Lies buying an AUC

[marshalla]

[Butter Face]

2.5pi said:

M

Butter Face said:

2.5pi said:

Butter Face said:

I ask because I've sold thousands of cars and taken thousands of part exchanges and never asked how many owners. Makes no difference IMO.

Buy on quality, history and how much you want it. The amount of owners means jack.

In principal yes ...but in the real world I'd always feel a tad warmer to a one owner car than a four owner car , I guess it's just playing the percentages and minimising the chances of an unsympathetic owner ragging it from cold or slipping the clutch etc etc

It's purely psychological, the one owner could have smashed it off the rev limiter every day, never warmed it up, been through 3 clutches etc. You buy a used car and you don't really have any idea how it's been used regardless of how many 'owners'

A previous 'owner' could be a rental company with 200 seperately drivers.

As I say a 4 owner car has 4 times the chances of being owned by a mechanically insensitive dumbass, ex rental cars are a whole different can of worms

But look at it this way. 4 year old car with one bad owner or a 4 year old car with 4 owners of which 3 looked after the car like a baby and 1 didn't. You just don't know.

[2.5pi]

Butter Face said:

But look at it this way. 4 year old car with one bad owner or a 4 year old car with 4 owners of which 3 looked after the car like a baby and 1 didn't. You just don't know.

I know what your saying but all my most problematic used car purchases have had more owners than my successful buys and it usually meant they'd either a) caused a problem or b) spotted a problem and got shot

[Granfondo]

You never see motor traders advertise cars "one owner car" but you see them put in the advert 6 owners!

[POORCARDEALER]

Look at the positive, it has been prepped for sale 4 times (possibly)!

[whoami]

Granfondo said:

You never see motor traders advertise cars "one owner car" but you see them put in the advert 6 owners!

"Just 6 previous local owners".

[Butter Face]

whoami said:

Granfondo said:

You never see motor traders advertise cars "one owner car" but you see them put in the advert 6 owners!

"Just 6 previous local owners".

You also see them saying 'brand new tyres' or 'new MOT' rather than '3 bald tyres' or '1 month left on the MOT; probably won't pass', The utter scoundrels.

Someone advertising putting in something they may feel is a selling point to the person who cares about that kind of stuff shocker.

[Smuler]

BentleyM3 said:

Two weeks ago I bought a late model E92 M3 from BMW. I specifically wanted a low mileage late spec model and paid top money for it.

Problem I have found today when the V5 came back from the DVLA saying it has 4 previous owners, me now being the 5th. When I initially went to view the car I asked the salesman if it only had 1 previous owner which I was told it had. I believe based on this the car was well over priced and I wouldn't have bought it had I known this.

I called the dealer up today and spoke to the used car manager I explained how unimpressed I am and I want to return the car knowing this. He has said he will call me Monday, once he has spoken to his manager.

If I am honest, I am not interested in money off or anything. I bought from BMW expecting to get one of the best cars available and I have been let down and lied to.

Anyone have any experience or advice on where I stand with this?

Thanks

I hpi'd my car as part of my research BUT I also got a hpi cert from dealer at point of sale before I signed. My understanding is this was standard AU practice, as part of the "proberty" (think that's the word) of signing the contract.

It seems this didn't happen for you. If it should have taken place, and didn't, it might add to your argument.

[Granfondo]

Butter Face said:

whoami said:

Granfondo said:

You never see motor traders advertise cars "one owner car" but you see them put in the advert 6 owners!

"Just 6 previous local owners".

You also see them saying 'brand new tyres' or 'new MOT' rather than '3 bald tyres' or '1 month left on the MOT; probably won't pass', The utter scoundrels.

Someone advertising putting in something they may feel is a selling point to the person who cares about that kind of stuff shocker.

Exactly the point you are arguing against!
They put in the advert things that add value ie "one previous owner"

[wilwak]

Granfondo said:

That's strange because every trade in I have ever done has asked me how many previous keepers!
If you get a valuation from WBAC it's one of the questions.

I got a price from WBAC thinking my car had one previous owner. When I got my V5 out I found it had had two. Must have been a pre-reg.

I logged back in to WBAC updated the details ... They knocked 8% off the value!!!

I once bought a BMW with 3 previous owners in it first two years. It had only done 4000 miles. The car simply wasn't right. Something very odd about the gearbox/engine. I sold it six months later. Lots of ownership changes can be a warning signal.

I wouldn't let the dealer off the hook.

[Butter Face]

Granfondo said:

Butter Face said:

whoami said:

Granfondo said:

You never see motor traders advertise cars "one owner car" but you see them put in the advert 6 owners!

"Just 6 previous local owners".

You also see them saying 'brand new tyres' or 'new MOT' rather than '3 bald tyres' or '1 month left on the MOT; probably won't pass', The utter scoundrels.

Someone advertising putting in something they may feel is a selling point to the person who cares about that kind of stuff shocker.

Exactly the point you are arguing against!
They put in the advert things that add value ie "one previous owner"

No, my point is they put it in as it's perceived it adds value, when it doesn't. 4 new tyres may add value to some, but one person may want Continentals, whereas the dealer has put 'tyres' and they're Linglongs, suddenly that 'value' has gone to that buyer. It's all fluff, you buy a car on how you see it. If you're bothered about inconsequential bits like what make tyres it has or how many owners then that's your perogative.

