Have I been sold a lemon? Is this MOT illegal? Please help!

Nenen

What did the advert on Ebay say? As it is a business you bought from, then if the advert on Ebay was misleading, it might be worth contacting trading standards tomorrow.

anewman

Bottom line is these should be relatively cheap/simple problems to fix. If you didn't take the time to check it over when you bought it, be glad something far more serious isn't wrong.

Conor_3

norserose wrote: »

I'm going to call the bloke later but does anyone know legally what the situation is here? We can't drive it again until we get all these bits fixed, but it was bought on the basis it passed an MOT a month ago...

Oh dear oh dear oh dear. An MOT is a worthless piece of paper for judging the condition of a vehicle and VOSA even tell you this in their literature. An MOT is only an indication of the state of that vehicle at the time it is presented for test.

Legally, you have no leg to stand on as Caveat Emptor applies. The brake lights could be something as simple as a blown fuse or corrosion on the fuse holder from lack of use.

Conor_3

anewman wrote: »

Have seen many people do it, and also people with brake lights stuck on all the time.

Doesn't make it legal and if they were to be stopped at the side of the road, they can be prosecuted.

KeithP

tine wrote: »

It is not illegal to sell a car with those faults no.

Surely Tine, it is illegal to sell an unroadworthy vehicle.
A quick google finds -

If a vehicle is unroadworthy, the sale is illegal, whether it takes place at a private house, a garage or at a motor auction.

Many sites like this one quote this.

anewman

Conor wrote: »

Doesn't make it legal and if they were to be stopped at the side of the road, they can be prosecuted.

I concurr. The wonderful legal system doesn't seem so quick to do much about it though given the numbers I have seen.

And to add it's the *driver's" responsibility to ensure their car is in roadworthy condition. As previously mentioned an MOT doesn't always count for everything unfortunately.

custardy

KeithP wrote: »

Surely Tine, it is illegal to sell an unroadworthy vehicle.
A quick google finds -

Many sites like this one quote this.

but now its a case of proving the likes of the brake lights were not working before taking ownership of the car

goldspanners

custardy wrote: »

but now its a case of proving the likes of the brake lights were not working before taking ownership of the car

exactly,both are latent defects and could happen at any given time.you obviously didnt know these werent working when you bought the car,if you did you would have returned the car straight away surely.

Honeydog

I wonder if his 'holiday' had anything to do with the faults he knew were on the camper.

Sorry but I just have a suspicious nature!

I had a moped once and the speedo/odometer went on that - if I remember correctly it was just the one cable that ran both of them.

If BOTH brake lights are out you need to get them fixed NOW. Really dangerous and not fair to motorists behind you.

Look at steering wheel if it is all shiny it may ahve done more miles than the clock shows. Same with pedals - if they are worn then be suspicious.

But modern cars are built to do high milages so it may not be a problem. Camper vans are recreational so you presumably won't be using it daily.

Like someone else said an MOT is a snapshot of the vehicle on the day it was tested not a guarantee it will stay roadworthy for the whole year.

Apparently MOT certificates are renowned for being nickable but it is easy to check the truth these days as everything is electronic.

One of the barrack room lawyers on here will tell you your rights if the MOT was dodgy.

Wig

So what has happened since? What has he said when you phoned him? I think we have now ascertained it is illegal to sell a vehicle in an unroadworthy condition. And we also know that the sale of goods act applies to used vehicles as much as it does to new vehicles. So the burden of proof is upon the seller to prove the goods were not defective on the day of purchase within the first 6 months after purchase. As you have picked up on the faults so quickly after sale and no doubt contacted/tried to contact/written a letter if he won't answer the phone! Then you have done all you can to alert the seller of the defect so soon after sale. I'm sure you can insist the garage repairs these faults. With the help of trading standards if neccessary.

PS if you hadn't noticed we do like to be kept informed of how things progress