Any consumer rights on private purchase?

RefluentBeans

Okell said:

stu12345_2 said:

... it must also perform as expected, eg you buy a lawnmower to cut grass, you get it home and it won't cut properly, hence it isnt performing as expected...

Is that true of private sales?  Or is it up to the buyer to enquire of the seller?

Yes - all sales are governed by SoGA - and one of those is that it must be as described. Perform as expected is, however, open to interpretation. You buy a second hand lawnmower for £5 you probably wouldn’t expect it to be as good as a new lawnmower retailing at £300. But it should still cut grass, unless it’s sold for parts or as an ornament or something. 

stu12345_2

yes, about 14 years ago I saw a private seller ad in local paper for a petrol lawnmower, it was one of those famous ones that folk use to cut bowling green lawns
 it was £25, worth much more when new,but it was oldish. got it home it had problems starting, got a repair guy out that said needs new carburettor £50.

I took advice from CAB who said get a refund it isn't performing as it should, eg start and cut grass.
went back to seller and demanded money back and was handed back my £25

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

stu12345_2 said:

I took advice from CAB who said get a refund it isn't performing as it should, eg start and cut grass.
went back to seller and demanded money back and was handed back my £25

The advice from CAB can vary, there is a section in the SOGA about implied fitness under satisfactory quality. 

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/54/section/14

but paragraph (2) states this is where the seller is a business and the breakdown of what is satisfactory quality is under 2 A B & C so I don't see they apply to private sellers. 

I'm not sure what the "appointed day" is paragraph 7 but in any case paragraph 5 of schedule 1 defines the specifics of satisfactory quality in a more general sense however again appears to apply only when the seller is a business. 

By comparison requirements for implied terms regarding matching description doesn't include the caveat of the seller being a business.   

Don't know about lawnmowers but the AA says:

https://www.theaa.com/car-buying/legal-rights

The only legal terms that cover a private sale contract are:

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.

and that seems to echoed elsewhere (granted guidance which isn't always in-depth or correct). 

FlorayG

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

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.

that seems to say that in order to be legal you should have the car professionally inspected on the day you sell it? I've never known anyone do that' It's quite common for your own car to fail an MOT for a fault that legally makes the car 'unroadworthy' and you've been driving it like that for weeks

stu12345_2

that would mean someone as simple as an empty screen wash bottle or a wiper blade that doesn't clear properly or a brake light bulb blown, would make the car unroadworthy.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

stu12345_2 said:

that would mean someone as simple as an empty screen wash bottle or a wiper blade that doesn't clear properly or a brake light bulb blown, would make the car unroadworthy.

As Alderbank noted it's within the confines of Section 75 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 which notes:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/75

(3)For the purposes of subsection (1) above a motor vehicle or trailer is in an unroadworthy condition if—

(a)it is in such a condition that the use of it on a road in that condition would be unlawful by virtue of any provision made by regulations under section 41 of this Act as respects—

(i)brakes, steering gear or tyres, or

(ii)the construction, weight or equipment of vehicles,. . .

(b)it is in such a condition that its use on a road would involve a danger of injury to any person

That last paragraph seems a bit ambiguous, I wonder if it's along the lines of MOT failures that would be classed as "dangerous" on a fail.

Ectophile

FlorayG said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

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.

that seems to say that in order to be legal you should have the car professionally inspected on the day you sell it? I've never known anyone do that' It's quite common for your own car to fail an MOT for a fault that legally makes the car 'unroadworthy' and you've been driving it like that for weeks

No it doesn't.  It simply says that the car has to be roadworthy at the time it was sold.  There's no requirement for any sort of independent inspection (MOT or otherwise).