Seller sold faulty car

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Mon 18 May 2020 10:56
Seller sold faulty car - nelmo

Hello, I don't know if I am posting this in the right place, but I'm hoping someone can help me out. Recently my dad purchased a ford focus that was advertised without stating the condition of the car. It just stated some specs, and that the car needed selling fast. So my dad arranged a viewing and I went with him. I stayed in my car while my dad went on a test drive. My dad drove around the block, and heard a noise when he was driving and the guy told him that the car was fine except that the front left wheel bearing needed fixing. He never mentioned this before, and he told us and this was the only problem. We enquired how much it would cost to fix and it was around £100, so my dad asked him to reduce the price a little, so that we could cover the cost of the wheel bearing repair.

Now, we took it to the garage and it turns out that not only was the wheel bearing faulty as said, but the gear box is also gone. To fix this it will cost more than the cost of the car itself. I texted him and he replied saying "I said sold as seen", and "I'm not a garage". Clearly from his attitude I could tell that he knew this fault existed, and a gear box problem isn't one that can go unnoticed. Unfortunately because my dad only drove round the block and the speed limit was low, we could not tell about the gear box problem, and we assumed the sound was a wheel bearing problem like he stated.

One thing I was thinking is that if I could take him to small claims court, because I really need the money ASAP. I left my degree part way in September so I could help support our struggling family and this is the last thing I needed to happen to me, and I paid for the car since my dad didn't have the money. However, my main issue is that I haven't actually spent the money on the car yet, except for fixing the wheel bearing. I do not want the seller to pay for the repair, but I just want the seller to take his car back and give me money back. Would it be possible via small claims court to do this?

Honestly, my brain isn't functioning well right now. If I've missed anything out, or you need more info, please let me know. All help is greatly appreciated.

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Mon 18 May 2020 11:03
Seller sold faulty car - Bromptonaut

Was this a private sale or from a dealer?

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Mon 18 May 2020 11:04
Seller sold faulty car - nelmo

Hello, it was a private sale. I found the car on Gumtree. Thanks

Edited by nelmo on 18/05/2020 at 11:05

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Mon 18 May 2020 11:22
Seller sold faulty car - alan1302

Hello, it was a private sale. I found the car on Gumtree. Thanks

As a private sale you have no come back.

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Mon 18 May 2020 11:32
Seller sold faulty car - nelmo

My dad is on UC so we won't have to pay small claims court fees. Do you reckon I should give it a shot, seeing I don't have much else of a choice?

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Mon 18 May 2020 11:32
Seller sold faulty car - Bromptonaut

As Alan says your comeback on a private sale is nil, or at least very limited.

There's a tool on Citizens Advice website that may be useful:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/buying-or-repairing-a-car/problems-with-a-used-car/

If you think small claims is an option than consider carefully what your chances are of recovering even if you win the claim. You cannot get blood from a stone; if the putative defendant has no assets then enforcement via bailiffs etc may be just throwing good money after bad.

There are also plenty of people selling cars as a business while posing as a private seller. They are likely to be adept at ducking/weaving where the Count Court's jurisdiction, whether small claims or otherwise, is invoked.

Looking at it the other way if you're stuck with the car does the gearbox fault manifest itself as a problem when driving. Noises or slightly sticky synchromesh are things you might live with without them getting significantly worse. Or are there options with gearboxes from a breaker/re conditioner.

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Tue 19 May 2020 13:14
Seller sold faulty car - barney100

Caveat emptor I'm afraid. Small claims may find for you but the guy may just ignore them, the best bet is as someone else said, check if the blokes a trader selling stuff he wouldn't sell on his forecourt.

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Mon 18 May 2020 11:33
Seller sold faulty car - bathtub tom

Are you sure he was a private seller? May be worth doing some research to see how many cars he's bought and sold recently. If he's a dodgy dealer, local trading standards may be able to help, but you may be trying to get blood out of a stone.

Have you looked at the cars MOT history? www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

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Mon 18 May 2020 11:43
Seller sold faulty car - gordonbennet

This comes under the same category as aircon needs a regas, if all it needed was a front wheel bearing the seller would have fitted one and sold the car as perfect.

I suspect you are on a hiding to nothing with this chancer, there's thousands more like him out there so learn from this mistake for next time, good point about informing trading standards if he is actually a dodgy trader, even if they can't do you any good they might be able to shut him down or get him into court for false trading.

Practically, i'd get someone competent to inspect the car properly, if its otherwise good and just needs a gearbox then get a used one put in, what you do about the seller and asking for a contribution is entirely up to you.

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Mon 18 May 2020 12:07
Seller sold faulty car - nellyjak

as above...if it's a private seller then I fear you have little or no chance of getting any refund.

You may well have to put this down to experience and learn from it.

I hope that something might be salvageable from the purchase at not too great an expense.

Edited by nellyjak on 18/05/2020 at 12:08

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Tue 19 May 2020 10:15
Seller sold faulty car - nelmo

Yes, I understand that. I don't really have much experience buying cars and my dad is quite gullible, and I don't know anyone who'd be willing to help me buy a car. We just bought the car in good faith.

There are also some other faults with the car, and I have gotten a quotation of around £1000 to fix the car.

