Private Car Sale Transaction, Car Unroadworthy.

GDB2222

honestgaz said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

lincroft1710 said:

Alternators can fail at any time, they are consumables. Alternator was working when car driven away, could OP prove seller knew it was about to fail  I doubt it.

Worth looking to see if the battery warning light indicator has been disconnected or taped to hide it?

Battery light indicator came on during the drive home

Does the light come on when the battery is low, or when it is not being charged? 

Jumblebumble

honestgaz said:

Wondering if anyone can help me with legal advice.
A seller advertised a car on Facebook Marketplace, I made contact by both FB and Whatsapp with the individual to arrange collection of the car.
Before agreeing the transaction, I provided a Private Car Sale Contract which was signed by myself and the seller.
I travelled down on the train, so I could drive the car home...During my journey, I asked the seller 2 things
1. The car works
2. It has petrol to drive away
The seller confirmed yes to both.
After paying £1,400 by bank transfer when at the sellers property, I got the key with the intention of driving the car home.
All was fine, until around 20 minutes in to the journey, where the car just died entirely. Everything stopped working.
I broke down on a busy A Road A446, which put me in a seriously dangerous situation.
My partner had to call the AA who charged me £443 to recover me home (this took 9 hours to even get to me, but this is another story)
When I messaged the seller advising the car had broken down after 20 mins, he replied with "Can you imagine (Laughing face emoji)"
The alternator on the car is faulty, hence the battery just drained after 20 minutes leaving me stranded, which I do not believe the seller sold me a car in a roadworthy state.
Seller has no interest of helping, his first response was "He is a minor and will call the police?", followed by "Me messaging him is gonna make him harm himself".
I would like to know where i stand, as to resolve this issue, I want one of the following
1. The seller arranges collection of the car, as it is UNROADWORTHY and refunds me £1,400 plus £443 AA charges
or
2. The seller refunds me £443 for the recovery charge, as well as the cost to replace the alternator.
Be grateful for any responses, or individuals that have been through a similar experience.

May I ask if you had bought the car from the south of Spain  and the recovery charge had been £2000 would you think it reasonable to try and claim it back?

honestgaz

Jumblebumble said:

honestgaz said:

Wondering if anyone can help me with legal advice.
A seller advertised a car on Facebook Marketplace, I made contact by both FB and Whatsapp with the individual to arrange collection of the car.
Before agreeing the transaction, I provided a Private Car Sale Contract which was signed by myself and the seller.
I travelled down on the train, so I could drive the car home...During my journey, I asked the seller 2 things
1. The car works
2. It has petrol to drive away
The seller confirmed yes to both.
After paying £1,400 by bank transfer when at the sellers property, I got the key with the intention of driving the car home.
All was fine, until around 20 minutes in to the journey, where the car just died entirely. Everything stopped working.
I broke down on a busy A Road A446, which put me in a seriously dangerous situation.
My partner had to call the AA who charged me £443 to recover me home (this took 9 hours to even get to me, but this is another story)
When I messaged the seller advising the car had broken down after 20 mins, he replied with "Can you imagine (Laughing face emoji)"
The alternator on the car is faulty, hence the battery just drained after 20 minutes leaving me stranded, which I do not believe the seller sold me a car in a roadworthy state.
Seller has no interest of helping, his first response was "He is a minor and will call the police?", followed by "Me messaging him is gonna make him harm himself".
I would like to know where i stand, as to resolve this issue, I want one of the following
1. The seller arranges collection of the car, as it is UNROADWORTHY and refunds me £1,400 plus £443 AA charges
or
2. The seller refunds me £443 for the recovery charge, as well as the cost to replace the alternator.
Be grateful for any responses, or individuals that have been through a similar experience.

May I ask if you had bought the car from the south of Spain  and the recovery charge had been £2000 would you think it reasonable to try and claim it back?

Appreciate your question, but an absolute pointless question and has no relevance whatsoever.

honestgaz

GDB2222 said:

honestgaz said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

lincroft1710 said:

Alternators can fail at any time, they are consumables. Alternator was working when car driven away, could OP prove seller knew it was about to fail  I doubt it.

Worth looking to see if the battery warning light indicator has been disconnected or taped to hide it?

Battery light indicator came on during the drive home

Does the light come on when the battery is low, or when it is not being charged? 

It comes on I am presuming when the battery is running low, hence why I think it is the alternator

powerful_Rogue

honestgaz said:

GDB2222 said:

honestgaz said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

lincroft1710 said:

Alternators can fail at any time, they are consumables. Alternator was working when car driven away, could OP prove seller knew it was about to fail  I doubt it.

Worth looking to see if the battery warning light indicator has been disconnected or taped to hide it?

Battery light indicator came on during the drive home

Does the light come on when the battery is low, or when it is not being charged? 

It comes on I am presuming when the battery is running low, hence why I think it is the alternator

You don't actually know what the issue is then? Nothing has been diagnosed yet, just guess work?

Aylesbury_Duck

honestgaz said:

GDB2222 said:

honestgaz said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

lincroft1710 said:

Alternators can fail at any time, they are consumables. Alternator was working when car driven away, could OP prove seller knew it was about to fail  I doubt it.

Worth looking to see if the battery warning light indicator has been disconnected or taped to hide it?

Battery light indicator came on during the drive home

Does the light come on when the battery is low, or when it is not being charged? 

It comes on I am presuming when the battery is running low, hence why I think it is the alternator

Has the problem been properly diagnosed, or are you just guessing?  It's a reasonable guess, given the symptoms, but it could be something as simple as a loose connection to or from the alternator.

Ayr_Rage

If the alternator is not charging the battery when the engine is running there should be a warning light on.

What exactly is the make and model of this old banger?

Alderbank

GDB2222 said:

honestgaz said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

lincroft1710 said:

Alternators can fail at any time, they are consumables. Alternator was working when car driven away, could OP prove seller knew it was about to fail  I doubt it.

Worth looking to see if the battery warning light indicator has been disconnected or taped to hide it?

Battery light indicator came on during the drive home

Does the light come on when the battery is low, or when it is not being charged? 

Fair question.

The light comes on whenever the voltage on the lead from alternator to battery falls below 14v.

With ignition turned on but engine not running the light, like all other warning lights, should be on. That is a very basic first check when test driving a car. It confirms that the light has not been removed or disconnected.

When the engine starts and as long as it is running the alternator outputs a minimum of 14v. This extinguishes the light. If the light comes on while the engine is running it means

1. the alternator has failed
2. the alternator belt has broken
3. there is a bad connection between alternator and battery
4. something is drawing such an abnormally high current that the alternator cannot maintain 14v.

It tells you nothing about the state of the battery (unless it is in such a bad condition that its internal resistance is exceptionally low). Even a brand new, fully charged battery only delivers a maximum of 13v.

honestgaz

Ayr_Rage said:

If the alternator is not charging the battery when the engine is running there should be a warning light on.

What exactly is the make and model of this old banger?

Its a Smart Roadster......Do you mean the battery light should come on straight away when the engine starts?
If so, no it doesnt

Aylesbury_Duck

honestgaz said:

Ayr_Rage said:

If the alternator is not charging the battery when the engine is running there should be a warning light on.

What exactly is the make and model of this old banger?

Its a Smart Roadster......Do you mean the battery light should come on straight away when the engine starts?
If so, no it doesnt

Not quite.  Turn the key to the point where all the other warning lights appear.  The battery light should be one of them.  It should then go out when the engine starts.