Liability of traded in car... Mine or Garage
Discussion
Their responsibility. A few years back BMW dealer next door offered us an A4 Quattro avant they'd taken in p/ex. I'd sold the A4 originally and it wasn't a Quattro.... 
The owner had put the badges on himself. They swallowed it, no question of going back to original owner for difference.
The owner had put the badges on himself. They swallowed it, no question of going back to original owner for difference. matc said:
I wonder what the response to this thread would be if it were the other way round; if the car they sold you wasn't road legal I'm not too sure you'd be too pleased at a response of 'oh well, you should have asked if it had a cat!'.
Always the fault of the dealer isn't it!!
Well bearing in mind i just paid £18k for a car, they werent willing to have the wheel alignment done prior to collection (a £20 job) even though i asked 3 times for it doing and the rear bushes are squeeking and ive had a quote for £30 to fix them and they wont cover that either 10 days after buying it, why in gods name should i make a 40 mile trip taking them a cat back (if they had been fine i'd quite happily take it over, but they havent) - and yes, in my own experience (4 different dealerships in 5 years) they are all brilliant when you're buying, and absolutely crap thereafter.Always the fault of the dealer isn't it!!
matc said:
I wonder what the response to this thread would be if it were the other way round; if the car they sold you wasn't road legal I'm not too sure you'd be too pleased at a response of 'oh well, you should have asked if it had a cat!'.
Always the fault of the dealer isn't it!!
I've never traded a car in that's not been knackered. Last one had a broken turbo, 4 bald tyres, air con didn't work, ABS fault. The dealer had every opportunity to test the car, or even just ask! But they chose not to and offered me a very healthy trade in figure without looking at the car. Up to them. Always the fault of the dealer isn't it!!
Your old car presumably had a cat when it last passed its MOT.
When and why did you remove the cat?
Do you still have the cat?
If not can you show when and how you disposed of the cat?
They can argue you removed the cat fraudulently if they want to.
More likely they will just tell you to go and whistle if you ever have any problems with your new car. They will argue they have a counterclaim for the cost of the missing cat and getting it fitted.
When and why did you remove the cat?
Do you still have the cat?
If not can you show when and how you disposed of the cat?
They can argue you removed the cat fraudulently if they want to.
More likely they will just tell you to go and whistle if you ever have any problems with your new car. They will argue they have a counterclaim for the cost of the missing cat and getting it fitted.
matc said:
I wonder what the response to this thread would be if it were the other way round; if the car they sold you wasn't road legal I'm not too sure you'd be too pleased at a response of 'oh well, you should have asked if it had a cat!'.
Always the fault of the dealer isn't it!!
When you trade a car in, you are not offering anything, its up to them to look at the car. Always the fault of the dealer isn't it!!
When you buy a car, it comes with a warranty and they are offering the car as something.
Edited by illmonkey on Wednesday 20th February 09:49
Do you still actually have the cat?
If so, I would give it to them. Irrespective of the legalities, it could pose an issue should you need to be in contact with the garage with any problems with the car you have bought from them. If they see you as "not playing ball" then they will return the sentiment.....
Of course, if you don't have the cat, there's not much you can do to help them. Just tell them you don't have the cat and leave it at that (I would think you would have it for when you had previously MOT'd the car to get it through?)
If so, I would give it to them. Irrespective of the legalities, it could pose an issue should you need to be in contact with the garage with any problems with the car you have bought from them. If they see you as "not playing ball" then they will return the sentiment.....
Of course, if you don't have the cat, there's not much you can do to help them. Just tell them you don't have the cat and leave it at that (I would think you would have it for when you had previously MOT'd the car to get it through?)
Edited by Dracoro on Wednesday 20th February 09:47
I'd be cautious.
What did they ask you when you traded it in? There is a small risk they will chase you for misrepresenting the sale - county court for a few hundred. Given how little it costs to file a CC claim, they may well do it.
Up to you. Judges can be fickle beasts, though I think the odds are in your favour as the garage should be viewed as the expert in the transaction and it's unlikely they can prove you decatted it to misrepresent the sale?
What happened to the cat? I'm assuming you had it for the previous MOT?
