Private sale

Brie

I doubt she spent any money getting it fixed.  That would be ludicrous.  If she did show up with invoices from a mechanic my money would be on them being manufactured rather than real.  

jansky82

Hi all, thanks for all the responses. 

Let me be clear about what exactly happened. So she came to see the car, inspected it driven it ans she was happy. When we were dealing with the sale her partner start/stop the car wit no keys inside the car. It be caused the car to come with warning light "no key detected". I fixed it as my wife had the same problem in her Focus (went on youtube and after some time I was able to fix it). I said to them that you need to have the keys inside the car in order to start/stop it otherwise anybody could drive away with no keys. They were still happy with the sale so we made a deal. 5 hours later she calls me that the car broke down and two/three weeks later she sends me a letter that she wants the money back as car was misdescribed. I replied to her saying that the car was described truthfully and to my best knowledge: "Lovely,family car with top spec, pets free, smoke free, Mot and service next April 2023, white, previous 2 owners.", Week before she came to see the car she texted me asking about the brakes, engine etc. So I replied that the service was done month ago which I provided receipt for it (on autotrader service was due in April however I wanted to make sure that the car runs well so I serviced it again with battery check and cpu scan - everything came back fine). Also I said that the engine and brakes are fine. 
That was the only written description I gave. When she came to see the car I basically confirmed what I said in the written advert and text. 
I replied to her that I cannot refund the money as it was sold as seen and that ahe had seen and inspected it. 
Few weeks later she sends me another letter stating that she wants the money back but she doesn't mention anything about the car but about the costs it took to fix it. She also wants to do it outside court - something called ADR. That she ia willong to negotiate.
I think that is the whole story now.

GadgetGuru

Again, I would ignore and let her take it as far as she likes. 

The part about the key - this is normal. If the car started WITHOUT the key inside, then I would be concerned!! So that is a non-issue IMO. 

For the rest, the car was inspected by the buyer before purchase, and sold 'as is'. The fact that you have the service receipt showing the vehicle was fully serviced beforehand only strengthens your case even further. 

So, firstly the vehicle is sold as is. Secondly, if she has paid £3000 on getting things fixed, she is willing to throw away £3000 and just have the cost of the vehicle refunded?? Sounds dodgy to me. 
Either way, if she has spent that much on the vehicle then it is no longer as you sold it and has been changed, hence another reason not to offer any refund - you do not know who has worked on it, what's been done, the quality of parts used, etc. 

She is applying baseless pressure. The reason why she wants to do this outside court is because she knows she hasn't a leg to stand on in court. She is simply applying pressure so that you will eventually cave in and refund her. 

Hold firm. Ignore any correspondence from her. The deal is complete. 

Ineedaservant

ADR Alternative dispute resolution for consumers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) I don't think this would apply anyway as it appears to be for traders, not private sales (didn't read all of it so I could be wrong)

GadgetGuru

Ineedaservant said:

ADR Alternative dispute resolution for consumers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) I don't think this would apply anyway as it appears to be for traders, not private sales (didn't read all of it so I could be wrong)

Yup I think you're right - this was a private sale where goods were inspected prior to sale, and have consequently been changed after sale (that's if we believe the £3000 extra work), so it wouldn't apply. 

OP - these are all threats intended to panic you. Don't budge. 

JetpackVelociraptor

ADR doesn't apply, you're not a business. I'm a little concerned to hear that she did contact you five hours later to say it had broken down, but ultimately you're still not a business and you're not expected to be an expert in cars if you're just selling your own secondhand vehicle. If you didn't lie about the condition - and it doesn't sound as if you did - you're not responsible for what happened to it after the buyer drove it away.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

jansky82 said:

 5 hours later she calls me that the car broke down 

Sorry if it's been said but specifically why did the car break down? 

k3lvc

Not that it matters to the advice given above but given the £3k repair costs are we talking a £5k or £50k sale ?

jansky82

k3lvc said:

Not that it matters to the advice given above but given the £3k repair costs are we talking a £5k or £50k sale ?

The agreesment was for £8800

jansky82

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

jansky82 said:

 5 hours later she calls me that the car broke down 

Sorry if it's been said but specifically why did the car break down? 

On the image of the dashboard she sent it was "low oil pressure" warning light with some others. Did not happened before or during the sale.