Private sale for van

ledge97

In November 2022 I purchased a van on Facebook market place. I met the seller in person and made sale via bank transfer. The mechanic I purchased the van from gave me a headed piece of paper outlining the details of the van, he wrote 'sold as seen' and 'no warranty given other then warranty stated above' (6 months warranty on engine). I also hand wrote a receipt for proof of sale, stating names of both party's, date, van details, sale price and signatures.

The mechanic purchased the engine (re-conditioned) from a company, which was provided with 6 months warranty. I also have a copy of the invoice for the engine. The van has since been sent back to the mechanic due to an oil leak, but since the repair, the van has still been leaking oil, and seems like a bodge job.

Ultimately I want to just get the leak fixed, and be done with it. However I've lost a bit of trust in the mechanic and debating on what to do next. The mechanic seems inclined to repair it again, but keeps putting it off saying he hasn't got a workshop so can't do it until the 3rd of April. My concern is he will just keep putting it off and then I will be without warranty.

Worst case scenario the mechanic doesn't fix the leak. What should I do moving forward ? Am I covered under consumer rights ?

pinkshoes

ledge97 said:

In November 2022 I purchased a van on Facebook market place. I met the seller in person and made sale via bank transfer. The mechanic I purchased the van from gave me a headed piece of paper outlining the details of the van, he wrote 'sold as seen' and 'no warranty given other then warranty stated above' (6 months warranty on engine). I also hand wrote a receipt for proof of sale, stating names of both party's, date, van details, sale price and signatures.

The mechanic purchased the engine (re-conditioned) from a company, which was provided with 6 months warranty. I also have a copy of the invoice for the engine. The van has since been sent back to the mechanic due to an oil leak, but since the repair, the van has still been leaking oil, and seems like a bodge job.

Ultimately I want to just get the leak fixed, and be done with it. However I've lost a bit of trust in the mechanic and debating on what to do next. The mechanic seems inclined to repair it again, but keeps putting it off saying he hasn't got a workshop so can't do it until the 3rd of April. My concern is he will just keep putting it off and then I will be without warranty.

Worst case scenario the mechanic doesn't fix the leak. What should I do moving forward ? Am I covered under consumer rights ?

The line in bold implies that you have bought from a business, especially as it has been back to the mechanic to be looked at already.

You need to establish whether this seller is genuinely a private seller, or someone who buys non working vehicles, fits them with reconditioned engines, then sells them on for profit (thus making him a business).

If he is a business, then in addition to the warranty you have the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and as the vehicle has already had one repair, you could now reject it under the CRA. 

You can only do this within 6 months though, so the clock is ticking... 

Start with some digging to find out who this person really is and if he is a business or not. See if he has anything else for sale and screenshot any evidence.

lincroft1710

If you purchased the van for business use, you are not covered by Consumer Rights. It sounds as if the warranty is with the engine supplier rather than the vendor of the van, otherwise it would not expire until May

ledge97

lincroft1710 said:

If you purchased the van for business use, you are not covered by Consumer Rights. It sounds as if the warranty is with the engine supplier rather than the vendor of the van, otherwise it would not expire until May

Hi, yes i do use the van for business use. Does this still apply if i am also using the van for personal use ?

ledge97

Also to add... the proof of sale was signed and print (Name) by the wife/girlfriend of the mechanic along with the payment. Does this mean that I would be researching her business in regards to consumer rights ?  

pinkshoes

ledge97 said:

Also to add... the proof of sale was signed and print (Name) by the wife/girlfriend of the mechanic along with the payment. Does this mean that I would be researching her business in regards to consumer rights ?  

Who was actually selling the van? The wife/gf? Can you find evidence she (or they) are selling any other vans?

But... I had assumed you'd bought this for personal use. If you bought it for your business then this makes it a b2b transaction so it will not be consumer rights rather than whatever terms you agreed.

powerful_Rogue

ledge97 said:

lincroft1710 said:

If you purchased the van for business use, you are not covered by Consumer Rights. It sounds as if the warranty is with the engine supplier rather than the vendor of the van, otherwise it would not expire until May

Hi, yes i do use the van for business use. Does this still apply if i am also using the van for personal use ?

As such Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not apply to this purchase. You need to look at the Sales of Goods Act 1979 as there are a few pieces there for business to business sales.

powerful_Rogue

ledge97 said:

Also to add... the proof of sale was signed and print (Name) by the wife/girlfriend of the mechanic along with the payment. Does this mean that I would be researching her business in regards to consumer rights ?  

As above, as a business you do not have an consumer rights.

ledge97

@pinkshoes Someone else was advertising on there behalf. It wasn't until the day of sale that i was dealing with the mechanic and his girlfriend. It was the mechanic who was claiming it to be his van, but the the payment was to be made to the girlfriend.

The evidence I've found so far has no correspondence to the girlfriend (who signed the paperwork and received payment). The invoice i was given suggests a partnership, but I can't find any information on company house, google etc that corresponds with the person i bought it from. It seems as though they are still advertising vans on facebook, as the adverts are virtually identical to the advert of my van and same geographical area, but just trading under a different name.

 

I bought the van knowing it probably isn't a legitimate business, and I took a gamble... given how sketchy the findings have been so far, I may just have to take the loss. 

lincroft1710

ledge97 said:

The invoice i was given suggests a partnership, but I can't find any information on company house, google etc that corresponds with the person i bought it from. 

Companies House only has details of businesses which have Ltd or plc after their business name, they will not have details of partnerships which are not a limited company.

ledge97

Update:

Hi, I'm hoping someone could shed a bit of light.

Back in November I purchased a van from a sole trader which soon after started to leak. Cut long story short, they had the van back to repair it, which didn't fix the problem, so I decided to send a 'breach of contract' letter under 'UK B2B Law' & 'Supply of goods and services act 1979'. This included 2 quotes from a third party garage to fix the leak and 14 days to respond. The response was 'If you get the work done I will not pay'. 

They then when on to say 'I will repair it, but I don't have a premises at the moment, but your van will be the first van booked in'. 

As they've been given sufficient time since failing to repair it the first time, and still haven't repaired it, I am left with no choice but to get the work done elsewhere. After speaking to citizens advice I was advised that the next step was to send a 'letter before action', but I couldn't have anyone do any work to the van i.e. third party garage, as he could argue that the van has been compromised. 

This threw a bit of a spanner in the works as I need the leak fixed and it's relied on for my business. Also given that this could be a lengthy process, it doesn't really seem practical nor fair. 

Whats your thoughts on this ? Can I still go ahead with the repair and recover the cost ? In my defense they failed to repair it the first time, they offered to repair it again but keep putting it off due to not having a premises or the appropriate equipment. I have sent them photos of the leak via email identifying the failing part, which they responded to, and all they've been doing is putting it off. Ultimately they've acknowledge the fault and have failed to repair it.