Toyota Yaris Diesel 1.4 Problems

Hi we have bought a faulty car from a dealer posing as a private seller. I am sorry about the rather long post but i want to include all the relevant information at once so i can find out exactly where i stand. It took us a while to investigate this guy and find out this info. Please could anyone help me with this and please give some advice on how we should proceed or what the options are. We just want the money back as it is a huge amount to us. Here is a copy of the information i have just so you know.

Name or seller/car dealer - XXXXX, Company Director

Company Name - XXXcarsales ltd

Address - XXXXXX

Phone - XXXXXX

Ebay names - 1.XXXXXX 2.XXXXXXX

Previous owner - XXXXXXX

Current State of the Car -- Car was like this when purchased.

- Head gasket gone.

- Crack in the engine - makes car a write off.

- Car in now in garage - engine has been dismantled and would cost more to be reassembled and made roadworthy

- Report will be made by the mechanic stating the cars faults and saying that the car has been recently reassembled.

Money spent on car --

- Initial cost 1750

- Spent 150 on garage to diagnose problems

- 50 on cancellation of insurance

Buying the Car --

We saw the car on ebay where it was a listed as a private sale and arranged a viewing on the 2/9/2012. A copy of the original advert has been retained in which the man involved describes himself as a private seller. We went on the train and the dealer picked us up from train station in the Yaris concerned and drove us to his property where he had around 7 or more cars on his drive. We will call him Mr X.

We looked over the car and was assured there was no problems with it. Mr X explained that he had been using it to commute and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. However the name of the previously registered owner in the log book was not Mr X and Mr X had never been on the log book. Mr X seemed trustworthy, everything seemed in order and we were inexperienced at buying a car so unable to tell if there were any problems. We completed the purchase of the car and proceeded to drive it home.

As soon as we were on the motorway a red warning light came on which we presumed to mean that the engine was overheating. We immediately phoned Mr X and told him of the problem. He assured us it meant the engine was warmed up and that it would go back off again soon. He said he had also had this problem before a few times and guaranteed it was nothing to worry about. We then rang a dad and described the light and he told us that it was definitely a sign the the engine was overheating. While on the side of the road, We rang back Mr X and asked to return the car for a refund, he said that there was no way we could return the car as we had already signed the log book, he assured us there would be no problems and gave us no choice but to drive back to bristol.

After getting the car back to Bristol we took the car to a mechanic who said all the evidence pointed towards it being a head gasket failure. Further investigation was needed from another mechanic which confirmed all the problems listed and rendered the car completely unusable and completely unused by us.

We contacted Mr X by phone the day and informed him the car was not road worthy and was to expensive to repair. We demanded a refund. He initially denied any responsibility towards the situation and told us we could do nothing about it as it was a private sale then hung up the phone. We then received a text message explaining that he felt bad and would talk to his mechanic and get back to us. However we never heard from him again. After much investigation we found that he was infact a registered car dealer posing as a private seller and that he should have given us a refund on the car the day we bought it and the day after when we asked for one again. This is when we decided to write him a letter asking him to contact us in 14 days as is outlined by consumer directs websites advice.

A few days after receiving the letter the dealer phoned us and said it was a mistake that the car was listed privately which is strange considering a google search of his phone number reveals plenty of other cars he has sold listed this way. Dealer is clearly lying and continues to be evasive and insists that we would not be able to claim through the small claims court and even if we did try this he could declare bankruptcy. Dealer also said that we were being unreasonable and kept changing his story and making excuses. In the end the dealer offered to pay 350 pound towards a new engine, but said it needed to be sorted by the 10th of this month as he was going on holiday. The dealer continued to use the log book as an excuse for him not being able to take the car back. We have been qouted 2000 pound for a reconditioned engine installation which is more than we paid for the car. We would obviously prefer a full refund if at all possible. What should we tell this guy in order to make that more likely?

More Important points and questions regarding the Car - In our understanding

- Is it illegal for a car dealer to pose as a private seller?

- He has advertised 10's of cars as a private seller when he is a car dealer and this is easily searchable and confirmable using a google search of his phone number.

- It is the law that If you buy a faulty car from a private seller who turns out to be a car dealer, you have the same rights to a repair, replacement or refund? So we are legally entitled to a refund.

- It is illegal to write 'Sold as Seen' on any receipt for a car and is grounds for reporting the sale to consumer direct. He has written this on our receipt.

- Car is not 'fit for purpose' and doesn't 'match the description in the advert' as the car is described as being ‘a brilliant drive’.

- Is it illegal for a dealer to deny the right to a cooling off period after the car had been sold as we wanted to take it back straight after. Reason given by Mr X - was that log book had been signed so it was impossible to return it - please remember unfortunately at this point we thought he was a private seller and had no idea of our rights

- Mechanic will be able to provide a full and independent report on the cars condition including his opinion that it had been recently tampered with.

- Symptoms of then faults of the car were discovered immediately and diagnosed independently.

- We are also looking in to claiming compensation for the mechanic bills incurred because of the problems with the car. Is this reasonable?

- Also please be aware that lessons have been learned! Thanks for any help you are able to give.