Car dealer says I misrepresented car I sold him 6 October 2022 at 10:33PM in Consumer rights 6 replies 492 views

chrisotherwise

My elderly mum asked me to sell her car for her. It was five years old, low mileage and (in my opinion) in great condition. It did have scuffed alloys which I mentioned in the advert. A car dealer rang me with an offer that was below my asking price but still reasonable so I accepted.

He paid me, then sent a courier to collect the car. The courier inspected the car and noticed/logged a (small) scratch/dent in the back bumper but took the car anyway. 

I’ve just received another email from the dealer claiming he’s inspected the car and it has significant (repaired) accident damage and feels I misrepresented it by saying the condition was excellent. I had no idea of this, and as a layman it looked fine to me. 

Can the dealer demand his money back?

Aylesbury_Duck

If you advertised it honestly and accurately, he won't be able to obtain a refund.  If you knew of an accident that required significant damage repair, and didn't disclose this If you were asked  then you're on shaky ground.

Assuming you've been entirely honest, this is probably just a tactic to secure a lower price through a partial refund.  You could always call his bluff and agree to a full refund if he returns it with no extra mileage other than the collection/return.  You might then be able to sell it at the price at which you originally intended to sell it.  But I strongly suspect it won't come to that.

chrisotherwise

I had no idea there was anything wrong with it. Mum's never had an accident in her life and neither I nor the company that inspected the car before taking it away noticed anything wrong. So yes, I advertised completely genuinely and in good faith. 

photome

Aylesbury_Duck said:

If you advertised it honestly and accurately, he won't be able to obtain a refund.  If you knew of an accident that required significant damage repair, and didn't disclose this If you were asked  then you're on shaky ground.

Assuming you've been entirely honest, this is probably just a tactic to secure a lower price through a partial refund.  You could always call his bluff and agree to a full refund if he returns it with no extra mileage other than the collection/return.  You might then be able to sell it at the price at which you originally intended to sell it.  But I strongly suspect it won't come to that.

what constitutes significant damage repair ?

for example one of our cars has had 2 repairs

 new front bumper  and wing repaired after hitting a deer and a repair the rear bumper after someone hit it in a car park and did a runner

would you class those as significant

OP I think the dealer is trying it on

Jenni_D

With any private sale (which means the seller is not a business - the purchaser could be a consumer or a business) then only 2 things matter:

1. The seller has good title to sell the goods
2. The goods match the description (to the best knowledge of the seller)

With vehicles there is a 3rd point:

3. The vehicle is roadworthy (or the goods must be declared as non-roadworthy and the purchaser must take the vehicle away in means which prevents it being driven)

(There might be one more aspect that applies but for the life of me I can't remember).

No other aspect of the Sale of Goods Act / Consumer Rights Act comes into play - there is no warranty regarding the fitness or quality of the goods etc.

The only suspect area here is #2 ... using terms such as "excellent condition" are quite subjective. However, if the seller didn't know about any incidents, and the purchaser didn't ask pre-contract, then tough.

SiliconChip

What you haven't said is whether your mum owned the car from new. If she didn't then it's possible that the car had been in an accident before she bought it. And even if she was the first and only owner the car could have been damaged while being shipped to the dealer and repaired before she took possession. The chances are that it is the dealer just trying to get a lower price but you can't entirely rule out their story without getting your own inspection done.

GrumpyDil

SiliconChip said:

What you haven't said is whether your mum owned the car from new. If she didn't then it's possible that the car had been in an accident before she bought it. And even if she was the first and only owner the car could have been damaged while being shipped to the dealer and repaired before she took possession. The chances are that it is the dealer just trying to get a lower price but you can't entirely rule out their story without getting your own inspection done.

Assuming the OP did not deliberately mislead the buyer by being untruthful when asked specific questions then this is surely irrelevant. The time to ask questions was before the purchase not after, particularly as the purchaser is a trader and should have taken the opportunity to inspect the vehicle before buying it.