Bought a car 1 February at 12:26PM edited 2 February at 9:07AM in Motoring 16 replies 853 views

dillydully

Bought a car

CliveOfIndia

To be successful in any claim, you would need to be able to prove that the person you bought it from was aware that it was a Cat N - which may be difficult.  If the person they bought it from originally failed to disclose it to them, or they didn't do an HPI check, then you may have a struggle on your hands.  When buying from a private seller, your only real comeback is if you can prove that they deliberately lied about something, and even that can be difficult.  If you'd asked them "Has the car ever been an insurance write-off" and they answered "Not as far as I'm aware", I'm not sure how you could prove otherwise.

It's easy to say in hindsight, but this is where an HPI check can be money very well spent.  Doesn't help you much right now, I appreciate - but it's worth bearing in mind for the future.

All that aside, if the only thing wrong with it is that it needs a new clutch, and you bought it for approximately £1500 less than market value, then it sounds like you still might have got a bargain.  Depends on the particular car of course, but a new clutch for most cars is not going to be more than about £400 - £500, something in that ball-park.

Car_54

It seems from what you say that the seller didn't actually mis-represent the car. And even if he had, you've lost the evidence!
AFAIK there is no legal requirement for the seller to divulge all information.
The DVLA won't give you the previous keeper's details. Data protection.
The only practical effect of a Cat N designation is to reduce the car's value somewhat. Given the price you paid, you don't seem to have suffered any loss.

daveyjp

Don't waste your time on Court.

Do all checks before purchase, even more so where the price looks to be lower than market value.

Put what you saved into a new clutch and take advantage of a bargain.

dillydully

What if I hire very knowledgeable solicitors?

DullGreyGuy

dillydully said:
they never mentioned if it had any category, and I never asked.

With a private seller they dont have the same duty of disclosure that a professional outfit does. 

From what you say, as quoted above, they havent misrepresented the vehicle and so you wouldnt have grounds for complaint that its a Cat N total loss.

Even if you did then you'd only be able to claim the difference in valuation and you've already said you bought it well under market price and so potentially no loss anyway.

Car_54

dillydully said:

What if I hire very knowledgeable solicitors?

You'll be significantly poorer.

ratrace

Why did you not do a hpi check before you bought it it costs about £10 for the full check including if the car has any finace, if you did then you would seen that the car is a cat n

im sorry this has happened to you but you need to take some of the blame as well, you bought from a private seller so its buyer beware unless the car is unsafe then you may have a claim but you have to prove that, clutch going comes under wear and tear. sorry if i sound harsh but you failed to do your own due diligence

diystarter7

Hi OP

Did you not think why the car was around 40% under market value?
Did that not make you think, let me pay a few quid for a hpi check?

When the seller said it had been in an accident

How long did they have the car for may be a pointer, ie buying selling privately as a business but not declaring it.
So when did they buy the car - you should be able to get an idea of hpi/the v5 etc - was it quick turn over?

What reaso did they give for selling, I'm assuming you asked.

Thanks

diystarter7

Btw

Just noted this

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6339113/bought-a-car-that-turned-out-to-be-faulty-proving-seller-is-a-dealer-multiple-vehicles-on-profile#latest


Thanks

cymruchris

dillydully said:

What if I hire very knowledgeable solicitors?

You'll end up with a lot less money.

I can see that you want to lay the blame somewhere - but to be fair it should have been part of your own due dilligence when you bought it. If it was cheaper than similar models/ages etc, and there'd been mention of repaired bodywork, a hpi check would have been the first thing I'd done.

Yes - they may have known, and yes they may have pulled the wool over your eyes, but you're never going to be able to prove anything, so your best bet is to cut your losses (not that you really have had any) and carry on.

You could always sell the car again (declaring it) if you're not happy with keeping it. All cars have parts that wear out, and a clutch is one of them, and 99.9999 percent not related to any previous accident. Unless you can access your sellers credit card statements (Which you can't) - you'll never know if they carried out a check themselves or not.