jr758774c

iTrader: (21)

Well a few weeks ago I bought a WRX of ebay.... Probably not the smartest move I ever made, but it looked like a good buy of everything turned out to be as it was advertisied. After getting the car, I took it for a test drive and everything feels good.
A few days later I take it for another test drive just around the block and find that at anything above .9bar the car coughs and splutters etc....
Anyway, after a lot of advice on here (cheers guys) I find out that the car has now blown a headgasket and has 2 cracked pistons on the same bank

So its in the shop getting fixed and I'm kinda stewing over the fact that the guy that sold me this car MUST have known that the engine was either faulty or on its way out.....So I decide to do a little research on the Sales of Goods Act 1974, and I wrote him a letter telling him that he had breached certain sections (Quoted sections) and basically told him that if he didn't pay for at least half of the repair bill I'd take him to court.

I must admit that I didn't hold much faith in getting a response, but sure enough the next day I get an Email from him appologising profusly and he then sent me £600 via Paypal that day

So it just goes to show, if you don't try you don't get

harry007

Your a lucky man!!!

Infractme!

He didn't have any obligation to you in law.

You'd have to prove in court that he knew of the problem in order to sue him for it. Not easy.

Cars not sold by a trader are 'sold as seen' with no warranties and no comeback.

Sounds as if the 'chump' was actually rather a nice guy, if it had been me you wouldn't have got a red cent.

[Davey]

You're a lucky bastid!

As above, you'ed have had BIG problem proving he knew the car had a problem..

The Hoff

iTrader: (5)

Get the money out of your Paypal account before he reverses the payment and you get stumped with a frozen account!

Northern Impreza Car Club

The lawa have changed now do too the amount being sold on the internet so yes he could have done something about it

jr758774c

iTrader: (21)

Even in a private sale, the seller has a legal obligation under the Sales of Goods Act to describe the car as accurately as possible - E.g. Any existing faults - There was a few other items that he advertised the car as having that it did not have also..

The rookie

iTrader: (1)

There is the sale of goods act, it is also unlawful to sell a vehicle in an unroadworthy condition WHETHER YOU KNEW ABOUT IT OR NOT*, although as this car would probably have passed an MOT it was probably road worthy.

* was in court to watch an unrelated trial and a bloke got done for this, his whole defence revolved around the fact he didn't know the car was unroadworthy, despite it being pointed out to him 3 times by the clerk that that made no odds, to be not guity he had to show the car wasn't unroadworthy, needless to say he was found guilty and big fine.

Simon

Infractme!

Tell us in detail about the change in the law and link to it if possible. I am not aware of the change you are talking about and am naturally skeptical of claims like yours.

The fault talked about here didn't mean the car was in an unroadworthy condition. I still maintain the purchaser is extremely lucky to have got some money so easily. Proving that the vendor was aware of the faults would have been extremely difficult.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

As above- it would then be up to you to prove that the seller intentionally mis-advertised the car. Very difficult. Sometimes engines let go quickly and with little-if any- prior warning: this may have just been one of those occassions.

You are a lucky man!! The Ebay chap must have been a half decent bloke as any con-artist would have told you to sing for it and pocketed your dough!

£1200 sounds like a cheap rebuild, where are you getting it done?

Ns04

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Sounds like you're referring to a trader mate. It's a different ball game then.

Generally private sales are "sold as seen". Unless there is evidence to show that the seller knew that the car was unroadworthy, it's a case of the buyer beware.

I also think it's rather unfair to refer to this individual as a "chump" given that a) The poster doesn't appear to know for sure that he was conned- it may have been a geuninely unfortunate case and b) He's been good enough to go halves on the rebuild, which legally, he didn't have to do.

Also, if I'm reading this correctly the poster purchased a car after a second test drive revealed problems with it?? Wouldn't have it been better to walk away?

This thread may be bordering on libel.

Ns04

The rookie

iTrader: (1)

Nope thats a private sale - its not just buyer beware! Note this is a specific offence that only relates to cars. It was fortunate I saw it actually as my Uncle was threatened with a similar charge after a moped he sold failed its front forks, however as we had seen said Honda Cub being thrashed and jumped off road it was clearly being abused, police dropped that one.

