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petethemeat

iTrader: (6)

I hope you get it sorted, it's a terrible situation to be in - I hope your solicitor can sort this mess out

53

iTrader: (41)

The engine number also needs to be registered with the DVLA

carlosWRX

s13silvia, I hope you can get your money back. This car could be dodgy as hell. Have you got it HPI checked?
If i were you i'd do everything you can to get the garage to take it back, give you a refund and hopefully push for some compensation. Citizens Advice Bureau and Trading Standards can be helpful, but slow to act in my experience.

Good luck

carlosWRX

just checked and HPI reports do have engine numbers on them, as well as bore & stroke details, bhp output etc.
But they only provide insurance for false information recorded if you (and only you, the buyer) did a HPI before buying the car.

The Welshman

I know you said that you like the car mate... but you would like the car it should be even more...

Do yourself a favour and give it back to him. There are lots of other cars out there for sale.. you don't need to put up with a dealers nonsense to get yourself a great car mate.

Anyway whatever you decide to do, i wish you luck with it.

Cheers...

Davey96wrx

iTrader: (1)

This is a horrible thing to happen, platinumimports seem to be very shady in their dealings with you, somebody that specialises in these cars will know their onions, it's their business after all.

Take them to the cleaners!

Dave

pete wr1 290

sorry to read about your problem,if it helps i bought a car last year and it had a few issues to say the least mainly mechanical.i went down the road you have by
being nice and wanting a refund or a put right,and i got told the same as you did.what i did and i would recomend is write to him saying you are taking him to court, so you have warned him and include ITS NOT FIT FOR THE PURPOSE IT WAS PURCHASED FOR, this changes everything post it so he has to sign for it.Then get a engineers report done its about £50 to prove its a wrx engine and not anything else,apply for the court papers fill them in and post them off but get the engineers report done first as this gives you good clowt in court and will prove to the seller you mean business, send him a copy of the report, if he still doesnt bite and this goes to court you will get this money and your costs back, remember the golden word is NOT FIT FOR THE PURPOSE BOUGHT,AND FALSE ADVERTISING, dig in and dont give up if you need any more detail please message me,good luck Bud.

spares-for-you

This is platinum imports from leeds..

In response to s13sylivia’s post I would like to reply to set the record straight as there are always 2 sides to every story.

When the buyer came to view the car a thorough inspection in broad daylight was carried out and the car was taken for a test drive to ensure the buyer was happy with the vehicle. The buyer agreed that he was very happy with the vehicle and signed a document that the car would be “sold as seen.” I also advised him if he did incur any problems with this vehicle or any other vehicle I would be happy to help and provide him with the parts at a very reasonable price as he seemed to be a nice guy. The buyer and his friend both were in the vehicle and the buyer drove it, he was happy with car and it ran smoothly. Therefore “I was in the middle of Leeds and couldn’t give it any past 2nd gear” really means nothing at all as everyone could say this about every single car they have bought as they were in the ‘middle’ of another city! That is no excuse at all as the buyer drove it all the way back to his home town which is approx 600 miles away (buyer states this in his own post)! When the buyer got home I received a text to say he was very happy with the vehicle and a day later I received a text to say everything matches up fine engine gearbox codes. However the buyer states that there is a lack of power, surely this would have been identified in a 600 mile journey?

Also on the day the buyer had problems with the vehicle that he came in with his partner and friends. As he had a long way to travel I didn’t want him to break down so I spent 2-3 hours of my time helping him fix the problem for which I did not charge him a penny! I allowed them to borrow any tools they required to sort the car and also went as far as actually taking them to the local motor factor to get the part so they could fix their and get home safely!!

When the buyer got home he messaged me saying he was really happy with the car. However a day later the buyer had some questions about ecu’s boosts etc to which I replied to stating im not sure as car was rarely driven. I clearly stated to the buyer on the date that I had not touched the car mechanically, I spent a lot to get it resprayed and change the look of the car, i.e seats and wheels. Other than this no other work had been carried out. Also went on to say his friends Subaru Uk with 150k miles is faster
This car takes 10 seconds to get from 80mph-100mph in 5th gear.

In the listing I did state that the car has a chipped ECU, but whether this was for another car I am unsure of as I had no need to check this. Therefore if this was going to be a problem the buyer had the chance to carry out a full inspection of the ECU, engine, engine codes etc on the day of purchase. I had no obligations to the buyer doing this. The buyer also states there is tape on the engine code… why would anyone do this as it only looks more obvious that there is something dodgy??? As for the cam covers, they can easily cracked so may have been changed at some point in the past, but I genuinely have no idea about this.

