Potentially mis-sold a vehicle

jackisla

Hi folks, looking for some advice around a vehicle my dad purchased earlier this year.

He retired in the summer and bought a Mercedes Vito minibus with the intention of doing airport/golf runs etc to keep himself busy however he never actually bothered and just used the minibus as his transport for day to day.

He has now tried to sell the minibus through motorway.com and they have told him they are unable to sell it as it has previously been registered as a taxi, something that he wasn’t told at the time of buying. He also never asked at the time of purchase and was never even a consideration tbh. He just expected that Evans Halshaw told him all the information on the vehicle.

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced similar and if he has grounds for a claim with Evans Halshaw and how to proceed? 

Thanks

Grumpy_chap

jackisla said:

Hi folks, looking for some advice around a vehicle my dad purchased earlier this year.

He retired in the summer and bought a Mercedes Vito minibus with the intention of doing airport/golf runs etc to keep himself busy however he never actually bothered and just used the minibus as his transport for day to day.

He has now tried to sell the minibus through motorway.com and they have told him they are unable to sell it as it has previously been registered as a taxi, something that he wasn’t told at the time of buying. He also never asked at the time of purchase and was never even a consideration tbh. He just expected that Evans Halshaw told him all the information on the vehicle.

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced similar and if he has grounds for a claim with Evans Halshaw and how to proceed? 

Thanks

What percentage of Mercedes Vito Minubus vehicles have not been used as a taxi?

Did you Dad discuss his proposed use of the vehicle with the supplying dealer prior to purchase?
This sounds like a business purchase so consumer rights will not apply.

What loss does he think he has suffered?

Ayr_Rage

He bought a vehicle for potential commercial use so he should have asked questions at the time.

How was the vehicle described in the advertisement, if any?

What are you trying to claim for?

la531983

A claim on what grounds?

ONE website is refusing to list it, there are other ways he can sell the vehicle.

jackisla

Grumpy_chap said:

jackisla said:

Hi folks, looking for some advice around a vehicle my dad purchased earlier this year.

He retired in the summer and bought a Mercedes Vito minibus with the intention of doing airport/golf runs etc to keep himself busy however he never actually bothered and just used the minibus as his transport for day to day.

He has now tried to sell the minibus through motorway.com and they have told him they are unable to sell it as it has previously been registered as a taxi, something that he wasn’t told at the time of buying. He also never asked at the time of purchase and was never even a consideration tbh. He just expected that Evans Halshaw told him all the information on the vehicle.

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced similar and if he has grounds for a claim with Evans Halshaw and how to proceed? 

Thanks

What percentage of Mercedes Vito Minubus vehicles have not been used as a taxi?

Did you Dad discuss his proposed use of the vehicle with the supplying dealer prior to purchase?
This sounds like a business purchase so consumer rights will not apply.

What loss does he think he has suffered?

Not sure of the % used as a taxi.

his proposed use wasn’t discussed. Wasn’t a business purchase as he purchased it in his name.

he never suffered any loss at the time however it appears his loss is now as he is going to have trouble selling it and will have to sell as previously having been a taxi which he wasn’t told at the time he purchased it.

jackisla

Ayr_Rage said:

He bought a vehicle for potential commercial use so he should have asked questions at the time.

How was the vehicle described in the advertisement, if any?

What are you trying to claim for?

It was advertised on the Evans Halshaw website like the rest of their vehicles however no mention of being a taxi.

my question was does he have a claim of being mis sold? It feels like something Evans Halshaw should have told him

voluted

jackisla said:

Hi folks, looking for some advice around a vehicle my dad purchased earlier this year.

He retired in the summer and bought a Mercedes Vito minibus with the intention of doing airport/golf runs etc to keep himself busy however he never actually bothered and just used the minibus as his transport for day to day.

He has now tried to sell the minibus through motorway.com and they have told him they are unable to sell it as it has previously been registered as a taxi, something that he wasn’t told at the time of buying. He also never asked at the time of purchase and was never even a consideration tbh. He just expected that Evans Halshaw told him all the information on the vehicle.

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced similar and if he has grounds for a claim with Evans Halshaw and how to proceed? 

Thanks

I'm failing to see how this was "missold."

It's not the responsibility of the seller to announce every possible issue that might arise with a vehicle. In fact in this instance, he was eyeing it up for commercial use (and as a taxi no less) so it doesn't seem unreasonable that, even if the seller knew it was previously used as a taxi, they might consider it irrelevant given the new owners' use-case scenario.

You should run a check on any car you buy, even if it is from a dealer. You can't assume that they have run a check, nor can you assume that what pops up on a check is an issue for you and them, they might not care that it was previously a taxi.

Caveat emptor

Grumpy_chap

jackisla said:

Wasn’t a business purchase as he purchased it in his name.

It does not have to be in a company name to be a business purchase.
The intent was to use the vehicle as a taxi to do airport / golf runs.  Even as a sole trader, that is a business use.  The fact the business did not succeed does not affect the nature of the purchase.

jackisla

Grumpy_chap said:

jackisla said:

Wasn’t a business purchase as he purchased it in his name.

It does not have to be in a company name to be a business purchase.
The intent was to use the vehicle as a taxi to do airport / golf runs.  Even as a sole trader, that is a business use.  The fact the business did not succeed does not affect the nature of the purchase.

Seems a but silly that intent is more important than what the actual use was to me but fair enough. Appreciate the answers folks.

Aylesbury_Duck

I don't consider it to have mis-sold, it's quite clearly been "mis-bought" because by your own account, your father purchased it for a particular purpose (to actually be a taxi) and then changed his mind.  It sounds like it was sold perfectly reasonably, given the intended use.

I don't see any loss, so I can't see any grounds for a claim.  He owns a vehicle that was sold to him at a price he was happy to pay.  It's clearly not unsellable, because it was sold earlier this year.  Anything will sell if the price is right.  It will probably have a much narrower pool of potential customers, being typically a commercial vehicle, but it's not unsellable.

Grumpy_chap

jackisla said:

Seems a but silly that intent is more important than what the actual use was to me but fair enough. Appreciate the answers folks.

I think that the intent is particularly important in this case.
Your father purchased the vehicle with the intent that it is to be used as a taxi.  That makes it a business purchase.  It also means that by the time your father disposes of the vehicle it will (at least intended that it will) have been registered as a taxi / private hire.
Had there been discussions about the intended use of the vehicle, the Dealer would have no reason to expressly mention the prior use as a taxi of a vehicle that is to be used as a taxi.

If it was not ever the intent to use the vehicle as a taxi, then there could be a case as a consumer that this was a "misleading omission" by the dealer.  I really can't see that as being the case here.

Being the VITO, it does differ rather from, say an E-Class.  I asked upthread what percentage of VITO minibuses are used as taxis because I suspect it is very high.  The E-Class, however, is far more likely to be a private family car so the prior use as a taxi might be significant.