Would You Sell A Dangerous Car ?
Discussion
I have just had the brakes "fail" on my TVR.
It turned out they lost servo assistance - I thought that shouldn't matter much but after clamping off the vacc pipe it turns out that even pressing the pedal as hard as I can it takes a while to stop from 10mph without a servo.
Inspecting the vacc pipe to the servo I found that the previous owner had taped it up where it had previously cracked due to age / heat.
I wouldn't dream of driving let alone selling a car that might effectively lose it's brakes especially not a TVR as it's likely to be driven fast and is about as safe as a crisp packet in a crash.
To do so for the cost of a £5 piece of pipe - what a
!
It turned out they lost servo assistance - I thought that shouldn't matter much but after clamping off the vacc pipe it turns out that even pressing the pedal as hard as I can it takes a while to stop from 10mph without a servo.
Inspecting the vacc pipe to the servo I found that the previous owner had taped it up where it had previously cracked due to age / heat.
I wouldn't dream of driving let alone selling a car that might effectively lose it's brakes especially not a TVR as it's likely to be driven fast and is about as safe as a crisp packet in a crash.
To do so for the cost of a £5 piece of pipe - what a
!Most people who sell cars, or at least, those that I've encountered, are, on the whole, dishonest.
My bargain car has turned out to be a moneypit. One of the front tyres had a bump the size of a tennis ball, but obscured somewhat by the fact it was on the underside of the car rather than the outside. Could have been fairly lethal. The other front tyre was falling apart too.
Oh and I'm facing a £1K bill next week. For a Clio!! I'm only doing it because I like the car.
s!
My bargain car has turned out to be a moneypit. One of the front tyres had a bump the size of a tennis ball, but obscured somewhat by the fact it was on the underside of the car rather than the outside. Could have been fairly lethal. The other front tyre was falling apart too.
Oh and I'm facing a £1K bill next week. For a Clio!! I'm only doing it because I like the car.
s!My first car i bought was in perfect nick. Left deposit came back following week. I remember like it was yesterday: 'you want to check the car over before you leave, the tyres or anything?' Well since i inspected it last week i was like narr and drove off. Got home and took it to garage because sterring and brakes felt wierd. 2 bald tyres on the front and the mechanic said i give you half hour before your brakes dont work. fking tt of a dodgey dealer! Cost me 400 to get straight and he risked my life! But these things happen. (It was a private sale although he was dealer, still the car was a bargain 
)
king tt of a dodgey dealer! Cost me 400 to get straight and he risked my life! But these things happen. (It was a private sale although he was dealer, still the car was a bargain )I bought a BMW a couple of weeks ago that, for a number of reasons, I didn't realise had a catastrophic fuel leak at the rear.
The bloke let me try and drive it 270 miles down the motorway from prestatyn to Swansea without telling me about it. "Interesting drive" doesn't quite cover the trip back.
bd.
The bloke let me try and drive it 270 miles down the motorway from prestatyn to Swansea without telling me about it. "Interesting drive" doesn't quite cover the trip back.
b
d.TameRacingDriver said:
Most people who sell cars, or at least, those that I've encountered, are, on the whole, dishonest.
My bargain car has turned out to be a moneypit. One of the front tyres had a bump the size of a tennis ball, but obscured somewhat by the fact it was on the underside of the car rather than the outside. Could have been fairly lethal. The other front tyre was falling apart too.
Oh and I'm facing a £1K bill next week. For a Clio!! I'm only doing it because I like the car.
s!
To be fair its very much buyer beware, If you don't want to be in that scenario, go to a dealer.My bargain car has turned out to be a moneypit. One of the front tyres had a bump the size of a tennis ball, but obscured somewhat by the fact it was on the underside of the car rather than the outside. Could have been fairly lethal. The other front tyre was falling apart too.
Oh and I'm facing a £1K bill next week. For a Clio!! I'm only doing it because I like the car.
s!Dangerous how?
Illegal tyres?
Ruined brakes
No lights?
Or do you mean accident damaged not fixed properly?
End of the day with everything it's buyer beware. If you honestly think all buyers sell safe cars your very naive. Eyes wide open.
It is also the drivers responsibility to ensure tyres lights are working and safe. As for dodgy brakes on the test drive if they cannot detect they are fubar then more fool them.