I bought this car initially to use as a personal car to use on track days, however after having the body work done I saw a Skyline R34 that I thought would be much better for the track days therefore decided to sell the Scooby. The Scooby was driven very rarely it was taken to the bodyshop to have the work done and that is all. Again ‘a shoddy paint job’ would not have gone unnoticed in broad daylight but the buyer is now stating this is the case, but he still decided to go ahead with the purchase.

I sell car parts for a living and I have received over 2300 100% feedback as I am an honest and genuine seller and aim to do my best always. I have had a few scoobys in the past and also have some parts, however this car as all the others, starts fine, runs smoothly and stops! It has been imported into this country many years ago and therefore could have anything done to it mechanically…as any car driver will know, there is no single car part that will last forever!! Therefore if the engine is the wrong one, i had no idea. I am being falsely accused and thus the reason for this long post, as I am a genuine and honest seller which can be seen by the feedback received. The ads on ebay and pistonheads have been removed as the listings have ended and the vehicle was sold. I can understand people assumptions but please take a look at this thread and answer the questions….

Why does the buyer initially state that he wants advice on tuning?
Why is he now claiming that paintwork is shoddy, when he saw it in broad day light?
That he couldn’t feel the power in the car as he was ‘in the middle of leeds’
He then states he would be happy with the car if he could get 300bhp?
Also states that the ‘other yellow sti 2 doors ive seen are way over 5k upto 7-8k? and given the price of 3800 its very cheap? When actually this was in fact 3680

Also where are the other emails, in which the customer initially it would cost £2000 to fix the car , he then asked for £965 and then changed it to a full refund!

He also claims in the emails that ‘in honesty he does like the car despite it being slow’ so why the need for this thread?

As the garage stated the buyer has got the car very cheap it was an absolute bargain! I am being falsely accused and my reputation is being put on the line when i have tried to do my best. I am sorry it has come to this as I was as honest and open aswell as helpful to the buyer as I could possibly be. It is unfortunate that the buyer has had these problems, but it seems as though there is something new cropping up every 5 minutes even though this was all checked on the day….

On a final point the buyer has also put my email address on the forum, which I will be investigating further as this could be a possible breach of DPA..

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Take it back bud, it's not the car you advertised it as

TX.

Butty

iTrader: (2)

So is it an STI but has had an engine, turbo and ECU swap in its long past?

It would still make it an STi model. Why is it now being called a WRX?

A check of the V5 and the VIN plate should give enough information to say whether it's an STi or not and if it still has the original engine.

If this info suggests it is not an STi then its time for trading standards for their consideration.

If the info suggests it is an STi but with a non declared engine swap then this should have been spotted before buying the car and I can't see what this has to do with the seller?

It is an old car of a make that has been notorious for minor and major modifications over the years that may not be obvious or legally declared to the DVLA to the unaware.
Going over these carefully at the viewing stage is imperative to avoid misunderstandings and disappointment.

s13silvia

As a Trader it's your job to inform the seller of engine changes, however earlier in your email correspondence you state 'we have lots of cars coming in and out' (trading) and later in your emails 'it's a private sale', swiftly deleting your PH advert from view a few minutes later.

The ACTUAL price was 3850, you had 200 deposit and 3650 on arrival. I have a written quote from you and proof of agreement in texts.

whilst this is true, a) you claim in the email overleaf not to know anything about engine codes or gearboxes, and b) the one feedback on your ebay relating to a car purchase states: car was not as advertised, it was damaged, it's listed as a neutral feedback.

I knew the car had a shoddy paint job, that's not where my problem is I was happy to overlook that for the car as it was an STi, but it's not.

I'm happy to remove this, but as it's your business email it's not a major issue.

The fact is, you've ripped me off, you started saying it's a business sale, THEN saying it was a private sale to get out of a refund - removing the evidence just afterwards. The car is advertised as an STi, and it's not got the right engine, so it's not sold as described. The car was bought into the motor trade (previous owner informed the DVLA of this) so it cannot be a private sale I'm afraid. Therefore what's the big problem in offering me a refund and selling it on to somebody else?

I'm happy to put up all email correspondance if you like? Not a problem. 2000 was to supply an STi engine (which the car should have), thats with ME fitting it at no labour costs. 965 is plugs/fpr and a map to get the performance of an STi, the performance the car should have. A full refund is what I'd like to save me hassle and time, much of which has already been wasted.


