Bought a Cat C car from a garage without knowing
Discussion
Hi all,
As the title says, I bought a car from a garage about a month and half a go and today just found out it was previously involved in an incident of some sorts and is registered as a CAT C car. There was no mention whatsoever of this in the advert and definitely not mentioned in person when viewing the car and purchasing it. I have screenshots of the advert etc.
Also, when I was in the garage I saw a different coloured version of the car I bought and the side had been smashed into and was in a complete state, he mentioned that car was going to be done up and sold on and I thought nothing of it at the time. I have recently seen an advert of said car online with nothing been said about any previous damage been done! This is what lead to me doing the online check etc.
Is this legal to do? And where does it leave me? I feel if buying a car from a garage with a good reputation that has been around for a while I would be told key information like this before even considering buying.
Hope this all makes sense!
Thanks
As the title says, I bought a car from a garage about a month and half a go and today just found out it was previously involved in an incident of some sorts and is registered as a CAT C car. There was no mention whatsoever of this in the advert and definitely not mentioned in person when viewing the car and purchasing it. I have screenshots of the advert etc.
Also, when I was in the garage I saw a different coloured version of the car I bought and the side had been smashed into and was in a complete state, he mentioned that car was going to be done up and sold on and I thought nothing of it at the time. I have recently seen an advert of said car online with nothing been said about any previous damage been done! This is what lead to me doing the online check etc.
Is this legal to do? And where does it leave me? I feel if buying a car from a garage with a good reputation that has been around for a while I would be told key information like this before even considering buying.
Hope this all makes sense!
Thanks
Trevor555 said:
Although good advice I disagree.
If buying from a dealer you should be able to trust them.
Should being the operative word, but let's be realistic: there are lots of untrustworthy car dealers, many of them franchised. If buying from a dealer you should be able to trust them.
Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted, which is good advice when buying any car.
ElectricPics said:
Trevor555 said:
Although good advice I disagree.
If buying from a dealer you should be able to trust them.
Should being the operative word, but let's be realistic: there are lots of untrustworthy car dealers, many of them franchised. If buying from a dealer you should be able to trust them.
Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted, which is good advice when buying any car.
Always worth checking. Easy to do and gives you lots of info, like the number of owners.
mgv8 said:
ElectricPics said:
Trevor555 said:
Although good advice I disagree.
If buying from a dealer you should be able to trust them.
Should being the operative word, but let's be realistic: there are lots of untrustworthy car dealers, many of them franchised. If buying from a dealer you should be able to trust them.
Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted, which is good advice when buying any car.
Always worth checking. Easy to do and gives you lots of info, like the number of owners.
And anyway, it is the dealer's responsibility to know what he is selling - it is a criminal offence to sell a stolen car, for example, so he must have run the standard HPI check.
Yes, the OP should contact the dealer and reject the car on the basis stated, and get trading standards (or whatever they are now called) involved.
But the advice given about doing your own checks before buying is good advice - it is simply so much easier not to buy a wrong-un in the first place than potentially to have to drag the crook, I mean car dealer, through the courts.
I always give the following advice to anyone thinking suing for non payment of a debt - make sure the person you are suing actually has the money to pay you if/when you win. I didn't.........so I got a total of £9 back from the £1180 plus costs that i successfully sued for.
Same applies in this case - it is a lot easier not to have bought the cat C in the first place.
Was the crashed car you saw the same model and colour as yours? If so, it may be it is not a "cat c" it may be a "ringer", ie cat c identity bodged onto a stolen car with no identity. Don't mean to worry you, but if it was the same colour and model, I'd have had alarm bells going off.
Mind you I presume you are ok as you say that crashed one is now for sale, suggesting it does have an identity. Maybe check that one and see if it is a cat c, or if it is clean on HPI, it may be they have swapped the ids?
Whatver, as others say, you are covered, they are deemed "experts" in law, and even if they did not know, if you were not informed, they pretty much have to accept the car back and refund you. If they try to charge you for using it, tell them no, and tell them you will sue them for your costs etc if they f
k you about and the Court WILL refund you in full if it goes that far, unless they can prove they told you.
Mind you I presume you are ok as you say that crashed one is now for sale, suggesting it does have an identity. Maybe check that one and see if it is a cat c, or if it is clean on HPI, it may be they have swapped the ids?
Whatver, as others say, you are covered, they are deemed "experts" in law, and even if they did not know, if you were not informed, they pretty much have to accept the car back and refund you. If they try to charge you for using it, tell them no, and tell them you will sue them for your costs etc if they f
k you about and the Court WILL refund you in full if it goes that far, unless they can prove they told you. mgv8 said:
ElectricPics said:
Trevor555 said:
Although good advice I disagree.
If buying from a dealer you should be able to trust them.
Should being the operative word, but let's be realistic: there are lots of untrustworthy car dealers, many of them franchised. If buying from a dealer you should be able to trust them.
Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted, which is good advice when buying any car.
Always worth checking. Easy to do and gives you lots of info, like the number of owners.
Richard-390a0 said:
The dealer didn't know?. If it's a Cat C/D car it's displayed on the front of the logbook. https://thumbsnap.com/f/GZKFTFIR
Not necessarily, used to be cat C only hence the ref to a VIC check that used to have to be done before putting cat c only back on road, but not needed now. Cat d certainly were never shown on the log book, just cat C. Also, it could be the person pxing it or selling it to the dealer had a log book that pre dated the requirement to show cat c, so it would not show then. BUT it is immaterial as even if he claims not to know, he is deemed to be an expert who would know so OP can get refund.
General comment - all worthwhile dealers HPI check every car they put on their forecourt.
Most I have used have put the printed check results in the file of papers for the car, and are only too happy to show it to you.
After all, a clear check inspires your confidence in the dealer and makes a sale more likely, and not to have done one puts them at risk of you returning the car if there is a problem.
For them, an HPI check is a no brainer, and bought in bulk they are a lot cheaper than the one off fee you or I would pay.
It's also worth you getting a check on any car you buy, in case anything goes wrong later.
Most I have used have put the printed check results in the file of papers for the car, and are only too happy to show it to you.
After all, a clear check inspires your confidence in the dealer and makes a sale more likely, and not to have done one puts them at risk of you returning the car if there is a problem.
For them, an HPI check is a no brainer, and bought in bulk they are a lot cheaper than the one off fee you or I would pay.
It's also worth you getting a check on any car you buy, in case anything goes wrong later.
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