Buyer wants to take me to court after private sale

I sold a used car privately that had recently undergone a new MOT. The buyer drove the car 80 miles home and has used the car for approx one month.

I have now received a county court document claiming he has had the car checked and has been told it needs a lot of money spending on it, at the time of sale the car drove exceptionally well for a 12-year old car that had not been used for around two years. To the best of my knowledge it did not have any of the problems he is now saying there is, what do I do?

Asked on 18 September 2014 by thelicencee

Answered by Honest John
Fight the case. He is claiming breach of contract, but for a judge to rule in his favour he has to prove this. The judge will consider your description of the car in an advertisement, your verbal description of the car, the MoT (and whether any advisories were suppressed), the age of the car, the mileage and the price.

The buyer does not have any 'consumer rights' against a private vendor that he would have had against a trader. But if the car was sold in an unroadworthy condition (despite the MoT) the buyer has a case.
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