can say that the advert was correct I never advertise anything with the wording such as ‘this lorry is mint, it drives great, it’s lovely, engine mint ect ect’
I just advertised bullet points of the lorry like 
-hgv
-current mot 
-18T
-tilt cab
-sleeper cab   Ect etc so everything I said I know is correct and haven’t said anything untrue. 

She hasn’t me if I know of anything wrong with the lorry and I replied via internet message: I can honestly say I have never had a problem with it since owning. 
Does the consumer act 2015 apply to private sellers? if I haven’t lied about the lorry or miss described it 

m0bov

Just ignore, they are chancers. Just wait for the summons if it ever comes.

Ectophile

Don't admit any responsibility for anything.  The moment they sense that you may give in and offer them something, they will take that as an admission that you knew the horse box was faulty.  It was running fine when you sold it.  They broke it.  Their problem.

Treat their solicitor as a paid lackey who will write letters for anyone who will pay them.  Never take advice from somebody else's solicitor.  You don't have to do anything they say.

powerful_Rogue

I'd also reply via their 'solicitor' so it costs them £££ each time.

Ath_Wat

nfr8590 said:

it’s a Horsebox 

It's amazing how one word can turn 15 baffling paragraphs into perfect sense.

tripled

Private sale, sold as seen, provided you didn't lie about anything. They inspected it and took it for a test so presumably didn't notice any issues with the turbo either.

Stories from sellers of vehicles supposedly breaking down shortly after purchase, with the purchaser demanding money back for "repairs", are not uncommon and are often a scam.