Used car purchase from ebay

Wonka_2

osp said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126658920454
 Advert on ebay- see garage details!

So what other details have you got - who you made payment to etc ? 

Westfield Motors is an apartment block in central Bradford and looking at the eBay profile I’m slightly surprised you actually received anything 

[Deleted User]

osp said:

Local garage on inspection found a cracked suspension arm (could go anytime, yet was driven 150 miles to me) and significant rusting of chassis (too expensive/time consuming for repair).  I think I have covered most of the questions

An MOT history check would have given a clear indication that this was likely.
LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER SPORT - Check MOT history – GOV.UK

I guess that you also didn't inspect the vehicle before bank transfer on delivery?

The seller's write up was another red flag. 'Outstanding throughout' but also 'the cheapest in the country'.
It appears that you made a terrible error of judgement.

Buying an unseen 19yr old Range Rover that obviously requires substantial work was never going to end well...

born_again

Love this line.
FROM NEE DIRECTOR OWNER KEPT TO A VERY HIGH STANDARD 

Then look at MOT fail history.

Not listed on companies house, but plenty of directors in the building, when searching via post code. 

osp

Yes, do have details of the payee - name, bank account, sort code.  Last two MOTs were PASSES with no advisories therefore my assumption was that all was rectified.  Did not think of checking Companies House as dealers were advertising on ebay and other websites - hadn't looked further as trusted these firms existed!  Accept, in hindsight, that many errors were made! On delivery, the driver had a train to catch - I had even agreed to drive him and his wife 10 miles to a station and had a funeral to attend (late back for that!). My garage were amazed that he was allowed to drive the 150 miles plus in that condition.

soolin

osp said:

Yes, do have details of the payee - name, bank account, sort code.  Last two MOTs were PASSES with no advisories therefore my assumption was that all was rectified.  Did not think of checking Companies House as dealers were advertising on ebay and other websites - hadn't looked further as trusted these firms existed!  Accept, in hindsight, that many errors were made! On delivery, the driver had a train to catch - I had even agreed to drive him and his wife 10 miles to a station and had a funeral to attend (late back for that!). My garage were amazed that he was allowed to drive the 150 miles plus in that condition.

Is the payee a business or an individual and do you have a geographic address that you can link that bank account to? Bank details on their own and not entirely useful.

For any chance of getting money bank you need the geographic address of the person you paid- if that was the company then you have the issue that this doesn't appear to be a garage. 

osp

I took the Westfield Motors address to Small Claims and all mail was returned by Royal Mail.  Judgement asked for in their absence.  Agree, have ALMOST given up hope.  The two named garages that i have both still advertise on ebay and Motors sites!  Did not, for one minute, think the garage(s) were non-existent!

osp

By the way, thank you all for taking the time to reply

[Deleted User]

osp said:

Last two MOTs were PASSES with no advisories therefore my assumption was that all was rectified. 

.Gov website says otherwise?

Even your current MOT 

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):

• under sills corroding
• Offside Rear Wheel bearing has slight play (5.1.3 (a) (i))

Corrosion mentioned on every MOT since 2022.
Going back as far as 2014, it's been a reasonably consistent issue....

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/results?registration=MH05+fhs&checkRecalls=true

osp

Yes, agreed.  I was more concerned about the cracked suspension arm not being detected as this was an accident waiting to happen, have I still overlooked that?  Also, I hadn't understood the seriousness of 'advisories', another of the many errors made by me, but TRUST the main one. Thank you

[Deleted User]

It's at that age and condition where you could expect things like suspension arms to break with increasing frequency.

Your problem could easily have occurred within the last 150miles and is almost impossible to pin on the vendor.
If you keep the vehicle, things like this will keep happening.

Youtube is full of videos where people have bought a lot of car for not very much money.
Once up on a ramp, it becomes apparent that the vehicle requires thousands spent at a garage, just to resolve this year's advisories...

Old cars are a labour of love and frequently break. There's always something that needs attention.

You either repair yourself or have a substantial pot of money set aside for garage repairs.

If you don't understand this or don't have the skills/money to maintain, old premium car ownership probably isn't for you...