Sold car, buyer wants money back. Advice please.
Discussion
Risotto said:
To put things in perspective, I've sold about a dozen cars privately over the years and, aside from some dubious antics on a couple of test drives, I've never had a problem with any of the buyers who were almost universally decent people.
I've sold 3, all went well. Though if the first bloke had called me wanting a refund I'd have given it no questions, I miss that car. As much as I agree with the 'go shove it' response, it might want to look into the 'unroadworthy' bit.
Many years ago before internet experts, I sold a Golf without MoT, the buyer had great plans to do up what was a cheap car. Upon taking it to his local VW specialist who thoroughly went through it, the cost of paying someone else to get it through the MoT was more than expected.
He came back with the 'it's illegal to sell a vehicle which is unroadworthy', I took advice at the time and it was confirmed the buyer was right - despite the car having no MoT.
I refunded the chap & later sold the car 'as spares' to another person who did it up himself.
I may be wrong but it'll be worth taking advice if they are using the unroadworthy angle, no doubt their mechanic can find something 'unroadworthy' on a £1000 car.
Many years ago before internet experts, I sold a Golf without MoT, the buyer had great plans to do up what was a cheap car. Upon taking it to his local VW specialist who thoroughly went through it, the cost of paying someone else to get it through the MoT was more than expected.
He came back with the 'it's illegal to sell a vehicle which is unroadworthy', I took advice at the time and it was confirmed the buyer was right - despite the car having no MoT.
I refunded the chap & later sold the car 'as spares' to another person who did it up himself.
I may be wrong but it'll be worth taking advice if they are using the unroadworthy angle, no doubt their mechanic can find something 'unroadworthy' on a £1000 car.
Edited by graham22 on Wednesday 12th October 09:57
This might be a naive question;
Are there any examples where a buyer has any legal comeback on a private sale?
What about if you bought a 2L Astra only to find it was a rebadged 1.6L?
If the gearbox was filled with sawdust?
Or, something extreme, like the MOT document being fake or the Catalytic converted being removed?
Are there any examples where a buyer has any legal comeback on a private sale?
What about if you bought a 2L Astra only to find it was a rebadged 1.6L?
If the gearbox was filled with sawdust?
Or, something extreme, like the MOT document being fake or the Catalytic converted being removed?
graham22 said:
As much as I agree with the 'go shove it' response, it might want to look into the 'unroadworthy' bit.
Many years ago before internet experts, I sold a Golf without MoT, the buyer had great plans to do up what was a cheap car. Upon taking it to his local VW specialist who thoroughly went through it, the cost of paying someone else to get it through the MoT was more than expected.
He came back with the 'it's illegal to sell a vehicle which is unroadworthy', I took adviceat the time and it was confirmed the buyer was right - despite the car having no MoT.
I refunded the chap & later sold the car as spares to anothre person who did it up himself.
I may be wrong but it'll be worth taking advice if they are using the unroadworthy angle, no doubt their mechanic can find something 'unroadworthy' on a £1000 car.
Thanks for the advice. The car was MOT'd and tax'd, plenty of tyre tread all round, etc...the timing belt is routine maintenance, and when the head gasket will blow is anybody's guess. If the car had wobbly wheels, bits falling off and plumes of smoke leaving the exhaust I might have reconsidered.Many years ago before internet experts, I sold a Golf without MoT, the buyer had great plans to do up what was a cheap car. Upon taking it to his local VW specialist who thoroughly went through it, the cost of paying someone else to get it through the MoT was more than expected.
He came back with the 'it's illegal to sell a vehicle which is unroadworthy', I took adviceat the time and it was confirmed the buyer was right - despite the car having no MoT.
I refunded the chap & later sold the car as spares to anothre person who did it up himself.
I may be wrong but it'll be worth taking advice if they are using the unroadworthy angle, no doubt their mechanic can find something 'unroadworthy' on a £1000 car.
RevNuts said:
Thanks for the advice. The car was MOT'd and tax'd, plenty of tyre tread all round, etc...the timing belt is routine maintenance, and when the head gasket will blow is anybody's guess. If the car had wobbly wheels, bits falling off and plumes of smoke leaving the exhaust I might have reconsidered.