That said any car I sell is a car I use all the time and I maintain them to a very high standard
Illegal tyres?
Ruined brakes
No lights?
Or do you mean accident damaged not fixed properly?
End of the day with everything it's buyer beware. If you honestly think all buyers sell safe cars your very naive. Eyes wide open.
It is also the drivers responsibility to ensure tyres lights are working and safe. As for dodgy brakes on the test drive if they cannot detect they are fubar then more fool them.
That said any car I sell is a car I use all the time and I maintain them to a very high standard
Intermittent ABS fault? Check. Cracked tyres? Check. And the rest...jamoor said:
TameRacingDriver said:
Most people who sell cars, or at least, those that I've encountered, are, on the whole, dishonest.
My bargain car has turned out to be a moneypit. One of the front tyres had a bump the size of a tennis ball, but obscured somewhat by the fact it was on the underside of the car rather than the outside. Could have been fairly lethal. The other front tyre was falling apart too.
Oh and I'm facing a £1K bill next week. For a Clio!! I'm only doing it because I like the car.
s!
To be fair its very much buyer beware, If you don't want to be in that scenario, go to a dealer.My bargain car has turned out to be a moneypit. One of the front tyres had a bump the size of a tennis ball, but obscured somewhat by the fact it was on the underside of the car rather than the outside. Could have been fairly lethal. The other front tyre was falling apart too.
Oh and I'm facing a £1K bill next week. For a Clio!! I'm only doing it because I like the car.
s!I pretty much fit both descriptions. I can just about absorb the cost of this, but it was a fine line.
Depends I mean I'm selling this which is a car that will frequently attempt to kill you.....and it has a vicious otter in the boot
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Caveat emptor if you ask me
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Caveat emptor if you ask me
TameRacingDriver said:
You're right. But to be fair, not everyone can afford a car from a dealer, or doesn't want to get into debt for a car.
I pretty much fit both descriptions. I can just about absorb the cost of this, but it was a fine line.
I have seen plenty being shifted from Dealers being lethal!!I pretty much fit both descriptions. I can just about absorb the cost of this, but it was a fine line.
Conversely from memory in all my used car viewing from joe blogs only two did I refuse to take it for a test drive for safety reasons
Welshbeef said:
I have seen plenty being shifted from Dealers being lethal!!
Conversely from memory in all my used car viewing from joe blogs only two did I refuse to take it for a test drive for safety reasons
Funnily enough, my previous car, a Mk1 MX5, bought from a dealer, was constructed almost entirely of self expanding foam, a fact I learned once I put it forth for its MOT. Despite it looking quite tidy from the outside (even the MX5 specialist who found this out said so).Conversely from memory in all my used car viewing from joe blogs only two did I refuse to take it for a test drive for safety reasons
I am either really unlucky, suck at buying cars, or both.
Ozzie Osmond said:
smiffy180 said:
It was a private sale although he was dealer....
That is simply not possible my friend, not possible. Either he's a dealer or he isn't. And if he is, you've got statutory protection against being sold a heap of garbage.Easy things safety for any buyer to check
1. All seatbelts click and are secure and that they lock on sudden acceleration ie they lock on the recoil. A hard pull checks this
2. Lights turn them on walk round the car a 1 minute check
3. Flat tyres visual check can identify under inflated tyres
4. Turn the steering wheel full lock and look at the tyres you can check tyre condistion on outside wall easily all round and reasonably easy with front tyres when on full lock (take a torch get on your knees and look under the car at the rears one side to the other 5min job.
5. Generally only old tyres have cracks and buldges so check when they were changed
6. Does the car hold its own weight on the handbrake on a hill?
7. Emergency stop does it stop does the abs kick in does it stop straight does the pedal hit the floor
8. On braking gentle pressure can you feel a running on the pedal and steering wheel if so warped discs
9. Invoice when brake fluid was last changed.
Frankly it is hard for someone to buy a dangerous car the above questions answer most.
Clearly the most important thing is tyres then seat belts then brakes everything else isn't dangerous as such but these three are potential killers.
To me anyone selling a car with shot tyres has to highlight that to a buyer - and by this I mean tread depth I assume no same person drives a car with cracked or bulged tyres.