Simon

jr758774c

iTrader: (21)

The car was taken, after being bought, to Triton motorsport for a full check over, where amogst the other items, it was found to have both steering gaiters split, other Bushes perished to excess etc... They found at least 4 MOT failures, which was odd as the car was sold with a fresh MOT given the day before I bought it! So YES the car was legally unroadworthy even though it had a new MOT on it! its Not Liabel - Its FACT!!

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

That's not evidence mate. Unfortunately an MOT only means that a car was found to be in roadworthy conditions on the day it was tested.

You have stated that the car was not running well on the second test drive, but still purchased it; am I right in saying that? If so, you purchased it thinking that something might be wrong (I'm sure that figured in the price negotiations), so it seems a bit hash to then complain that the bloke knowingly sold you a shed that you thought to be in good order.

Sounds like you took a chance and got your fingers burned and now the seller is being decent about it and helping you bandage them!

ns04

+Doc+

Id say get an AA report next time but they are worth the paper they are written on
Hats off to the seller, must be a genuine chap.

jr758774c

iTrader: (21)

The debate as to whether he knew or not could go on indefinetly as I'm sure I'll never find out one way or another, but the morale of the story I was trying to put across is that, if you feel you've been duped by an Ebay seller its worth the cost of a stamp to see if you can get some money back on your purchase!

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Definately. The only certainty is that if you don't ask, you won't get!!

However, since he apologised profusely and has contributed half towards the rebuild rather than making you try and secure the money back though the courts (which could have put you to expense with no assurance of leaving with a single penny) maybe you shouldn't be calling the guy a 'chump' It makes you look like the bad guy!

jr758774c

iTrader: (21)

Not a bad guy - just hacked off as the car wasn't as described, turned out to need a new oil pump, engine rebuild, didn't have the internals or turbo he advertised it having and seemed to have a hookie MOT - But I'm not totally blameless as I should have checked it out a bit more. Just pleased that it didn't sting me for the full amount! Plus the guy somehow manages to be in 2 countries at once - He moved to cyprus the day after I bought the car (Apparently the reason he had to sell) - Yet he was the one that signed for the letter when it was delivered How very odd!

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Yes, that is odd, but presumably the move to another country might have made it easier for him to take your money and run had he wanted.

Ns04

funkyspider

The changes to law you refer to cover "distance selling". You physically collected the vehicle so these do not apply

Distance Selling Regulations - DTI

PPPRob

I don't claim to know anything about the law with reference to this subject but I for one think you were damn lucky to have got a bean back from the guy.

Sounds like a decent chap to me, hope you left +ve feedback

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

All well n good, but I cant see how its 1-0 when you're £600 or more out of pocket. £1200 for an engine rebuild seems pretty cheap to me to

automodellistagt

i think it comes down to karma if the guy decideded to help you out and whether your were rude to him. Even so, you're a prat for buying a car that was so evidently wrong, you've got hurt pride cos you KNOW you've been a prat, too.

You were lucky he helped you out.

jr758774c

iTrader: (21)

Lucky he helped me out?? What, lying about the internal spec of the engine, the modifications it has got on it, Purposely setting the boost to low PSI to hide a blown head Gasket and Cracked Pistons, lying about installed security features, lying about his physical location and circumstances around the sale of the car, Selling the car in a state where it couldn't possibly have passed an MOT - yet had a BRAND new one given to it. Lying about Other Engine defects such as leaky Valve Covers, Oil Pumps - Lying about pretty much everything -
Yeah he's a TOP guy!!
YES - I should have checked the car over a little more thoroughly, YES I may have bought the car based on trust rather than dismissing everything the guy said - But I'd stop short of calling someone a "prat" because they trusted someone as they thought they were a genuine guy.
The whole point of this post was to point out that sometimes it is not futile asking a seller for a contribution if you find something wrong with your car, when it seems apparent they may have known about the defect prior to selling it to you. What the hell happened to empathy between club members, what happened to the comradery?? I'm not asking for a pat on the back and a big well done, just wanted to pass on some information from personal experience that may help out fellow SN members who have bought a car and been given the shaft by the seller, as lets face it, it happens not infrequently

Mods, please lock this post as it seems it's intended purpose is lost and I see no real gain from keeping it open

scoobyDAZZA

lesson to be learnt
never buy a car or bid on 1 without seeing it first

i was gonna buy a diesel citroen on e-bay , went and looked at it, luckily only 4 miles away and that wasn't described acurately at all . he didn't mention the half ton of filler on the near side , needless to say , i didn't bid

it's certainly a brave way of buying a car...