Buying from online auction
Discussion
Hi. Asking for a friend. He has just bought a classic car from an online auction. He went along and inspected before buying but unfortunately isn’t very knowledgeable about cars. The seller was a trader.
It turns out that the car is unroadworthy with a lot wrong with it including rust, a knackered engine, poor brakes and other things.
Does he have any comeback as the seller was in the trade? The seller says he had 14 days to raise any issues and it has been longer than that.
My friend is gutted to say the least. His local garage is estimating £10k to get the car straight.
Any advice that might help him would be gratefully received.
It turns out that the car is unroadworthy with a lot wrong with it including rust, a knackered engine, poor brakes and other things.
Does he have any comeback as the seller was in the trade? The seller says he had 14 days to raise any issues and it has been longer than that.
My friend is gutted to say the least. His local garage is estimating £10k to get the car straight.
Any advice that might help him would be gratefully received.
I fear you may be right. However, surely an auction cannot be such an easy loophole for rogue traders to take advantage of less knowledgeable punters?
If they can’t escape responsibility for a dishonest sale directly, how can they just by using a slightly different channel?
Seriously, the description given in the auction is so clearly untrue in so many ways it is fantasyland. Yet my friend took it as accurate
For instance, he accepted that the engine was rebuilt and upgraded as described. He did not check to see the 3/4 of an inch of crankshaft endfloat. Then again, who would?
If they can’t escape responsibility for a dishonest sale directly, how can they just by using a slightly different channel?
Seriously, the description given in the auction is so clearly untrue in so many ways it is fantasyland. Yet my friend took it as accurate
For instance, he accepted that the engine was rebuilt and upgraded as described. He did not check to see the 3/4 of an inch of crankshaft endfloat. Then again, who would?
From the t’s and c’s on the ad…
‘If the seller is registered as a private seller, consumer rights stemming from EU consumer protection law do not apply. Car & Classic’s return policy applies. ‘
This was not a private sale.
Yet further down…
‘ This vehicle is “Sold As Seen”, on an “As Is, Where Is’ basis and without warranty. A full inspection of the vehicle prior to purchase and bidding is highly recommended. Photos and descriptions are for guidance purposes only. ’
So no clearer really. But can a dealer really use the sold as seen line?
‘If the seller is registered as a private seller, consumer rights stemming from EU consumer protection law do not apply. Car & Classic’s return policy applies. ‘
This was not a private sale.
Yet further down…
‘ This vehicle is “Sold As Seen”, on an “As Is, Where Is’ basis and without warranty. A full inspection of the vehicle prior to purchase and bidding is highly recommended. Photos and descriptions are for guidance purposes only. ’
So no clearer really. But can a dealer really use the sold as seen line?
vaud said:
Ex Boy Racer said:
Sorry. My friend would not want details posted. I was just trying to see if he had legal recourse. Hoping someone might know the law on this.
If you want advice on specifics then you need to provide detail.You could always post them up and then once you have your advice have the posts deleted by the moderators?
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