Dealer finds a fault after buying my car.

Grumpy_chap

The_Fat_Controller said:

It is not "sold as seen" , the seller has to make an honest declaration of the history and condition of the vehicle.

As @Jenni_D has said above, it is not as simple as a private sale.

Although I don't think that is particularly unusual.
WBAC have something similar when you ask for a price online:

Assumptions we've made about your vehicle:

• It has no damage, including interior or mechanical.
• It isn't a non runner.
• It has 6+ months MOT left.
• It hasn't been declared as an insurance write-off or damaged in an accident.
• It has two sets of keys.
• It has 1 previous owner.
• It has full service history.

Thinking back, although it is a long time since I traded a car in, I am sure when I have done the Dealer provides a purchase document as part of the sale for the new car, and the purchase car has some text about the condition of the vehicle and a seller's declaration that has to be signed.

maxmycardagain

Dealer found a fault......when? when it got to them or a week later?

Who drove it after it left, has it been ragged and blown up?

the seller made a honest declaration, not being a specialist it was to the best of their knowledge 

macman

The_Fat_Controller said:

@macman suggest you read this

https://help.motorway.co.uk/hc/en-gb/sections/4410270213138-Profiling-your-vehicle

It is not "sold as seen" , the seller has to make an honest declaration of the history and condition of the vehicle.

As @Jenni_D has said above, it is not as simple as a private sale.

The seller has to answer any questions truthfully, and not to misrepresent the condition. Nothing the OP has told us indicates that she has breached those requirements.

Grey_Critic

I am still looking for the so called **Fault** The OP states that it is very rare - perhaps but that still does not tell us what the dealer is claiming is wrong.

Stop being coy and give us a proper story otherwise we could be forgiven thinking it is just a wind-up.

chrisw

maxmycardagain said:

Dealer found a fault......when? when it got to them or a week later?

Who drove it after it left, has it been ragged and blown up?

the seller made a honest declaration, not being a specialist it was to the best of their knowledge 

I sold my car to one of the car buying sites, it turned up at auction 2 weeks later with an additional 4000 miles on the clock.

Manxman_in_exile

Perhaps I've misunderstood, but I'm at a complete loss to understand why Motorway's T&Cs are particularly significant here?

My understanding is that if I'm selling my car as a private individual (in a non-commercial and non-business context) then caveat emptor applies insofar as the purchaser (private or business) is concerned. 

However, if the purchaser asks me any questions about the car, then I am obliged to answer them truthfully and honestly, to the best of my knowledge. 

If I answer untruthfully or dishonestly - knowing my answer to be untruthful or dishonest - and the purchaser subsequently experiences problems with the car, relating specifically to his question(s) and my answer(s), then the purchaser may have a remedy against me.  But if I answer his questions truthfully and honestly - to the best of my knowledge - then he has no remedy against me.

In principle, I don't see what the difference is here?  Motorway require you to provide a "profile" of your car, but so long as the seller is honest and truthful about the information that they provide to Motorway in that "profile", I don't see the difference between Motorway's approach and some timewasting tyre-kicker asking  "Is she ok then?"

I've never bought a car privately, but if I did, I'd turn up with a list of questions as long as my arm.  All Motorway are doing is developing a system out of the questions any sensible private buyer would ask - they aren't changing the law.  They may have T&Cs saying that if it turns out that the "profile" of the car was significantly inaccurate then they can wind back the contract, but if the seller has been honest and truthful in the information thay have provided, I don't see how that would legally work.

(That is not to say that - like a few other posters - I'm not a bit questioning about the OP's reluctance to specify the "fault" and be totally candid about what they did or did not know about it... )

Jenni_D

I take your point ... and it could be argued that selling through Motorway is no different to selling through Autotrader ... in both cases you're advertising your car for sale - with Motorway you're basically targeting dealers rather than private buyers.

prowla

The_Fat_Controller said:

@macman suggest you read this

https://help.motorway.co.uk/hc/en-gb/sections/4410270213138-Profiling-your-vehicle

It is not "sold as seen" , the seller has to make an honest declaration of the history and condition of the vehicle.

As @Jenni_D has said above, it is not as simple as a private sale.

On a point of order, I don't see an item on that checklist which says you have to disclose faults (which aren't covered on its service history).

maxmycardagain

anyway, val must be happy now or she would tell us