[Jazzer]

The inescapable fact here is that the number of owners does matter to the vast majority of punters.
Imagine a dealer having two identical cars in every way, with the only difference being that say one had one previous owner and the other had four.
Would they be up for the same price?
Would a punter haggle for money off the four-owner one?
The OP's case is simple: the car was misrepresented in a significant way, meaning that he is well within his rights to hand it back and get a full refund.
Top Tip: never do business with liars, just walk straight away.

[BentleyM3]

wilwak said:

I got a price from WBAC thinking my car had one previous owner. When I got my V5 out I found it had had two. Must have been a pre-reg.

I logged back in to WBAC updated the details ... They knocked 8% off the value!!!

I once bought a BMW with 3 previous owners in it first two years. It had only done 4000 miles. The car simply wasn't right. Something very odd about the gearbox/engine. I sold it six months later. Lots of ownership changes can be a warning signal.

I wouldn't let the dealer off the hook.

This is exactly my thought process. I just tried WBAC and was a little gutted to say the least. I tried one owner or four. Difference in price was £6,378. I think the cars going back or I am going to create hell.

[Butter Face]

BentleyM3 said:

This is exactly my thought process. I just tried WBAC and was a little gutted to say the least. I tried one owner or four. Difference in price was £6,378. I think the cars going back or I am going to create hell.

That's just bonkers

It's a strange old world ain't it?

Edited by Butter Face on Sunday 22 November 10:34

[Butter Face]

Jazzer said:

The inescapable fact here is that the number of owners does matter to the vast majority of punters.
Imagine a dealer having two identical cars in every way, with the only difference being that say one had one previous owner and the other had four.
Would they be up for the same price? In my experience, Yes, the motor trade won't down price a car with more owners, why would we? If we can try and sell it for the same as a 1 owner?
Would a punter haggle for money off the four-owner one? They'd haggle for money off either
The OP's case is simple: the car was misrepresented in a significant way, meaning that he is well within his rights to hand it back and get a full refund. I never argued any different, I put in my first post they misrepresented it and that's out of order
Top Tip: never do business with liars, just walk straight away. Sage advice, normally you don't find out someone is a liar until after you've done business though which is a shame

I would advise the OP not to cut off his nose to spite his face, you could be walking away from a nice car for the sake of a bit of money. But it's your call, if you really don't want the car, you need to make that very clear. Don't put any more miles on it, get it back there and be armed with the WBAC info. The WBAC info is just bonkers though, there's no way that more owners makes a car worth £7k less. Any person with an ounce of sense can tell that, but WBAC are chancing it!

[steve2]

Have you got the V5 with the previous owners name and address on it, may be worth trying to contact them to see if they will tell you why they got rid of it

[Sneaky Pete]

One of the criteria for rejecting goods under the new Consumer Rights Regulations 2015 is that the goods are not as described.
Can being described as a 1 owner car instead of a 4 owner car be reasonably thought to be mis-described? I would have thought so.
The new regulations take over in part from the previous "Consumer Protection from Unfair trading" 2008 in which mis-describing goods or witholding information that might materially affect the consumers decision to purchase is an offence.

I would suggest visiting the dealer with an independent witness and have a discussion about it.
There is a 30 day window in which to reject the goods, after the 30 days it gets harder.

[Wills2]

The OP has paid full up money for that car as well, 38k for a 2012 M3, I'd be hopping mad too if the dealer had lied into the bargain.

[Jazzer]

Butter Face said:

Jazzer said:

The inescapable fact here is that the number of owners does matter to the vast majority of punters.
Imagine a dealer having two identical cars in every way, with the only difference being that say one had one previous owner and the other had four.
Would they be up for the same price? In my experience, Yes, the motor trade won't down price a car with more owners, why would we? If we can try and sell it for the same as a 1 owner?
Would a punter haggle for money off the four-owner one? They'd haggle for money off either
The OP's case is simple: the car was misrepresented in a significant way, meaning that he is well within his rights to hand it back and get a full refund. I never argued any different, I put in my first post they misrepresented it and that's out of order
Top Tip: never do business with liars, just walk straight away. Sage advice, normally you don't find out someone is a liar until after you've done business though which is a shame

I would advise the OP not to cut off his nose to spite his face, you could be walking away from a nice car for the sake of a bit of money. But it's your call, if you really don't want the car, you need to make that very clear. Don't put any more miles on it, get it back there and be armed with the WBAC info. The WBAC info is just bonkers though, there's no way that more owners makes a car worth £7k less. Any person with an ounce of sense can tell that, but WBAC are chancing it!

You miss my point Batman, but confirm the trade mind on the matter: the cars may well be advertised at the same price, but the one-owner one would almost certainly go for more.
Why are you being so uptight about this?
The fact is a large number of owners, especially over a short time, while not necessarily meaning that the car is dodgy or less worthy in any way, does put off a significant portion of punters.
Good luck OP.

[nickfrog]

A bit late OP, but why didn't you ask to see the V5 prior to buying ? Basic due diligence I would have thought, particularly when dealing with the trade.

On such a car, the number of owners will have a significant impact on perceived (rightly or wrongly) value of the car, particularly if/when selling privately. Based on my experience anyway.

But on a basic Clio, probably not.