I sold a car which turned out to have been recorded as Category D write-off before I bought it - is it my problem? | Ask Honest John

I sold a car which turned out to have been recorded as Category D write-off before I bought it - is it my problem?

I recently bought a small car from a private individual who turned out to be a policewoman. After a few months I disposed of the car and the new purchaser has been in touch with me to inform me that in 2007 the car received a category D notice, and then in 2009 the car was supposedly to be scrapped. There is nothing on the V5 form to indicate these problems and I was totally and utterly unaware of the situation. I thought when a car received a category D and/or was scrapped it was automatically put on the V5 form. I registered the car in my name with Swansea and the person I sold it to did exactly the same thing with no notification of these problems. He has now come back to me and wants to know what I am going to do about it. I do not really feel it is my problem. I would appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

Asked on 21 March 2011 by M.S., Maidenhead

Answered by Honest John

No. It's not your problem. You sold it privately in good faith and were not aware. You are not required to do the due diligence of an HPI check when you buy or sell privately. It was up to the purchaser to do that before he/she bought the car from you. But in any case Cat D may not mean much. If a car is stolen and the insurance pays out before it is recovered, it is still regarded as a Cat D write off even if recovered completely undamaged.

Tags: legal advice scrapping write offs private sellers

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