What did they ask you when you traded it in? There is a small risk they will chase you for misrepresenting the sale - county court for a few hundred. Given how little it costs to file a CC claim, they may well do it.
Up to you. Judges can be fickle beasts, though I think the odds are in your favour as the garage should be viewed as the expert in the transaction and it's unlikely they can prove you decatted it to misrepresent the sale?
What happened to the cat? I'm assuming you had it for the previous MOT?
I think i should clear this up.
I bought the BMW from them for £18k. I asked for the wheel alignment doing prior to collection as the wheel was well off on the test drive, 3 times i asked for this doing and was told it would be done, upon collection i found it hadnt been done and was told "the guy at the service center didnt think it needed doing"....
Anyway, 1 week after collection bushes started REALLY squeeking, i got a quote of £30 for them removing and greasing and sorting out, i contacted the garage who did not want to know, 4 emails no response, it took threats of action to actually get them to even respond to my phone calls and emails/letters basically saying they wont help. (This is a £30 job after just spending £18 grand!)
Anyway, then i get an email out of the blue saying they want the cat back. Now if they had said "sure, we'll cover the £30 cost" fair enough, i would have been happy and the cat would be with them, but why the hell should i be the one making a 40 mile journey to essentially help them out, which is what it would be doing with no legal requirement to do so, when they are being such tits with me!?
I bought the BMW from them for £18k. I asked for the wheel alignment doing prior to collection as the wheel was well off on the test drive, 3 times i asked for this doing and was told it would be done, upon collection i found it hadnt been done and was told "the guy at the service center didnt think it needed doing"....
Anyway, 1 week after collection bushes started REALLY squeeking, i got a quote of £30 for them removing and greasing and sorting out, i contacted the garage who did not want to know, 4 emails no response, it took threats of action to actually get them to even respond to my phone calls and emails/letters basically saying they wont help. (This is a £30 job after just spending £18 grand!)
Anyway, then i get an email out of the blue saying they want the cat back. Now if they had said "sure, we'll cover the £30 cost" fair enough, i would have been happy and the cat would be with them, but why the hell should i be the one making a 40 mile journey to essentially help them out, which is what it would be doing with no legal requirement to do so, when they are being such tits with me!?
mestonian said:
matc said:
I wonder what the response to this thread would be if it were the other way round; if the car they sold you wasn't road legal I'm not too sure you'd be too pleased at a response of 'oh well, you should have asked if it had a cat!'.
Always the fault of the dealer isn't it!!
Well bearing in mind i just paid £18k for a car, they werent willing to have the wheel alignment done prior to collection (a £20 job) even though i asked 3 times for it doing and the rear bushes are squeeking and ive had a quote for £30 to fix them and they wont cover that either 10 days after buying it, why in gods name should i make a 40 mile trip taking them a cat back (if they had been fine i'd quite happily take it over, but they havent) - and yes, in my own experience (4 different dealerships in 5 years) they are all brilliant when you're buying, and absolutely crap thereafter.Always the fault of the dealer isn't it!!
ked them over. It is completely reasonable of them to assume that a car with a current MOT they've taken in from a customer is fitted with the cat it was built with.
Presumably you didn't try to look like a crook when you did the deal, so that wouldn't have given them a clue.
Pretty shameful behaviour.
Ozzie Osmond said:
It occurs to me that you were probably in breach of your finance agreement by removing the cat. If (a big if?) the dealer got you to sign something saying you had complied with the finance agreement it sounds as though you're on the hook.
While I think Ozzie's previous comment about 'fraudulently removing the cat' is a load of cobblers I think he has a point on this one. It would be interesting to see what the terms of the finance agreement were. Did you have carte blanche to do whatever you wanted with the car or was there some requirement to keep it standard and (technically) roadworthy?It sounds like you still have the cat. Can't see why you didn't just give it to them at the time, unless you plan to weigh it in or something. Is it really worth the agro of posting this up, waiting to see if they try any further action, dealing with that, etc etc rather than just saying "yes, the cat is here at my home, you're welcome to pick it up at a mutually-convenient time".
Or is that simply being too civilised and not PH-stroppy enough?
Or is that simply being too civilised and not PH-stroppy enough?
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