Sold a car a year back , buyer wants his money back

bris

moneysaver said:

Did the advert mention it was a Cat N ?

Doesn't need to, only dealers need to make buyers aware of any insurance categories.

Private buyers really need to do their own due diligence but the bottom line is they cant win this one in court.

MalMonroe

neoten said:

Hi,
Sold a car a year back and I am private seller. 
I told the person it is category n car. Now the buyer 1 year has contacted me saying I never told him and he is going to get his solicitor to go to court. 
He said he went to sell the car and found out it is category n.
The car was priced accordingly because it was cat n otherwise the car price should be another £5000. 

The advert i put, was on facebook. 

Where do I stand legally?

The buyer has been using the car for almost a year. 

This is what the AA says about private sales of cars -

"The seller must have the right to sell the car.
The vehicle should match the description given by the seller.
The car must be roadworthy – it is a criminal offence to sell an unroadworthy car and an MOT certificate from a test several months ago is no guarantee that the car is roadworthy today."

If after almost a year the buyer now wants to hire a solicitor and go down the route to court, he's going to need some concrete proof of your wrongdoing.

You said you told him about the category - he says you didn't. It's word against word with no proof on either side (unless you can possibly find anything in writing - but he's not going to be able to prove what was said or was not said between you).

macman

MalMonroe said:

neoten said:

Hi,
Sold a car a year back and I am private seller. 
I told the person it is category n car. Now the buyer 1 year has contacted me saying I never told him and he is going to get his solicitor to go to court. 
He said he went to sell the car and found out it is category n.
The car was priced accordingly because it was cat n otherwise the car price should be another £5000. 

The advert i put, was on facebook. 

Where do I stand legally?

The buyer has been using the car for almost a year. 

This is what the AA says about private sales of cars -

"The seller must have the right to sell the car.
The vehicle should match the description given by the seller.
The car must be roadworthy – it is a criminal offence to sell an unroadworthy car and an MOT certificate from a test several months ago is no guarantee that the car is roadworthy today."

If after almost a year the buyer now wants to hire a solicitor and go down the route to court, he's going to need some concrete proof of your wrongdoing.

You said you told him about the category - he says you didn't. It's word against word with no proof on either side (unless you can possibly find anything in writing - but he's not going to be able to prove what was said or was not said between you).

It's utterly irrelevant whether the OP did or did not tell the buyer. If they did, they have not misrepresented the vehicle. If they didn't, it doesn't matter, because they are not required to. It's a private sale, and it's up to the buyer to ask the questions: the vendor does not have to reveal anything.
The buyer has no possibility of a successful claim, be it the day after purchase, or now a year on.

neoten

Hi,
Thanks for everyone reply. Was trying to see if I can get the deleted ad back for facebook, but can't see how I can get that.

I got the autotrader advert I had also put up, which clearly states category N ( autotrader emailed it to me). 

Aylesbury_Duck

neoten said:

Hi,
Thanks for everyone reply. Was trying to see if I can get the deleted ad back for facebook, but can't see how I can get that.

I got the autotrader advert I had also put up, which clearly states category N ( autotrader emailed it to me). 

Leave it at that then.  No need to entertain the buyer's complaints.