Private car sale during Covid?
Discussion
Pothole said:
Which appears to be possible, by all accounts.
Sure.Doesn't mean it's enforceable though.
I bought a car privately in January. Social distancing was maintained.
Buying a car is not an unreasonable thing to do.
The lockdown rules are not new. If the government's intention was to stop private car sales they could have done it. If they wanted to stop ebay / gumtree facebook marketplace selling cars or anything else via collections they could have done it. If they wanted to make auto-trader etc trade-only they could have. They haven't because it would have been nuts - aka politically unacceptable.
Pothole said:
monthou said:
Covid legislation?
Covid legislation does not cover running a car sales business from your house. It does, however, cover reasonable excuses for being away from home, although not exhaustively. Buying and selling cars is not mentioned.No wait, I'm not.
monthou said:
Covid legislation?
If you think there's a legal issue with private sales under covid legislation then why not just say so. And what you think it is.
Dealers are covered under the click and collect provisions provided by the legislation. Private car sales may or may not be legal depending on whether a court decides if travelling to buy a car privately is a valid reasonable excuse. If you think there's a legal issue with private sales under covid legislation then why not just say so. And what you think it is.
plasticpig said:
Dealers are covered under the click and collect provisions provided by the legislation. Private car sales may or may not be legal depending on whether a court decides if travelling to buy a car privately is a valid reasonable excuse.
Sure.And I'll go with Breadvan's take on what 'reasonable' means in law.
It will almost certainly never be tested in court.
How can it be unreasonable to buy a car if you need one?
monthou said:
Sure.
And I'll go with Breadvan's take on what 'reasonable' means in law.
It will almost certainly never be tested in court.
How can it be unreasonable to buy a car if you need one?
I have 3 cars already. Is it a reasonable excuse for me to go and buy a fourth one when 2 of my cars are perfectly serviceable? (other one is SORN). And I'll go with Breadvan's take on what 'reasonable' means in law.
It will almost certainly never be tested in court.
How can it be unreasonable to buy a car if you need one?
plasticpig said:
I have 3 cars already. Is it a reasonable excuse for me to go and buy a fourth one when 2 of my cars are perfectly serviceable? (other one is SORN).
Do you need someone to hold your hand?Or are you just looking to argue?
Do you think the government are unaware that people are selling stuff privately for collection via ebay, facebook, autotrader and a host of other places?
monthou said:
Do you need someone to hold your hand?
Or are you just looking to argue?
Do you think the government are unaware that people are selling stuff privately for collection via ebay, facebook, autotrader and a host of other places?
I am just pointing out that reasonable excuse is dependent on the circumstances. I wouldn’t consider the circumstances I mentioned reasonable so I wouldn’t travel to go and buy another car. Or are you just looking to argue?
Do you think the government are unaware that people are selling stuff privately for collection via ebay, facebook, autotrader and a host of other places?
plasticpig said:
I am just pointing out that reasonable excuse is dependent on the circumstances. I wouldn’t consider the circumstances I mentioned reasonable so I wouldn’t travel to go and buy another car.
That would be your choice, but normal folk would crack on and buy or sell using common sense when it came to the transaction.Me and the Mrs got the kids looked after today to go pick up our new car.
Leeds to Peterborough on a brand spanking new azuma train. It was great, beautiful weather, carriage to ourselves, hurtling along at 125mph. It was great to just get out somewhere.
As I understand it, buying a car is absolutely not illegal, dealers are operating under the law with click and collect. I clicked and collected. Nice day out.
I also sold and bought a car privately in lockdown 1. I'd do it again.
Leeds to Peterborough on a brand spanking new azuma train. It was great, beautiful weather, carriage to ourselves, hurtling along at 125mph. It was great to just get out somewhere.
As I understand it, buying a car is absolutely not illegal, dealers are operating under the law with click and collect. I clicked and collected. Nice day out.
I also sold and bought a car privately in lockdown 1. I'd do it again.
Edited by dave_s13 on Saturday 27th February 22:59
Pothole said:
Covid legislation does not cover running a car sales business from your house. It does, however, cover reasonable excuses for being away from home, although not exhaustively. Buying and selling cars is not mentioned.
The dealer analogy falls flat because dealers are not encouraging customers to visit forecourts. Unless the OP is going to offer video walkarounds and contactless delivery, he's not going to be acting like dealers are acting.
Encouraging others to travel unnecessarily is a bit irresponsible, too.
Still. He can do what he likes. He should not be surprised, however, when he is issued a FPN.
We get it, you wouldn’t do it because there isn’t a specific statement from the government giving you a very clear and concise instruction. We were all given our own minds. I would be arguing all the way to court if I was fined for collecting a used car purchase from a private individual, when the law explicitly states that I could do exactly that if I was buying from a dealership.The dealer analogy falls flat because dealers are not encouraging customers to visit forecourts. Unless the OP is going to offer video walkarounds and contactless delivery, he's not going to be acting like dealers are acting.
Encouraging others to travel unnecessarily is a bit irresponsible, too.
Still. He can do what he likes. He should not be surprised, however, when he is issued a FPN.
On another note, anybody who thinks that dealerships are not actively encouraging customers to the site, or that delivery is “contactless”, is totally mistaken. This is the motor trade, the rules will be stretched to the nth degree, there is nothing surer!
plasticpig said:
I never suggested they were. I was just suggesting circumstances where a court might find that it wasn’t reasonable for someone to travel to buy a car.
Short of you making a statement to the effect that you had no need of another car, that you already owned three of which two were running perfectly and that you thought you were being unreasonable it's hard to see a prosecution taking place. Of course given your attitude you'd presumably be paying the fixed penalty, so still no court.I own two perfectly serviceable bicycles. I'm hoping to pick up a third tomorrow. I'll be driving 5 or so miles, chucking it in the back of my car and driving home. If stopped - which I don't expect - I'll explain that I've bought a bicycle to commute to work. I won't try to paint the worst possible picture, but I have no need to lie.
Pothole said:
Absolutely
I live 200 yards from a police station. I've travelled to and from work 5 or 6 days every week throughout the pandemic, never been stopped. I'd expect most coppers have enough to do without stopping motorists at random, so as long as I'm driving / riding sensibly and my car / bike's legal they'll leave me alone. There are always a few enthusiasts in every line of work, they're the ones that make headlines.
monthou said:
Pothole said:
Absolutely
I live 200 yards from a police station. I've travelled to and from work 5 or 6 days every week throughout the pandemic, never been stopped. I'd expect most coppers have enough to do without stopping motorists at random, so as long as I'm driving / riding sensibly and my car / bike's legal they'll leave me alone. There are always a few enthusiasts in every line of work, they're the ones that make headlines.Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff