I bought a Capri for £500, and I was told by the private seller it had no mechanical faults. I drove it home 30 miles and the next day after 3 miles the diff failed. I know it was only £500 and it had done 93,000 miles but I feel I was misled. Has anyone got any advice or guidance on tactics that might get me my £500 back or at least some of it ?
The seller told me he felt responsible, but after speaking to the AA, has refused to discuss it with me any more, and says he is not liable.
Thanks
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How good can a £500 Capri be?Get a diff,get it fitted can't be expensive,and get on with your life.
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I honestly don't think there's a lot you can do. He may have known about a problem with the diff, but unless you've got something in writing where he claims there are no problems then you've got no callback. And of course, it's quite possible that the car was sold in good faith and you were just unlucky. Once you've paid your money and accepted the goods then you can't go back unless you had a guarantee, or the goods didn't match the description. As the vehicle was sold "as seen" you bought it like that.
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Sorry Guv, sold as seen and tested.
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.. Has anyone got any advice or guidance on tactics that might get me my £500 back or at least some of it ? .. >>
Apart from appealing to the good nature of the seller to contribute 2goodwill payment" towards your costs for repair, there is nothing you can do.
However, this illustrates perfectly why HJ says it is worth using the services of "usedcarchecks" - see link on the left.
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I would never dream of paying 100 quid for an inspection of a 500 quid banger.
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dream of paying 100 quid for an inspection >>
except that it gives you 45 days warranty cover, and as they say
" ... don't make a costly mistake ... use the inspection as a price bargaining tool.. ."
I know, Horses for courses and all that!
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" dream of paying 100 quid for an inspection"
But £20 to a car knowledgeable friend who criticises fairly before you buy - in front of the seller - usually is worth at least £50 off the selling price...
madf
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If I were in this position I'd fit a new diff and have a look inside the old one.
If there are signs of any cloth inside then the seller may have put some in to mask major levels of wear, as it fills up all the gaps, for a short while at least. If there are then pay him a visit with a couple of large friends to suggest that he pays for the cost of having the new diff fitted and a little compensation on top.
If the diff is clear, then score it up to a bad experience. I'm sure a scrapyard diff wouldn't be too expensive.
--
I read often, only post occasionally
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AvalonChris
When you say the diff has failed, please can I ask exactly what you mean? Do you mean that it has failed completely, or just that it's a bit more noisy than you would have liked it to have been? If it's the latter then, quite frankly, I think you are worrying about nothing.
I would also be interested to learn which Capri you have. I have heard that the diff's on the 2.8i are known to give problems, but the diff on my 1.6 did 255,000 miles and was still good at this mileage when I scrapped the car. They go on for ever!
A car for £500? You buy as seen, as someone has already said. Caevat Emptor, or something like that!
Good Luck, anyway.
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