Discussion
Hi All,
Apologies in advance if this has been covered in previous posts however after scouring the forum I can not find specific answers to my problem so hoping people can offer advice.
I saw a car I was interested in buying on social media (2012 insignia cdti). I enquired about the car. I was told it had no faults and the garage had given it the all clear. I offered a price on the condition the car was in as described condition. Paid the £1900 via bank transfer and went on my way.
I went to see it that evening. All seemed ok. Test drove it etc. Decided to buy it after being assured again that there was no known faults. Drove the hour long journey home only to find the engine was really loud. Took it to the garage the next day only to be told the big end bearing are shot! Have been quoted £1000 to fix or can get a recon engine. To say I'm fuming is an understatement.
Contacted the seller but all they are saying is they knew of no faults and to take them to court.
Now I fully intend to take it to small claims court IF there is any realistic chance of success. I've also contacted the garage they claim gave the car the all clear and they have absolutely no knowledge and are not impressed that their name was used.
What are the chances of being successful in any claim? I didn't get a receipt stating sold as seen and have messages to show clearly the car is stated as having no faults.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Apologies in advance if this has been covered in previous posts however after scouring the forum I can not find specific answers to my problem so hoping people can offer advice.
I saw a car I was interested in buying on social media (2012 insignia cdti). I enquired about the car. I was told it had no faults and the garage had given it the all clear. I offered a price on the condition the car was in as described condition. Paid the £1900 via bank transfer and went on my way.
I went to see it that evening. All seemed ok. Test drove it etc. Decided to buy it after being assured again that there was no known faults. Drove the hour long journey home only to find the engine was really loud. Took it to the garage the next day only to be told the big end bearing are shot! Have been quoted £1000 to fix or can get a recon engine. To say I'm fuming is an understatement.
Contacted the seller but all they are saying is they knew of no faults and to take them to court.
Now I fully intend to take it to small claims court IF there is any realistic chance of success. I've also contacted the garage they claim gave the car the all clear and they have absolutely no knowledge and are not impressed that their name was used.
What are the chances of being successful in any claim? I didn't get a receipt stating sold as seen and have messages to show clearly the car is stated as having no faults.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
You brought the car privately and sold as seen doesn't really mean much. The car was misrepresented though, which even a private seller is not allowed to do
It's vital that you keep all correspondence, particularly if they named the garage who they alleged carried out the checks and gave it the all clear.
A letter from the garage confirming that the seller lied about them seeing the car will be a massive help too.
It's vital that you keep all correspondence, particularly if they named the garage who they alleged carried out the checks and gave it the all clear.
A letter from the garage confirming that the seller lied about them seeing the car will be a massive help too.
catman said:
You brought the car privately and sold as seen doesn't really mean much. The car was misrepresented though, which even a private seller is not allowed to do
It's vital that you keep all correspondence, particularly if they named the garage who they alleged carried out the checks and gave it the all clear.
A letter from the garage confirming that the seller lied about them seeing the car will be a massive help too.
Bought. The word is bought.It's vital that you keep all correspondence, particularly if they named the garage who they alleged carried out the checks and gave it the all clear.
A letter from the garage confirming that the seller lied about them seeing the car will be a massive help too.
best of luck. i suspect he's happy to call your bluff and see you in court, as he knows he'll win, if indeed you do actually take him to court. you did a test drive, he confirmed there were no known faults, you drove it away. some time later, you say it developed a fault, and now you want some money back. for all he knows, you're a chancer who just wants to pay less for the car you bought. if i sold a car to someone, and then they contacted me to say it 'developed a fault on the way home' and you want £1000 off, i'll tell you to jog on, then block your number.
how long was your test drive? suggest when buying sub £2000, 10 year old cars, the test drive needs to be longer. or, this entire story is all BS.
how long was your test drive? suggest when buying sub £2000, 10 year old cars, the test drive needs to be longer. or, this entire story is all BS.
Will a small claims court case not cost more than the £1000 fix and take more time to process?
The car developed a fault some time after you bought and drove the car away. You have no chance of getting your money back OP.
Why did you pay in full before even seeing the car? A deposit fine but full payment is just asking for trouble on a car that cheap.
The car developed a fault some time after you bought and drove the car away. You have no chance of getting your money back OP.
Why did you pay in full before even seeing the car? A deposit fine but full payment is just asking for trouble on a car that cheap.
Krikkit said:
Sounds like they definitely knew of the issue, assuming they've gone to the court option pretty much straight away.
Chances are it'll be impossible to prove though. I'd just suck it up and chalk it to bad luck.
How can you assertain that?Chances are it'll be impossible to prove though. I'd just suck it up and chalk it to bad luck.
It sounds like a private sale? Or was it from a garage?
The OP test drove it and didn't have a loud engine or knocking issues?
If it's from a garage you have some recourse, if it's a private sale, tough. Bad luck.
Edit: Just seen it was said as a private sale
Not sure why the garage (the ones that gave it the "all clear" I assume, are getting involved
As I've said in another thread, garages do not disassemble engines to measure and check internal wear.
They may give it an "MOT" type inspection and say "Yup that's decent" and send it on the way.
Tough luck, fix it privately or sell the car on as spares , it's not the private sellers fault that an old moon mile car developed a problem which wasn't present when on the test drive. If it had rod knock on the test drive you would notice. It didn't , because you then bought it.
Thanks for the helpful replies.
Not sure why tf I'd come on here asking for advice if I was lying?
Get the car 7 o clock one evening. Next morning it's in the garage 8:30 with the big end bearing shot to s**t and I have a written quote of the work that needs doing?? Ye I'm just a chancer
Not sure why tf I'd come on here asking for advice if I was lying?
Get the car 7 o clock one evening. Next morning it's in the garage 8:30 with the big end bearing shot to s**t and I have a written quote of the work that needs doing?? Ye I'm just a chancer
DaveyBoyWonder said:
Don't know if its just me but "no known faults" followed by "sold as seen" = seller knows somethings knackered but if they say sold as seen then there's no come back.
Again, the car can have no known faults but develop a fault driving home.Private sales are sold as seen
If you want refunds, buy from a garage, and pay the premium!
When I sell cars privately, I use a template from the AA or similar , no warranties, no rights implied or given, it's a private sale, at your own risk.
I am not a mechanic, nor a car sales man. From the sellers perspective, the OP could have bought it, and driven it on the rev limited for 30 minutes straight.
Be reasonable, a moon mile car for under £2k bought privately, and you want a refund on it when it's broken which is bad luck, give over.
If it was rattling it's tits off (which is what happens when a big end goes) do you not think the OP would realise that on the test drive and inspection?
It clearly wasn't rattling - So the fault wasn't present at the time !!! and as far as I can tell there is no way to "stop" the rattle temporarily, no magic potion you can put in the oil .....
It would have failed for the current owner and they were just lucky and you were just unlucky. Part of private sales.
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