MGF - Car selling problems

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Mon 14 Mar 2011 09:52
MGF - Car selling problems - yorks45

Hi

I am posting this for a friend who sells vehicles and is a registred trader. He sold a MGF convertible a few weeks ago to a private buyer and now has a problem.

Before buying the car the buyer spoke on the phone about the car and discussed the general condition of the car and also potential problems with these (eg head gasket). The buyer already had a MGF and was buying this one for his partner. The buyer provisonally agreed a price on the phone on the and his partner came to view and test drive the car. After the test drive and inspection she was happy with the car, paid and left. The car was sold quite a bit lower than book price.

Now 2 weeks after the sale the head gasket has blown and the buyer is demanding the full cost of the repair or his money back. Where does the trader stand in this situation ? Also who is responsible for recovery of the car from the garage ?

Thanks

Edited by yorks45 on 14/03/2011 at 10:00

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Mon 14 Mar 2011 10:55
MGF - Car selling problems - LucyBC
Difficult case. Technically the car is covered by the sale of goods act. Unless a specific warning was given as to an existing fault, which in this case it probably wasn't, the development of the fault might be deemed the responsibility of the dealer, especially as it failed so soon after the purchase.

Can you outline the age of the car, the mileage and the condition?

I might add that selling older cars is fraught with risk for dealers which they need to price into their margins.
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Mon 14 Mar 2011 10:59
MGF - Car selling problems - yorks45

Hi Lucy

thanks for the reply, its 2003 car, 80000 miles and is in reasonable condition. The buyer was fully aware about the potential head gasket problems as he had an MGF and it was discussed on the phone with him. His partner inspected the car and test drove it too.

thanks

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Mon 14 Mar 2011 12:47
MGF - Car selling problems - LucyBC
The point I was making is that a general warning that these vehicles *can* suffer from head gasket problems would probably not be enough.

There would have to be a specific warning that "this vehicle requires a new head gasket" so it can be factored into the price.

The only other potential get-out is if the court accepts it was sold at a "trade" price.

With a breakdown two weeks after sale the court is likely to accept that the fault was there at the time the car was sold and unless the car was exceptionally cheap the remedy is repair at the cost of the dealer or replacement.

Failing that a refund if repairing it is uneconomic.
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