I was sold a car that turned out to be an ex-hire car - do I have any redress?

I trade in second-hand cars. I recently purchased a car which turns out to have been an ex-hire car. The seller owns a small hire company. In May this year the seller transferred the car into his private name. Thus removing any trace of the cars past history. The seller then advertised the car privately. He told me the car is registered in his name but was used mostly by his wife. I have two questions. Should the seller have made me aware that the car was in face an ex-hire drive car. Must I inform my customer that the car was an ex-hire drive vehicle?

Asked on 19 August 2019 by ian

Answered by Honest John
I have no prejudice about ex-rental cars. I used to buy and sell them, told the customers their origins and actually ran an ex-rental Mondeo for 10 years and over 100,000 miles with virtually no problems. But if you think prejudice is a problem and if this was a dealer sale to you, then the dealer could be guilty of a 'misleading omission' under the Consumer Protection Regulations 2008. More here: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/ If it was a private sale, then much more difficult to prove a 'breach of contract'.
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