Chris Barn

I have just bough the wife a mew car which I believed to be original, I asked the seller if he knew of any paint or bodywork damage and he said definately NO..

When we got the car home last night i gave it a wash and it has definately been painted on the rear quarter, i don't think it as had a new panel only knock which has been repaired. The paint also looks reasonably fresh.

My question is this, as we paid top book price for the car do we have any form of re-course from the seller. I would have 'probably' still bought the car as it has many good points, but I would have haggled a lot more over the price had I noticed the paint.

Any legal, eagles out there to give me some advice???

Thanks

Chris

Doc@IlsonIlson

Did you buy it from a dealer or second hand?? Was it advertised as "never been painted" if not then I think you havent got a leg to stand on. Sold as seen, with no comebacks unless it was from a dealer and you have a warrenty of some description.
If it was advertised as "never been painted" then there may be a slim chance for trades descriptions.
Doc

Chris Barn

It was a private sale, and the advert made no mention of paint, but i did ask him outright "Has the car been painted at all?" I feel that he has had a knock and sold the car because of this but I agree with you, proving that he lied would be difficult.

mega_stream

Whenever I've bought or sold a car privately I've always had a receipt saying "sold as seen tried and tested"

Although even that I'm not so sure its a binding statement.

Makalu

Caveat Emptor.... Buyer Beware.

It could easily end up being your word against the sellers and no one will 'win'...

I dont believe that 'trade description' law applies to private sales of motor vehicles.

Whilst I do sympathise with your situation Im afraid that you may have been 'stung'.

Lesson = Always get an HPI check on any used vehicle (import or otherwise) - better still, have the AA or RAC or similar check the vehicle properly. Spending a £100 on this might save you from thousands later.

Good luck - hope you get something sorted.
Mak.

Arron

I always give a receipt that says SOLD AS SEEN AND APPROVED WITH NO WARRANTY.

Sorry Chris, I don't think there is much you can say or do unless you approach the person and they have a guilty conscience and are willing to give you some cash back ,I doubt it though.

Was it a Scoob you bought.

The trouble is there is a minority of honest people out there.

I sold ( p.x ) a UK MY98 49k with a few extras on it to a dealer. I told him it had a new boot within 2 weeks from new ( thanks to the wife ) and a new bonnet ( thanks to the flying tree off a waste lorry ), but I was still given 13k in Feb for it, so being honest did'nt loose me any money on my p.x.

Good luck Chris, post to let us know how you get on.


Arron.

chiark

Chris, was the seller the only other owner of the car? if so, my opinion is that they have defrauded you as they know that the car has been damaged and repaired. Although this is not quite as clear cut as it sounds as cars have been damaged and repaired by dealers prior to being sold.

If not, you are only able to ask to the best of their knowledge. They may not have known that the car had been damaged before they bought it.

Speak to your local Citizen's Advice Bureau, but I wouldn't hold your breath. Sorry.

Toerag

Just been reading about similar things in this months 'Your Motorboat' magazine. Basically the following applies:-
Sale of Goods act: the course of goods being sold as 'fit for purpose' only applies to goods sold in the normal course of business, so it doesn't apply to private vendors.
Misrepresentation act: you could take the seller to court under this 1967 act if they have given you a statement of fact that turns out to be wrong and was instrumental in your decision to buy. A 'misrepresentation' can include a deliberate concealment of a material defect.

Then again, is it really a problem that it's been painted?

Tiggs

surley the bloke will just say "of course i told him about the paint, we had a long chat about it and he didnt seem to bothered"
nothing you can do, sold as seen.

T

Chris Barn

Thanks all,

I am not really that bothered that it has seen the inside of a paint shop more the fact that it as hurt my pride that I didn't notice it in the first place, I had walked away from some cars because of paint. However, it is still a good car. No it's not a scooby, but a Mazda 323 ZXi 2.0 V6 24v, only 21,000miles and a full Mazda history, all checked out.

Its a great car, had a good drive in it last night, and when you rev it at stand still, because its a small pot V6 it sounds a 'little' bit like a small Ferrari.

I still think it will give my wife years of hassel free motoring.

NotoriousREV

Do you still have a copy of the original advert? Does the seller claim the car to be "immaculate" or imply "good condition" within the wording of his ad? If so, you do have a case, but it would be expensive to take to court etc.

CraigH

Describing it as immaculate or good condition doesn't mean a thing if it's been resprayed and it hasn't made it poor condition.

Describing something as immaculate or good condition is very contentious anyway - one persons idea is not necessarily the others.....

Tang

Chris,

Makalu is right. He sounds like a "Legal Eagle" (being one myself). In my experience (long and bitterly gained) this is best put down to experience. Chiark's advice is good.

Toerag, private sales are slightly different, and whilst Chris may be able to allege misrep, proving it is another thing (one word against another) and for the sums we're talking about it is not worth the stress (or the inconvenience).

Cheers

Tang

Jolly Green Monster 2

I think you are unfortunatly going to have to just take it..

If the seller lives local you could go and talk to him and suggest he gives you a little cash back but he is unlikely to do so.

It is not a major problem with the car so would not be too worried.

It is a bit of a mine field buying a new car..

I went with a mate to look at a car he wanted the other week, my sole purpose of being there was to find faults with it.. which I did.. always best to take someone else with you.... it is easy to get caught up in the sale and feel strange checking ever inch of the car over when you are trying to talk to the seller.. not everyone finds that mind you.. but I generally find it best to take a mate along etc..

Not must use now though..

JGM