Issues with used car - what to do next?!

Joe_Railwayman

Hello, I'll try to keep this as brief as possible whilst still sharing the relevant details.

Bought a used car six weeks ago for £5,000 (market value for well maintained car of this type). Car was 9 years old and had done 60k miles, advertised as running and driving perfectly, no issues at all, full service history. Seller is an individual but it is my understanding he is legally considered a dealer/trader due to the high turnover of cars for profit (multiple sales every week).

Four weeks after purchase the engine and oil warning lights came on. Garage say wet timing belt has not been maintained correctly leading to significant engine damage due to metal-on-metal friction. Cost to repair is £3.5-£4k.

Have contacted the seller with all the above to request he covers cost of repairs or reimburses me full purchase price. Two emails and a letter before action have been sent but no response received.

Other than money claim online, do I have any other rights or ways of reclaiming the funds? Money paid via bank transfer so no S75 rights.

On another note, what do I do about the car? I can't afford to repair it myself but garage will obviously not want it sat around forever either. Can I scrap it or will that damage my claim?

Thanks

Woodstok2000

Does the service history check out? What specifically are the garage saying that hasn't been done to maintain the belt?

Okell

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82051943#Comment_82051943

This ^

what exactly is the garage saying? are they saying it should have been changed within 9 years/60000 miles?

make and model?

Joe_Railwayman

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82051950#Comment_82051950

The belt should be maintained at each service. The car was sold with full service history but has not been serviced since 2021. This lack of maintenance has caused the oil filter to clog, preventing oil reaching the engine and causing significant warping due to metal on metal friction. Issue will 100% have been present at the time of sale.

visidigi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82051959#Comment_82051959

I doubt you can claim 100% there at sale at this point. It might have been on the way, but when was the next service due when you picked it up? It might have a full service history but the latest service might have been due - is it distance, time or condition based servicing?

How many miles did you do in it in the month you had it working?

Joe_Railwayman

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82051964#Comment_82051964

Services due every 12 months/12,500 miles. Hadn't been done since 2021. Drove around 1,000 miles. Garage have stated the issue will have been present before I purchased the car.

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82051959#Comment_82051959

So there's no servicing at all after 2021? Did anyone check the log book before buying it?

PTP123

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82051959#Comment_82051959

There is no make that states that a belt should be maintained at every service

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82051978#Comment_82051978

What am I missing here?

You bought a car knowing it hadn't been serviced in 5 years?

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82051993#Comment_82051993

Or are you saying the service history has been faked? Or that the services were done, but you're alleging they weren't done properly?

Aylesbury_Duck

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82051993#Comment_82051993

And didn't service it before driving another 1,000 miles in it?

I presume the service history was available to OP once purchased, so the question from me would be how much liability OP has. Buying a car with no service carried out for five years then electing to drive it without having it serviced was always asking for trouble.

IMO the dealer is on the hook for misdescribing the service history as "full", when it wasn't, but OP must shoulder some responsibility for not having checked when the next service was (over)due and getting it done immediately.

I suspect court action would be futile because if OP won, the trader won't pay up.