Car Seller Is Not The Owner

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  • missile
    missile Posts: 11,689 Forumite
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    efunc wrote: »
    Yes, I viewed the car and it seems OK on test drive. However my diagnostic software (Vag-Com) did not work unfortunately. I intended to to read off the full ECU codes and logged errors. I have a TT already and know quite a lot about them. The paint work was in very poor condition, but I'm less worried about that. There are a number of things that can go wrong with these cars and they are very expensive problems to resolve. The key thing is to ensure that the car has been regularly serviced by Audi, or a specialist. In this case I can't rely on the service history because some 'local garage' has just ticked every box in the service book with nothing to back that up. The trader could have stamped all that himself. The Audi history only goes up to 2014.

    In that case I would suggest you give this one a miss.

    As no doubt you know(?) there are several similar TTS for sale which would appear to be in better condition with less miles.

    Are you a member of https://www.ttforum.co.uk ?
    "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
    Ride hard or stay home :iloveyou:
  • efunc
    efunc Posts: 403 Forumite
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    Yes, long time member if the forum. However the price is attractive for what I'm getting here (IF there are no major faults!), about £1500 less than other similar ones.
  • Herzlos
    Herzlos Posts: 14,688 Forumite
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    fatrab wrote: »
    Do you think so? I've gone down south to buy loads of cars as I've found them more expensive up here! Funny how we perceive each other as cheaper!

    I guess it depends on the car. My last one I sold to a London dealer - he flew up, bought the car and drove home, seemed to sell it within a week at a £2k markup going by the website.
    It might only be the case for more specialist stuff - Brother in law drove down south to pick up a van cheap.
    efunc wrote: »
    Yep, just saw those myself too and was dumbfounded! I'm left wondering if I should proceed. It is the car I'm after, at a price I'm happy about. But I can't go ahead knowing what I know without letting him know he's rumbled. He's BS'ing me telling me that he's just spoken to his friend and has accepted my offer...

    You can always point out that you're aware he's actually a dealer, and that his story is !!!!!!!!. However, you'll overlook all of that if the price is low enough.

    (If you were suitably offended, you could mention it to trading standards too).
  • Herzlos
    Herzlos Posts: 14,688 Forumite
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    efunc wrote: »
    Is the above correct, and does it legitimise anything?

    The problem isn't the V5 or previous keeper - if it's a trade in / buy then it's not incorrect. Him transferring it to his name to sell to you will mean it's in his name when he sells it to you, and there's another keeper on it, no more.

    The problem is that it's a dealer pretending to be a private seller, either to dodge paying tax, or to dodge his responsibilities under the Sale Of Goods Act (I think). If the car's a lemon, as a private seller he's fine but as a dealer he'd be liable for sorting it. If he's going to do that, what does he know about the car he isn't telling you, and what other corners is he cutting?
    Does he always sell cars from his house, or is this one that's not worthy of his forecourt?

    You've presumably got the contact details of the previous keeper - they'll be able to tell you why they sold it and what's up with it.
  • Hoof_Hearted
    Hoof_Hearted Posts: 2,361 Forumite
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    It would be very cheap at around £7,000. 10-year-old, complicated car with 100K miles and a slightly dodgy provenance. I hope you have deep pockets if you buy it.
    Je suis sabot...
  • loskie
    loskie Posts: 1,761 Forumite
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    I cannot believe that you are still thinking of continuing this purchase. If you do then expect no comeback when things go wrong.
  • wgl2014
    wgl2014 Posts: 1,144 Forumite
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    If you go into things knowing the seller is spinning a yarn but are happy with the car and the price then it could be OK. Just don't expect any assistance if it turns out to have undisclosed issues.

    Personally I wouldn't deal with a seller I knew to be lying to me.
  • DUTR
    DUTR Posts: 12,958 Forumite
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    A quick check elsewhere suggests
    "Additional events have occurred on this timeline. We recommend you get a full check to reveal these before you purchase this vehicle."
    I suspect it has had 4 owners.
  • efunc
    efunc Posts: 403 Forumite
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    Interesting. What are those "other checks" out of interest? Do you have access to some trade info site?

    I looked at the service book, and it had the first 5 stamps from the same Audi dealership in the south, which look legitimate, and then the remaining 5 from some independent in Scotland. That does point to 2 owners. Of course I can call Audi and receive the full service history they have on record and verify if they saw it for those first 6 years.
  • EdGasketTheSecond
    EdGasketTheSecond Posts: 2,558 Forumite
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    Only buy privately from the owner selling from the registered address; no need to do otherwise.
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