Perhaps you should consider selling straight cars in future

Bicco

iTrader: (6)

To me it seems like the seller didn`t intend to miss-sell the car, but none the less, it has been miss sold, as a trader he should have been more carefull inspecting what he was selling, fair enough the buyer could have inspected better and saved himself the grief, but the expert in this situation is supposed to be the seller. The seller should just deal with, it`s an honest mistake, but his mistake none the less, refund the car and move on.
Look at it from a different perspective, If someone one walked into Currys and looked at an item labeld up as a Blu ray player, they would look at it thinking it all looks good, and it stated that it played blu rays, so they buy it. When they get it home they discover that it is actually only a DVD player, the mistake was currys and they would get a full refund.

Just my perspective anyways.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Never seen such a daft post as one from butty above

TX.

s13silvia

I've sent the V888 to DVLA so they said they will give me the previous registered owner. He may be able to shed some light as to the engine and how it was passed on to Platinum Imports. Worth asking about.

Sprint Chief

The car has a serious fault that only becomes evident at motorway speeds. While I don't think there is evidence of any kind of malice (a trader cannot spend much time studying each car to the depth an owner can, or they would never make any money) the reality is that this car has a serious problem.

As the seller is a trader, the seller has legal obligations to put these problems right or refund the car.

The car is a mish mash of different parts from different cars that are not working together correctly.

£2000 would be the cost of putting the car right with OEM parts. Actually, that's got to be second hand parts - new would be more. That's probably the first route considered.

£965 is an alternative approach to making the mish mash of parts work together, presumably by remapping the car.

Basically, these different prices are the customer trying to work with you to resolve the serious faults this car has at a minimum cost to you. In reality though, your reaction has probably destroyed any trust between you and the customer and I suspect he just wants an end to it now.

Part of being a trader - and the reason why punters go to traders - is that if the car turns out to be a pup, the customer has some consumer protection. Part of being a trader is accounting for this risk, either through insurance or occasionally refunding or fixing cars. If you've had 2300 successful sales, surely refunding this one isn't going to break the bank?

stevemoir

iTrader: (24)

The shell and gearbox is an STI but the engine is a wrx

Would you call a vauxhall corsa 1.2 with a vxr engine in it a VXR ?

Steve*

Gigsy

@spares-for-you AKA platinum imports...

Seems to be a consensus here fella, the car is not what it first appeared and has a serious fault - primarily it has the wrong engine fitted amongst other things resulting in vast under performance. Not only that, the value of the car is significantly reduced as it is no longer a "true" STI.

There was no implication earlier in the thread that the car was deliberately mis-sold. However, whether it was deliberately mis-sold or not, as a trader, it is your responsibility to put this right and the OP has given you the opportunity to do this by the looks of it.

Ebay and PistonHeads will both have a record of the advert whether they have been removed or not and if this goes to court, they will be able to verify the OP's copies. Legally, the OP has a bloody good case especially as he has proposed several solutions to resolve the issue. I don't think there's a small claims court in the land that would not side with the OP.

Take you're pride out of the equation for a moment and take it on the chin - it's not like you wouldn't be able to sell the car on so long as everything that has been discovered is disclosed in the new sale.

The OP is entitled to his money back, and you'll get a lot more respect on this forum if you sort it out for him. It's the honest thing to to and unless you're more culpable than you're letting on, I can't see why you wouldn't do this.

Butty

iTrader: (2)

Hmmm... tell me more?

WTF?

An STi later fitted with any other engine is still an STi on the V5.

Simple really?

bish667

iTrader: (1)

So your saying it's ok to replace my STi engine with a non turbo engine and sell my car as an STi.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

It may say STi on bootlid but it has a wrx engine ffs butty

TX.

jayallen

iTrader: (31)

Has the car had a long engine fitted or a short engine fitted?

s13silvia

Going to get it down to RA and get an engineers report on it to find out. Given the cam cover wasn't replaced with the original STi one I'll take a guess it's the long engine, awaiting a bore-scope to come through the post. It gets better the heater matrix/core is gone too, after cleaning the windows up got an oily film on the windscreen and windows around the vent blast-area. That would explain the stench when the heaters on hot. How much is that likely to set me back?

Gambit

iTrader: (6)

Or it may have a new heater matrix fitted. These come coated with a thin film oil to prevent rusting when 'on the shelf' if its not cleaned off before fitting it then burns off slowly like you are describing, and will do so for a few months!

s13silvia

^ This evening coolant-smelling steam started pouring out the vents on 'hot' even with the blower off ....

Radweld?

The car is undoubtably a pup.

53

iTrader: (41)

I can think of another STi with a WRX engine fitted by an unscrupulous dealer fickle FB !

