Used Car Faults

bobbymotors wrote: »

When I was selling cars, if we had an older car with non working aircon that had a more costly problem than a simple regas then I would deliberately not mention it in the advert.

Then if a month later the customer called and said the aircon didn't work I would say that I never even knew it had aircon, and never advertised it as so.

I once sold cars too, as a Workshop foreman I would not have had a job for long with an attitude like that. I have also advertised cars with non-working Aircon, but have included the "non-working" part in the ad. On enquiry by a potential customer, I would have a price adjustment ready for a fix.

Our trade was very much local and subject to local reputation.

I have exactly the same problem with air con not working. Bought the car which is 6 years old a week ago. As far as I can see it's the seller's responsibility to point out any faults providing you haven't bought the car for something silly like 50 quid. This excludes things like dents or scratches which you can see before you buy. I'm looking at the Consumer Rights Act 2015 here. I think the distinction is that it doesn't matter if the car was advertised with air con or not- if it has air con built in the trader must highlight the fact it's not working. I believe from my understanding that you should give the trader a chance to fix it (one chance only) and then, if you want, fix it yourself and chase the trader for the money- perhaps as far as the small claims court although that would involve costs which you get back if you win.

sjw3915 wrote: »

I have exactly the same problem with air con not working. Bought the car which is 6 years old a week ago. As far as I can see it's the seller's responsibility to point out any faults providing you haven't bought the car for something silly like 50 quid. This excludes things like dents or scratches which you can see before you buy. I'm looking at the Consumer Rights Act 2015 here. I think the distinction is that it doesn't matter if the car was advertised with air con or not- if it has air con built in the trader must highlight the fact it's not working. I believe from my understanding that you should give the trader a chance to fix it (one chance only) and then, if you want, fix it yourself and chase the trader for the money- perhaps as far as the small claims court although that would involve costs which you get back if you win.

You could try all the facilities before completing the purchase.

MrJones1 wrote: »

I agree with the above post. You should inspect the car before purchase. If you don't have the skills you should bring a mechanic with you. There are mechanics out there who could do a pre-purchase inspection of the car. Ask your local garage.

I agree that if you are buying an old car for little money, (as I do:)), that will have a high chance of being a lemon, you either need to know what you are doing, or take someone with you who does.

You don't need this to turn the aircon on and off though!

sjw3915 wrote: »

I have exactly the same problem with air con not working. Bought the car which is 6 years old a week ago. As far as I can see it's the seller's responsibility to point out any faults providing you haven't bought the car for something silly like 50 quid. This excludes things like dents or scratches which you can see before you buy. I'm looking at the Consumer Rights Act 2015 here. I think the distinction is that it doesn't matter if the car was advertised with air con or not- if it has air con built in the trader must highlight the fact it's not working. I believe from my understanding that you should give the trader a chance to fix it (one chance only) and then, if you want, fix it yourself and chase the trader for the money- perhaps as far as the small claims court although that would involve costs which you get back if you win.

Unfortunately for you it's not as black and white as that.