Private Vendors Liability

Honest John Back Room » Legal matters
View Threaded
Mon 12 Sep 2011 10:47
Private Vendors Liability - worried345

A month ago I sold a car I had owned since November, during that time I did 30,000 miles and had the car serviced according to the manufactures requirements. it had an extended service with intervals specified by the cars computerd, (which actually worked out about every 12 months). During my ownership th car was trouble free.

When I sold it the purchasers took the car for an extended test, probably for about an hour.

A week after selling the alternator siezed, apparenlty snapping the alternator belt in the process, the purchasers had the car repaired by a garage who fitted a new alternator and belt.

Subsequently they also had the car serviced by another garage.

Then over the weekend just past, about a month after I sold the car the cam/timing belt snapped, (when I sold the car it had c.146,000 miles, with the recommended cam belt change in the manufactures hand book being every 80,000 miles)

I sold the car in good faith, with no knowledge that either of these two problems would arise (and wonder if they are interlinked).

Does the purchaser have any comeback on me as a private individual?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 12 Sep 2011 12:59
Private Vendors Liability - Falkirk Bairn

>>Does the purchaser have any comeback on me as a private individual?

No comeback - assuming you are a private seller

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 12 Sep 2011 14:15
Private Vendors Liability - RT

It's just one of these bad luck things for the buyer - no-one can GUARANTEE that a belt won't break before it's scheduled change point and a few of them do, despite proper servicing.

If the buyer wanted someone else to take the risk they should have bought from a dealer - who no doubt would have charged more to cover the cost of this happening to one of the many cars they sell.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 12 Sep 2011 14:29
Private Vendors Liability - ifithelps

As FB says, a private buyer has little or no comeback on the seller.

That may not stop the buyer thinking he has.

But you have behaved impeccably, which goes very much in your favour, should anyone examine the transaction.

Added to that, the car has done 146,000 miles.

There's no legal definition of the service life of a car, but anything over 100,000 miles is generally considered a bonus.

And some time elapsed after the sale before the major problem became manifest.

So on any view, the buyer has no comeback on you, buy you may need to be firm to convince him of that fact.

Edited by ifithelps on 12/09/2011 at 14:30

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 12 Sep 2011 18:50
Private Vendors Liability - SlidingPillar

The only private buy I've made of a car with a cam belt, I just changed the belt regardless of miles and history.

Advised to do it by a pal and though it sensible. I'd give the same advice to anyone else.

As said above - if you are a private individual, no liability.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 12 Sep 2011 21:48
Private Vendors Liability - focussed

As a private seller the only outside chance a private buyer has of suing you is if you misrepresented the vehicle that you sold in your advert-and a pretty slim chance they have of success with that as well at 146k miles.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link