Sold Campervan buyer wants money back

GrumpyDil

OK. The point about the can belt change being done recently might be a problem. I don't know the cambelt interval for your van but me car has a four yearly interval so in my view and I suspect many others recently is not three years ago. 

Goudy

This might help you along a bit.
Problems with used cars bought privately - Motorscan Car History

They might have a case if say you dishonestly misrepresented the vehicle, like by altering the odometer.

I wrote earlier in this thread, you aren't an expert. You described is as honestly as any lay person could.
It's a used vehicle and as such any used vehicle would require some repairs, though in this case it in not a repair. The cam belt is a serviceable item.

At best you innocently mis descried one item of it's service history and what has it cost them?

There are no damages to claim for, it hasn't snapped.
We don't know, but have they had it replaced and incurred costs? If not, they case is thinner than thin.
Even if they had replaced it, it would have needed it sooner or later anyway, that's the nature of the part.

Finally, you reduced the price and accepted a lower amount. You did this because the buyer valued it less because? It wanted some repairs or it wanted servicing or you just gave money off for the hell of it?
 

 

jimjames

eskbanker said:

mandy1955 said:

There was no more discussion or mention of the cam belt whatsoever until the day after he bought it which was 29th May. 

The day he bought it he spent some time going through the A4 folder of receipts, I left him in the van while he looked through them as I had to take my dog for a walk round the carpark we were in as she needed a wee. 
He could have asked further questions at the time but he didn't.

But by your own admission that folder of receipts was over two inches thick, so I'm not sure that too much reliance can be placed on failing to pick up on something within it (or not there, according to him) during a quick readthrough on the day?

But surely if it was something that was of particular importance to the buyer (and the reply given doesn't specify dates) then that is the one item of paperwork you would search out. I know it is one I would be looking for if I was buying a vehicle that needed one doing so I had a very specific date/mileage it was last done

HillStreetBlues

jimjames said:

eskbanker said:

mandy1955 said:

There was no more discussion or mention of the cam belt whatsoever until the day after he bought it which was 29th May. 

The day he bought it he spent some time going through the A4 folder of receipts, I left him in the van while he looked through them as I had to take my dog for a walk round the carpark we were in as she needed a wee. 
He could have asked further questions at the time but he didn't.

But by your own admission that folder of receipts was over two inches thick, so I'm not sure that too much reliance can be placed on failing to pick up on something within it (or not there, according to him) during a quick readthrough on the day?

But surely if it was something that was of particular importance to the buyer (and the reply given doesn't specify dates) then that is the one item of paperwork you would search out. I know it is one I would be looking for if I was buying a vehicle that needed one doing so I had a very specific date/mileage it was last done

Personally I feel the buyer asked the wrong question.
It should have been when was it last done? Also is there a receipt?
"Recently" is very vague, and lack a receipt doesn't mean it hasn't been done.

XRS200

mandy1955 said:

[12:50 pm, 20/05/2024] Ady: Forgot to ask has the cam belt been done recently

[1:25 pm, 20/05/2024] Mandy: Yes but, I've just sold it now

This was the whole Cam belt conversation, another lady was interested at this time but due to her disability she needed a reversing camera so changed her mind.

I think this puts you in a bad place.  You confirmed it was recent but it was more than 3 years ago.  Don't think that can reasonably be construed as recent.

Okell

mandy1955 said:

... the buyer asked if cam belt was done at all, so quite honestly I said yes, due to the receipt in the folder, however I did say NOT by me but a previous owner...

mandy1955 said:

...  I am honest and when they did ask about the cam belt I said it was done by previous owner not myself...

Sorry but I'm confused...

I asked you yesterday what you said when the buyer asked you whether the cambelt had been changed.  In fact I specifically asked you if you had simply said "Yes" or whether you had correctly said "When I bought it I was told the previous owner had changed it."

In answer to my question you seem to have said that you simply said "Yes" - thus confirming that you knew it had been changed.

But going back to your earlier posts - quoted above - you seem to be saying that you told the buyer that the previous owner had done it.

So what did the buyer ask about the cambelt and how did you actually answer them?

Herzlos

XRS200 said:

mandy1955 said:

[12:50 pm, 20/05/2024] Ady: Forgot to ask has the cam belt been done recently

[1:25 pm, 20/05/2024] Mandy: Yes but, I've just sold it now

This was the whole Cam belt conversation, another lady was interested at this time but due to her disability she needed a reversing camera so changed her mind.

I think this puts you in a bad place.  You confirmed it was recent but it was more than 3 years ago.  Don't think that can reasonably be construed as recent.

But then the buyer could have asked how recently and if there was proof? Because recently doesn't mean anything.

The buyer also had a stack of paperwork, and could have asked for the paperwork for the cam belt.

It's not the best answer from the OP, but I don't think that the intention was to deceive and the onus for due diligence was on the buyer.

eskbanker

jimjames said:

eskbanker said:

mandy1955 said:

There was no more discussion or mention of the cam belt whatsoever until the day after he bought it which was 29th May. 

The day he bought it he spent some time going through the A4 folder of receipts, I left him in the van while he looked through them as I had to take my dog for a walk round the carpark we were in as she needed a wee. 
He could have asked further questions at the time but he didn't.

But by your own admission that folder of receipts was over two inches thick, so I'm not sure that too much reliance can be placed on failing to pick up on something within it (or not there, according to him) during a quick readthrough on the day?

But surely if it was something that was of particular importance to the buyer (and the reply given doesn't specify dates) then that is the one item of paperwork you would search out. I know it is one I would be looking for if I was buying a vehicle that needed one doing so I had a very specific date/mileage it was last done

I'd formed the impression that the buyer was quite a demanding one and that there was plenty of dialogue about a variety of issues, rather than the cam belt being the solitary point of interest, but yes, I'm not trying to defend the buyer's conduct here but simply highlighting potential challenges to OP's lines of argument, on a devil's advocate basis.

Hopefully once OP is able and willing to share the buyer's claims from the court papers it should be possible to take a more rounded view of events, but both parties do seem to have left themselves exposed in different ways, so difficult to judge at this stage how the matter would be determined in court....

sheslookinhot

Note that the VAG group, ( Audi, VW, Skoda and Seat) have recently extended time for cam belt replacement from 5 years to 10 years or 100k miles. Just for info.

photome

sheslookinhot said:

Note that the VAG group, ( Audi, VW, Skoda and Seat) have recently extended time for cam belt replacement from 5 years to 10 years or 100k miles. Just for info.

I thought it had changed to lifetime of the vehicle …15 years or 180000 miles