The head gasket could've gone because the moron driving it didn't check the coolant level ;-)Cambelt (and water pump n a lot of cases) tbh is one of those things that should be changed as a matter of course, depends on a £1000 car whether it's worth it or not and leaving it in the lap of the Gods. Headgasket would normally have some tell tale signs that it's going/gone, power down, water use, smoke, oil use...you'd normally be able to spot it without a mechanic if you know what you're looking for
I guess the more you entertain it the more they'll make out it's the worst thing in the world and you're a b
d til they get some money off you
I guess the more you entertain it the more they'll make out it's the worst thing in the world and you're a b
d til they get some money off youSnowboy said:
This might be a naive question;
Are there any examples where a buyer has any legal comeback on a private sale?
What about if you bought a 2L Astra only to find it was a rebadged 1.6L?
If the gearbox was filled with sawdust?
Or, something extreme, like the MOT document being fake or the Catalytic converted being removed?
Comeback would be if the car is Misrepresented. And the seller knows it. But not easy.Are there any examples where a buyer has any legal comeback on a private sale?
What about if you bought a 2L Astra only to find it was a rebadged 1.6L?
If the gearbox was filled with sawdust?
Or, something extreme, like the MOT document being fake or the Catalytic converted being removed?
Classic Grad 98 said:
The head gasket could've gone because the moron driving it didn't check the coolant level ;-)
Doesn't matter. Caveat Emptor = let the buyer beware. Unless the seller said "This head gasket will not let you down"..... And even then that could be taken as mere sales puff......
And for the avoidance of doubt, you DO NOT NEED to put Sold as Seen or Caveat Emptor on a private sale, it makes no difference whatsoever as it is implied by the courts.
Apart from the obvious fact that they are clearly taking the piss.......did you record the mileage when sold ?
It would be interesting to see just how many miles they've put on the car since the sale, perfectly happy to drive around in a car they consider to be 'unroadworthy'.
Just a thought.
It would be interesting to see just how many miles they've put on the car since the sale, perfectly happy to drive around in a car they consider to be 'unroadworthy'.
Just a thought.
RevNuts said:
I told her: "there was plenty of time for inspection, the car was moving, it was a private sale and sold as seen."
She said: "nowhere was it mentioned, sold as seen."
Did you mention warranty? No? She said: "nowhere was it mentioned, sold as seen."
Tough titties!
I know the second hand car values are down but £1,000? It still won't get a newish car needing nothing til it's first MOT will it?
DanielJames said:
What car was it?
It was a Ford Fiesta Finesse. Served as a nice little run around by my reckoning.DanielJames said:
Just tell them as nicely as possible to get bent
Tried telling them as diplomatically as possible that nothing more can be done, without being impolite of course, but someone has seen red (must be the flaming red coloured car.)Edited by RevNuts on Wednesday 12th October 12:53
Jasandjules said:
Classic Grad 98 said:
The head gasket could've gone because the moron driving it didn't check the coolant level ;-)
Doesn't matter. Caveat Emptor = let the buyer beware. Unless the seller said "This head gasket will not let you down"..... And even then that could be taken as mere sales puff......
And for the avoidance of doubt, you DO NOT NEED to put Sold as Seen or Caveat Emptor on a private sale, it makes no difference whatsoever as it is implied by the courts.
Risotto said:
james_tigerwoods said:
SMcP114 said:
I've been ignoring him and also having a good laugh at his expense. He's now decided to post on a local forum saying I approached his mechanic with £500 in cash not to tell him how bad the car really was. Despite not even knowing who his mechanic is. Although it was funny while it lasted, my patience with him is really wearing thin.
That's slander. Isn't it?Damn, now I've got that Simon & Garfunkel tune going round my head...'I get slandered. Libeled, I hear words I never heard in the Bible...'
Fastra said:
Had he come to you with "Sorry mate, but the car's just thrown up a couple of repairs, is there any way you can help me out" then I daresay you would have considered it, but given his first broadside then there's only one response...
Kiss my feckin arse...!
Wjhy would you want to help out? He probably sold the feckin thing to avoid having to spend money doing repairs on an old car. Why sell it, then blow the proceeds on fixing a bKiss my feckin arse...!
ding car you no longer get any benefit from?People buy secondhand cars from private individuals knowing they are more likely to go wrong than a new one and that there is no warranty. If they buy them without knowing or expecting this they are an eejit and deserve what they get.
RevNuts said:
Big Rod said:
So what did you say to her and what was her response?
I told her: "there was plenty of time for inspection, the car was moving, it was a private sale and sold as seen."She said: "nowhere was it mentioned, sold as seen."
I finished by saying: "there's nothing more I can do."
She'll probably get the dog to ring and start barking down the phone next.
I feel sorry for the lad because the same has happened to me in the past, but I genuinely had no knowledge of these alleged problems before the car was sold.
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