Trader or Private Buyer sale…?

Deetyler14

Hi there

My son purchased a car off a person off eBay; states he’s a private seller, but as he works in the car transportation trade, he has access to a number of cars which have been traded in and will get them and sell on. He has a number for sale at a time.

the log book was not in his name but money was sent to his account.

The car my son purchased has overheated a week after purchase and we’ve been told it’s the head gasket. Where do we stand with this at all? Is there any comeback if he is hiding being a private seller? Thanks 

DullGreyGuy

What have they said when you've spoken to them?

Mark_d

The car was purchased on the understanding that you were buying from a private seller ie. that you get no guarantees.  Whilst it appears that the seller behaves as a trader, I don't think you can argue that there should be a guarantee with the car

Deetyler14

No comment yet as my sons on holiday and I haven’t yet told him the bad news …

I know he sold as a private seller but I know there’s been some comeback when they have traded under false pretences 

Car_54

Deetyler14 said:

Hi there

My son purchased a car off a person off eBay; states he’s a private seller, but as he works in the car transportation trade, he has access to a number of cars which have been traded in and will get them and sell on. He has a number for sale at a time.

the log book was not in his name but money was sent to his account.

The car my son purchased has overheated a week after purchase and we’ve been told it’s the head gasket. Where do we stand with this at all? Is there any comeback if he is hiding being a private seller? Thanks 

From that description, he's a trader. A (subtle) threat to involve Trading Standards (or whatever they're called now) may help.

I'd suggest your son should look for a refund rather than let the dodgy trader's dodgy mates fix the problem.

DullGreyGuy

Before threatening anything have a conversation with them... if the first thing you do is threaten them you aren't going to get a warm happy reasonable response. 

Deetyler14

He’s spoke to them and he said he wasn’t aware - and to be fair my son had to go back to collect a parcel shelf he had delivered so I doubt he would have done that if he knew it was frazzled….he said as he transports cars up and down the country, if he sees a car that’s been traded in and is too good for auction he buys it to sell on. But the V5 wasn’t in his name so I wonder if he’s just done a deal with the garage - he said this car was traded into Skoda  

Let’s see what he can do. 

jimjames

First warning sign of any car being sold privately - if it's not in the name and address of the person selling it then I'd walk away unless there is an absolutely watertight reason why not as most dodgy traders operate in that way.

Hope you manage to get it sorted out.

Grumpy_chap

Deetyler14 said:

.he said as he transports cars up and down the country, if he sees a car that’s been traded in and is too good for auction he buys it to sell on.

So, he is a Trader.
That gives more consumer rights.
Enforcing those rights can be another matter.

Herzlos

Deetyler14 said:

He’s spoke to them and he said he wasn’t aware - and to be fair my son had to go back to collect a parcel shelf he had delivered so I doubt he would have done that if he knew it was frazzled….he said as he transports cars up and down the country, if he sees a car that’s been traded in and is too good for auction he buys it to sell on. But the V5 wasn’t in his name so I wonder if he’s just done a deal with the garage - he said this car was traded into Skoda  

Let’s see what he can do. 

Whether he's genuinely buying trade-ins he's being paid to transport, or he's the dealer taking the trade-in, he's still buying cars to sell on and is thus a trader. This story sounds like he's trying to use it to claim he's not actually a dealer and is ignorant to any issues the car has.

It could be genuine, but it seems most of these traders pretending to be private sellers are doing it to avoid warranty and tax issues. They also tend to be a nightmare when it comes to any recourse.

Your best option is for your son to try and unwind the deal and have him take the car back for a (mostly) full refund. If you let him fix it then it'll almost certainly get bodged as cheaply as possible.