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Tue 19 May 2020 10:16
Seller sold faulty car - nelmo

My dad says he has seen him listing other cars on the site, but he lists them one by one, so it is hard to trace him.

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Tue 19 May 2020 15:34
Seller sold faulty car - Andrew-T

My dad says he has seen him listing other cars on the site, but he lists them one by one, so it is hard to trace him.

That's why you have to see the V5 (reg.doc.) for the car. If it's not available, or shows a different address, you aren't interested.

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Mon 18 May 2020 13:00
Seller sold faulty car - Andrew-T

Hello, it was a private sale. I found the car on Gumtree. Thanks

As a private sale you have no come back.

The only possible 'comeback' you might have is an appeal to the seller's better nature, which may well be a forlorn hope. Tell us how much the car cost - if it's just a few hundred £, don't throw any more good money after bad.

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Tue 19 May 2020 10:12
Seller sold faulty car - nelmo

Hi, thanks for your response, the car was £1200, which is a lot for me.

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Mon 18 May 2020 14:07
Seller sold faulty car - Andrew-T

Hello, it was a private sale. I found the car on Gumtree. Thanks

It might also be worth remarking that many sellers use Gumtree as a last resort for cars which won't sell anywhere better.

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Mon 18 May 2020 18:00
Seller sold faulty car - Ian D
How much did you pay? If it was only say £500 you may be able to cut your losses and get £200 on eBay describing it accurately. If it was a lot more and the rest of the car is good (engine/body/service history/etc) it may be worth repairing. I suspect the seller will not be too forthcoming with financial help but try, if he says go away I don’t think it will be worth pursuing as it was a private sale.

Edited by Ian D on 18/05/2020 at 18:03

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Tue 19 May 2020 05:38
Seller sold faulty car - madf

". Recently my dad purchased a ford focus that was advertised without stating the condition of the car. It just stated some specs, and that the car needed selling fast."

No claim about car condition.

So you have no claim in law..

Period.

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Tue 19 May 2020 09:15
Seller sold faulty car - Andrew-T

And from the opposite viewpoint, there will be plenty of examples of people buying a car and then changing their mind afterwards (for whatever reason), taking it back and saying there's something wrong with it which they hadn't noticed and the seller had not mentioned. The only possible complaint might be if the seller had given false answers to a specific question. Or just possibly if the car was sold in an unroadworthy condition (no valid MoT).

The eternal motto is don't buy in haste - or otherwise Caveat Emptor.

Edited by Andrew-T on 19/05/2020 at 09:19

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Tue 19 May 2020 10:17
Seller sold faulty car - nelmo

Hi Andrew, thanks for your response, where would you recommend buying cars from, especially if I'm on a budget? Thanks

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Tue 19 May 2020 12:02
Seller sold faulty car - Andrew-T

Hi Andrew, thanks for your response, where would you recommend buying cars from, especially if I'm on a budget? Thanks

In the price range you are talking about, private sellers are the best bet, because traders selling at this price expect most of the price to be profit - in other words the car cost them very little - it's almost worthless to the trade.

But any car bought at this price will probably have faults, that may be why it's cheap. You can only examine any vehicle as carefully as you can, go for a usefully long test-drive (seller will probably drive, depending on insurance), ask for a service record and any other proof of ownership. There are always people who have decided to stop driving, for example, but you may have to look at lots of ads for weeks before a nice one comes along close to home. If the seller has had it for years, that should be a good sign. If possible, check any car's MoT history online before buying.

Downside is always that there will be no warranty, even a trader's warranty won't cover any problem you are likely to find. On the other hand, you might find a useful old trade-in in the back yard at a franchised dealer - make an offer and you could save them the hassle of sending it to auction.

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Thu 21 May 2020 11:17
Seller sold faulty car - John F

So far we are none the wiser as to the 'faulty gearbox'. What exactly is the fault? Did your dad use all the gears on his test drive? Is the garage which is charging you for the front wheel bearing looking for extra but non-essential work, having sussed your dad as 'gullible'?

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Mon 25 May 2020 12:42
Seller sold faulty car - ZionWill

Are you sure this question will bring to the core?

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Sat 23 May 2020 16:41
Seller sold faulty car - SLO76
Unless you can prove the seller was a dealer then any legal effort will be a waste of resources and time. I’d get a second opinion on that noise and if it is indeed a major gearbox failure then take the car to the nearest auction and enter it with a view to get at least some of your money back even if it’s only a few hundred quid and learn from the experience.

When you’re in a position to buy again come back on here and give us an approximate location to search and I’m sure we’ll find a few cars worthy of a look. At this money it’s best to look at private sales but you need to be sure they are exactly that by asking the seller of the car is registered to them at their current address and ask how long they’ve owned it. Don’t buy if they’ve had it less than two years and make sure the registration document address matches the viewing location and make sure the yellow trade section is present. Accept no excuses for the V5 being missing in full or part, of it’s not all there and the address is right then it’s a fly trader.

Also never buy a car with an unidentified noise. It might be something simple but then if it was the seller would’ve had it fixed to get a higher price. If it doesn’t feel, look and sound right then walk away. You want a good longterm owned car from an affluent seller who's properly looked after it. Their home will tell you plenty.

Edited by SLO76 on 23/05/2020 at 16:42

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