And the brakes... Got to ask what sane person would not have tip top brakes? Crazy not to. I know the song who wants to live forever is rather good but trying to save a few £ on pushing more miles or years out of discs pads brake fluid is. Dry foolish.
I'd rather tougher MOT rules and as I've always said when I buy a car I demand an MOT as part of the sale. Always a full MOT. If the seller has confidence in the car they will do it else there are plenty of other cars out there.
I once bought a car which still had 8 months MOT remaining but demanded new MOT. Why? I want 3rd party proof the car is road worthy and also I don't want the hassle of sorting out an MOT for 12 months.
1. All seatbelts click and are secure and that they lock on sudden acceleration ie they lock on the recoil. A hard pull checks this
2. Lights turn them on walk round the car a 1 minute check
3. Flat tyres visual check can identify under inflated tyres
4. Turn the steering wheel full lock and look at the tyres you can check tyre condistion on outside wall easily all round and reasonably easy with front tyres when on full lock (take a torch get on your knees and look under the car at the rears one side to the other 5min job.
5. Generally only old tyres have cracks and buldges so check when they were changed
6. Does the car hold its own weight on the handbrake on a hill?
7. Emergency stop does it stop does the abs kick in does it stop straight does the pedal hit the floor
8. On braking gentle pressure can you feel a running on the pedal and steering wheel if so warped discs
9. Invoice when brake fluid was last changed.
Frankly it is hard for someone to buy a dangerous car the above questions answer most.
Clearly the most important thing is tyres then seat belts then brakes everything else isn't dangerous as such but these three are potential killers.
To me anyone selling a car with shot tyres has to highlight that to a buyer - and by this I mean tread depth I assume no same person drives a car with cracked or bulged tyres.
And the brakes... Got to ask what sane person would not have tip top brakes? Crazy not to. I know the song who wants to live forever is rather good but trying to save a few £ on pushing more miles or years out of discs pads brake fluid is. Dry foolish.
I'd rather tougher MOT rules and as I've always said when I buy a car I demand an MOT as part of the sale. Always a full MOT. If the seller has confidence in the car they will do it else there are plenty of other cars out there.
I once bought a car which still had 8 months MOT remaining but demanded new MOT. Why? I want 3rd party proof the car is road worthy and also I don't want the hassle of sorting out an MOT for 12 months.
I found I had a cut and shut after tinkering with the s14a, I was pretty annoyed. Wouldn't sell it on due to being so dodge so decided to fix it. 6 years later I'm still rebuilding the thing!
But tbh I think I only bought one car which didn't need some sort of work, being welding or brake replacement. Low and behold the new one was the one which was theworst one for reliability. Would never sell any thing on with issues though!
But tbh I think I only bought one car which didn't need some sort of work, being welding or brake replacement. Low and behold the new one was the one which was theworst one for reliability. Would never sell any thing on with issues though!
Edited by motorbreath on Wednesday 20th June 22:50
motorbreath said:
I found I had a cut and shut after tinkering with the s14a, I was pretty annoyed. Wouldn't sell it on due to being so dodge so decided to fix it. 6 years later I'm still rebuilding the thing!
But tbh I think I only bought one car which didn't need some sort of work, being welding or brake replacement. Low and behold the new one was the one which was theworst one for reliability. Would never sell any thing on with issues though!
You bought a cut and shut which took you six years to fix. What did you use for transportation in that time. I really hope you didn't use the cut and shut madness could have killed you. But tbh I think I only bought one car which didn't need some sort of work, being welding or brake replacement. Low and behold the new one was the one which was theworst one for reliability. Would never sell any thing on with issues though!
Edited by motorbreath on Wednesday 20th June 22:50
Also I'm guessing it did pass 6 MOTs?
Lastly two cars welded together cut and shut need not be dangerous sure the cowboys ones are as need to be take to the police and trading standards but the ones done properly are just as rigid as a non cut and shut. Though clearly youd be buying the thing at so much less than a non repaired one which would make up for that.
If you have bought two cars which have turned out to be shocking use the AA or similar to come with you to check out the car it costs £200 or so but if anything does go wrong then the AA pay for it. And as you have said you have bought two dogs not having a dig but maybe your crap at mechanical engineering and the excitement of a new car blurs its issues so £200 is money well spent
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