If it's the short engine, it's not the end of the world if it's a good engine and mapped accordingly. Unfortunately most dealers are too tight or too stupid to make sure this is done. Undoubtedly as the OP has said though, it's a pup

My V1/2 WRX is mapped to 320 on a TD05 as is my V1/2 STi couldn't give two ***** which one has the WRX engine. In actual fact it's probably a better engine at 30k miles

Ginge !

iTrader: (1)

lets be honest now,,,,,, how many STI's have and a engine rebuild at some point,,, some have totally trashed engines which brings the other issue

ALSO being a Import made in 1996 thats almost 15 years,,, when do you think most people would have noticed this engine swop if the car was running right ?

i personally own a V3 STI and know too well what a pain getting a cambelt cover for it was and the over inflated prices of parts not to mention the pain in the *** about the ECU issue the car has really wouldnt supprise me if 5 years ago someone chose a cheep engine off ebay for a car worth 10k back then that was knocking on number 3

my next bottom end wont be a STI one as im going to be building it into a better spec engine whilst using the current one and just getting the heads machined when the time comes,,,,,,, would my car be classed as a STI then i wonder as it is running HKS coilovers, whiteline drop links and rear trailing arms, a 5 speed UK spec box ( better ratios for motorway) aftermarket ecu, different turbo, later bumpers and carbon bonnet

just wondering,,,,, my car is it STILL a "STI" or just realisticly a parts bin car,,,, even alot of the nuts and bolts holes have been recut to take ford bolts

mate i know it feels like you have been ripped off but you have got what looks like a nice cheep car with a cheep engine which,,,, sort of reflects the price, get it set up "PROPER" and enjoy it as,,,,,,,, trust me the bills for it will not EVER stop there and within a year you will be spending a grand on most old subarus if you enjoy it,,,,,, and are lucky unless you start modding it

btw the car will break easy for 4k i would have thought even with a WRX engine

Ginge !

iTrader: (1)

id bet that if you aint just paranoid/looking for issues that aint there its more than likley the O/S rocker cover gasket leaking onto the manifold,,,,, get used to that smell as you are gonna get it from time to time, done mine 3 times so far, once with FIA gasket, once with subaru gaskets and the last time with VW sump sealent when a subaru gasket,,,,, its started to leak again and the car has been in a garage for over 18 months,,,, go figure lol

s13silvia

I'm a realist and I do realise that WRX engines are a much easier swap, and if it had the performance I wouldn't care so much (though would have been nice to know). However I would have thought from somebody who has owned STi's in the past, a drop in 60-70hp would have been more than noticable. No hyperbole: my 1.6 vtec CRX is faster from 80-100mph. But these speeds were not attainable on the test drive, and 1st/2nd always feel 'quick' in a turbo car. And to return the car to STOCK STi performance is going to cost me not a kick in the **** of 1k.

I wouldn't say I'm being paranoid, nor looking for issues - they are clearly presenting themselves within a few hundred miles. I will check the gasket to make sure but there is no signs of coolant loss under the car, the smell is only there when the blower is set to 'hot' and after cleaning the window it leaves an oily film on the windows around the vent areas. A problem like this doesn't just 'develop' into smoke over 3 days, last time I had this same problem the previous owner just chucked in some radweld to disguise it until 4 days later when it went up in smoke - not saying Platinum Imports did this, but I've experienced it once before.

I don't thrash the car whatsoever, I was looking to buy a reasonably reliable daily driver for me and my partner and not a 'parts bin'. It's never going to see a drag strip or a rally track which is why I paid 3850, the car was advertised with 'no problems whatsoever, it's really that good'. From a 'genuine honest seller'. I'd expect these problems from a 500-1000 quid motor, not a ~4k motor. Perhaps I'm being overly optimistic?

s13silvia

*BIG UPDATE* ..

After checking with Vosa on previous MOT stations

I just got in contact with the local Isle of Arran MOT garage who last MOT'd the car, and they confirmed details provided by the previous registered keeper who confirms he sold it to Platinum Imports as they knew him well.

Car was supplied without a fitted engine as the STi engine had blown up.
Car was supplied with an Apexi ECU and FC commander fitted.
Car was supplied with a fully forged Sti engine with Wiseco pistons and uprated top ends (unfitted) that was built in birmingham.
Car was not supplied with a WRX engine. So since in Platinum Imports possesion the 8S ecu has been fitted along with the WRX engine. A direct contradiction to what has been said in both email correspondance and on here.
Also Iwould like it to be noted that even though you have no idea about engine codes etc. you DO have a supply of spare wrx engines listed on ebay.

Awaiting your response.

NB. Could a moderator please lock down spares-for-you's post on the previous page from editing. I have a copy which has been sent to my solicitor, however it would be great if the live version remained unedited. Thanks