Advice please on a car purchased 2 days ago

m0bov

Best get the car back to the trader, with a letter of rejection and the keys. It's not roadworthy and unsafe.

MattMattMattUK

m0bov said:

Best get the car back to the trader, with a letter of rejection and the keys. It's not roadworthy and unsafe.

The issue is going to be the trader will almost certainly not accept that, throw the letter in the bin and leave the car on the road somewhere. Whilst it might be the actual route that one should be able to follow in law, that does not always mean that it will work. 

Frozen_up_north

The point that the replies missed is the car was advertised as TRADE, which implies the seller was looking to sell it to another trader for them to repair and resell.

Therefore the buyer is unlikely to have a leg to stand on with regard to rejecting the car.

cw8825

Frozen_up_north said:

The point that the replies missed is the car was advertised as TRADE, which implies the seller was looking to sell it to another trader for them to repair and resell.

Therefore the buyer is unlikely to have a leg to stand on with regard to rejecting the car.

i have never heard that interpretation of what trade on auto trader is

the filter is private/trade

Private sellers are people selling a vehicle that is registered to themselves. Trade sellers are dealerships or independent traders who sell vehicles as a business.

taken from autotraders filter 

facade

Frozen_up_north said:

The point that the replies missed is the car was advertised as TRADE, which implies the seller was looking to sell it to another trader for them to repair and resell.

Therefore the buyer is unlikely to have a leg to stand on with regard to rejecting the car.

Irrelevant.

You cannot sell a car to a private individual on Trade terms. "Trade sale" is meaningless, as sales between traders are on trade terms anyway.

Rorycar

The recall started in the UK April 2024 and Citroen / DS wrote to registered keepers then to have the airbags replaced. 

As your car might not be one of the cars affected, or the previous owner may have had the airbag replaced during the last 12 months , I would recommend checking on the Citroen website

i can’t post the link but if you google Citroen safety recall check there is a page where you can enter the chassis number and get a definite answer on whether you need the airbag replacing?

Mildly_Miffed

Rorycar said:

The recall started in the UK April 2024 and Citroen / DS wrote to registered keepers then to have the airbags replaced. 

As your car might not be one of the cars affected, or the previous owner may have had the airbag replaced during the last 12 months , I would recommend checking on the Citroen website

i can’t post the link but if you google Citroen safety recall check there is a page where you can enter the chassis number and get a definite answer on whether you need the airbag replacing?

This post is the best advice you will receive in this thread.

1. It is not ALL C3s and DS3s. 
2. Your car may have already had the bags replaced under the recall.

https://www.citroen.co.uk/maintain/safety-recall-check.html

dustiebustie78

Thanks for all your comments. To answer those that have asked. 

The dealer posted the listing as a trade seller, not a private seller. 

The car I purchased should not have been sold with an active recall. I typed in the vin number and it says "Citroen/DS asks you to stop driving your vehicle fitted with Takata airbags. The chemicals contained in these Takata airbag inflators can degrade over time and, in the event of an accident, may rupture with excessive force. This can cause severe injuries or even death". 

If I am caught driving the car, I risk losing my license (I'm a new driver so no points for me), a £2,500 fine, and it would void my insurance. I bought a car assuming it was fit for purpose and roadworthy, I have since found out that it's not and is quite literally a death trap. 

I haven't heard from him since this morning and I'm not sure what else to do moving forward. 

Grey_Critic

***The dealer posted the listing as a trade seller, not a private seller. ***

With respect that is meaningless - he can call himself what he wants. 

I wrote and published a book so in theory I can tell people I am an Author - I had them privately published and nobody was charged. I am currently working on a follow up. Sounds good but it is just a title, nothing more.

To me he is just someone who sell used cars on the side.

MEM62

dustiebustie78 said:

I haven't heard from him since this morning and I'm not sure what else to do moving forward. 

Trading standards.