I sold a car privately months ago and now I’m getting stick about it.

Ergates

At this point, I would cross your fingers and hope as this could easy and very quickly go south for you if they find out (or just believe without proof) that you've been buying and selling cars as a side do.

For starters, they could shop you to HMRC - have you been declaring the profit from the sales as income?

Gavin83

CosworthRichie said:

I’ve sold 2 cars in the last 15 months, and I’ve even had them sat in my garage for months before they were sold, hardly a second hand car dealer, but I can see where some of you may be coming from, still, I’m not registered as a dealer. 

Regardless of what the legal definition is there’s no way in a million years anyone will pin you down as a car dealer having sold 2 cars in the last 15 months. If by some miracle anyone does ask you’d be a fool to suggest you bought any cars with the intention of making a profit.

Besides which the above is redundant anyway. Several people have said a dealer can sell their own personal car (which I agree with) which this was to you, so dealer or no dealer this was still a private sale.

Stick with the original advice, just ignore them unless court papers come through, which’ll be easy to defeat anyway.

sheramber

Sounds like a business- albeit small

I don’t tend to sell a lot of cars, if one pops up on an auction site that I think I can sort out I will, it’s only ever a side venture, 

Grumpy_chap

This thread on the RAC forum is a bit old but covers the question of private vs trade sale.
https://forum.rac.co.uk/threads/15033

Some similarities to the OP - "own" car sold privately but seller operates a linked "motor-industry" business.

An interesting observation in the thread on the RAC forum, that the seller had never registered the car as theirs and instead was using the "trader" slip from the log book.  That could be a strong indicator that the courts would consider if it ever came to that.  Had the OP registered the car as their own?

Other indicators could be length of time of ownership.  For example, would the car qualify under a "scrappage" trade in offer which stipulates minimum ownership, often 3 or 6 months?

Very informal arrangements can sometimes be classed as trader:
https://hounslowhighways.org/environment/cars-for-sale/

Jenni_D

Grumpy_chap said:

This thread on the RAC forum is a bit old but covers the question of private vs trade sale.
https://forum.rac.co.uk/threads/15033

Some similarities to the OP - "own" car sold privately but seller operates a linked "motor-industry" business.

An interesting observation in the thread on the RAC forum, that the seller had never registered the car as theirs and instead was using the "trader" slip from the log book.  That could be a strong indicator that the courts would consider if it ever came to that.  Had the OP registered the car as their own?

Other indicators could be length of time of ownership.  For example, would the car qualify under a "scrappage" trade in offer which stipulates minimum ownership, often 3 or 6 months?

Very informal arrangements can sometimes be classed as trader:
https://hounslowhighways.org/environment/cars-for-sale/

Exactly what I was about to ask ... if the OP did do so then that reduces the risk of being classed as a trader, because a trader wouldn't normally register a vehicle in their own (personal) name.

DB1904

Grumpy_chap said:

mattyprice4004 said:

Grumpy_chap said:

You sold a 14 yo (end-of-life) car 5 months ago, and it is a car known for being driven hard, and the head gasket went.  That is just bad luck for the purchaser.  Ignore them.

You’re right on the technicalities, but 14 years really isn’t end of life these days (especially for a performance car). 

I’ll be hopping in my ‘working as new’ V6 engined shed made in Birmingham for my commute tomorrow, and I know she’ll make it no bother  

I'm not sure I entirely agree that a "performance car" would be any more (or less) likely on average to have more durability than the "run-of-the-mill" version of the same.

I happen to have a 2007 Focus 1.6 petrol.  At 146k+ miles, that car really is near the end of life - even though the engine works and the car gets from A to B reliably, the body work is failing, the trim rattles, and the luxuries (like air-con) are going wrong as are some of the non-luxuries (LCD mileage display). 

Now, the small-engine versions like mine won't have been thrashed, quite simply because the set up does not encourage that and it is, frankly, not possible to thrash particularly hard.  The small-engine versions also do not lend themselves to modifications or being "blinged-up".

Compare that to the powerful ST version.  Arguably, if unmodified and driven in a modest manner, the engine is always far less stressed so should go for ever.  However, the "performance" version is more likely to be driven aggressively and more likely to be modified or upgraded.  Altered wheels, exhaust, brakes, and bore out the engine for increased power.

So, on balance, I would say the expected life of the ST-Focus would be no more than a regular Focus.

It also so happens that, two cars back, I had a 2007 Mondeo fitted with the same engine as the ST-Focus of that era.  It was a less-good and less-accomplished car overall than the Focus I have now because Ford had plonked the big engine in the car without making the necessary gear box and suspension improvements that would allow the car to make best use of that engine.  That particular car died at around 110k miles when the cam belt failed less than a month after replacement by Ford (which was a blessing as it at least meant I had some come-back and a "goodwill" resolution via Ford).

Which mondeo had a 5 cylinder Volvo engine fitted?

Grumpy_chap

DB1904 said:

Which mondeo had a 5 cylinder Volvo engine fitted?

One like this:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204024245856

It was a bit of a hoot because it looked rather dull but could see off most boy-racers

CKhalvashi

Grumpy_chap said:

DB1904 said:

Which mondeo had a 5 cylinder Volvo engine fitted?

One like this:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204024245856

It was a bit of a hoot because it looked rather dull but could see off most boy-racers

There was a 2.3 also, or an earlier model 3.0 Ghia, which looked boring but went like manure off a shovel, with a 6 speed manual.