Buyer's rights on trade sale - agreed works to car

[james.a.c.911]

Hello,

I am looking at buying a 10 year old SUV. The seller is a trade which i found on Autotrader. When i visited the car it was at a private address, where the business seems to be registered.

We agreed that as part of the price they would do some work to the paint of the car, including respraying polishing over 1 big scratch. The work will take about 5 days from the day i pay.

So here is my question: assuming the work was not carried out properly, what would be my rights to reject the vehicle, and get a full refund? would this be straightforward or small claims court?

(from companies house it looks like the business was set up in April last year, they have a website with 18 cars for sale on it and 5 reviews on autotrader which are all good 5 * )

Any help would be much appreciated. Would be great to get some comfort i will have strightforward recourse in the case of the work not being good (or them damaging the vehicle or something before delivery) before parting with 10 grand!

[andburg]

driveway trader...he'll likely have a mate do a quick job.

Personally I'd negotiate harder for work to be done before payment or ask for more money off and take the car to painter i trusted and would warranty their work.

[anonymous-user]

Ten thousand pound. Ten year old SUV. driveway dealer.

What could go wrong lol.

Is the car a really good deal op ?

[james.a.c.911]

andburg said:

driveway trader...he'll likely have a mate do a quick job.

Personally I'd negotiate harder for work to be done before payment or ask for more money off and take the car to painter i trusted and would warranty their work.

Thanks - i will try to see if i can find out more about who is doing the work.

I've had them agree by email that if i am not happy i will either get a refund or get them to do the job again (at my option). Would people rely on email for these kind of things?

[talksthetorque]

I would rely on not handing the money over until the work is done.
A bird in the hand etc etc.
Perhaps a refundable deposit is the way to go to limit your liabilities if he wants assurances before spending money
\

[james.a.c.911]

Iwantafusca said:

Ten thousand pound. Ten year old SUV. driveway dealer.

What could go wrong lol.

Is the car a really good deal op ?

haha - well its a 2011 Mercedes ML300, which is in very good condition, pristine inside, service history, just had all fluids changed, new tyres and brake pads, and has low miles (for the age and compared to other MLs for sale in the same price range). So based on other cars i've seen and driven it is a good one.

I got them to agree to refurb the wheels (which in fairness are quite good for the age just not perfect). Body work is in very good condition other than a scratch which runs along the front and rear door on one side. They agreed to repair the scratch (too deep to polish out, so it is a respray) as part of the deal - if they had asked for an extra cost i would probably not have bothered and touched it up myself with a stonechip repair kit. But they are throwing nt the repair in for free.

it also comes with 12 months gold warranty from Warrantywise (which i gather from a quick google is rather rubbish)

And it's a little less than 10 grand - so i think it's a good deal, and my wife likes it which is important as she hates the 911 which we are keeping...

[steveo3002]

good chance it will be the cheapest dregs paintjob he can find , id have tried to knock a bit off so that you can choose where it gets done

[SFTWend]

I'd rather have a scratch than two badly painted doors.

Has to be discount or refundable deposit.

[AnneTeak]

At that sort of price I'd be a bit wary of them doing any work.. Is it much cheaper than a dealer with a premise?

If it is and it seems a genuine car, I'd be just negotiating off the price the cost of the repairs and doing them myself. The chances are they'll take it to the cheapest bodyshop around and in the future you'll see the fruits of their labour. Same goes for the wheel too. Also if you hand over money first and then not happy with the repair they do, it'll be a right pain to get your money back despite what a piece of paper may say otherwise.

[Jamescrs]

Id be negotiating a discount and getting the work done myself if its an issue.

Hes going.to get the cheapest job possible if he doesn't attempt it himself, and realistically you should expect to go to court if you want to pursue it and even then he may disolve the company to avoid liabilities.

[Trevor555]

james.a.c.911 said:

Hello,

I am looking at buying a 10 year old SUV. The seller is a trade which i found on Autotrader. When i visited the car it was at a private address, where the business seems to be registered.

Op, you've met this trader, and visited the house.

What impression did you get?

Was it a nice big house with plenty of land, in a nice area?

Or was it a run down terrace in a crappy area?

Everyone on here is dishing driveway traders.

I can assure you I've met plenty of traders that work from very nice homes and do the job properly.

[Wilmslowboy]

Offer him a couple of hundred deposit, and tell him you will see him in a week after he has had the paint done.

If it's a good job, you proceed with the purchase, if it pants you walk away, (dodging a bullet for the price of £200)

If you fail to turn up, he keeps the deposit (which means he shouldn't be out of pocket for the paint job)



Giving any more at this stage is madness.

[PrinceRupert]

Trevor555 said:

Op, you've met this trader, and visited the house.

What impression did you get?

Was it a nice big house with plenty of land, in a nice area?

Or was it a run down terrace in a crappy area?

Everyone on here is dishing driveway traders.

I can assure you I've met plenty of traders that work from very nice homes and do the job properly.

Are rich people more honest than poor people?

[Trevor555]

PrinceRupert said:

Trevor555 said:

Op, you've met this trader, and visited the house.

What impression did you get?

Was it a nice big house with plenty of land, in a nice area?

Or was it a run down terrace in a crappy area?

Everyone on here is dishing driveway traders.

I can assure you I've met plenty of traders that work from very nice homes and do the job properly.

Are rich people more honest than poor people?

Tell us of your experiences?

You have to treat every seller as an individual, same as the cars.

But it seems everyone on this thread has made up their mind that anyone selling from home won't do the paintwork properly.