Faulty Car ... Seller Refusing Return

Rensin

Rensin

Rensin

Associate
Joined
15 Feb 2008
Posts
1,323
Hi,

I have a family member who has bought a 1998 XJ8 from a private car dealer, apparently the car was making a knocking noise when he went to view the car and was pushed to purchased the car by a family member :rolleyes:

Anyway a few days later he took it to a specialist who has said the cam belt tensioner? and a few other bits in the engine have broke and will take about £2k to fix. Family member tried to return the car but the seller said it was a "Trade Sale" (says on invoice too) and no returns. As you've guessed he has jumped in and bought the car without getting it checked over first. All previous mot's show there has been nothing major wrong.

He has being in contact with trading standars who have said to send a recorded letter stating they have 14 days to repair or refund, they have had no reply to was advised to send another recorded letter this time stating the seller has 30 days to either refund or repair otherwise action will be taken further ... again no response.

I've checked today and the reviews on the company are not the best, have tried to find the company on company house but doesn't appear to be on there (there is 1 company listed but in a different location & not the same owner). The website says 1 company name, the invoice says another. Also the web site is registered to a female with a different name all together.

Click me for the advert

Any ideas what he could do next?
 
No such thing as a trade sale, what date did he purchase the car? (this is pretty important)

Also how was it paid for?

Not sure why anyone would buy a car with a knocking engine but the trader is a **** for selling it too.
 
Depends how confrontational you are happy to be, personally id go to the dealer, give them the obligatory rejection letter, and demanding a refund there and then.
 
I'm not sure exactly when the car was purchased but was sometime in the past 2 months.

At a guess it would have being cash.
 
Find out if he is a sole trader or trading under an LTD.

If you need to sue then.

If hes a sole trader great its easier to sue.(get your money after you've won)

If hes LTD sue HIM not the LTD. If hes a ass he'll ignore anyway. Then you'll get judgement in his name you can escalate collection and get your money before he has time to ask the court to reopen in LTD name
 
mattyg said:
Find out if he is a sole trader or trading under an LTD.

If you need to sue then.

If hes a sole trader great its easier to sue.(get your money after you've won)

If hes LTD sue HIM not the LTD. If hes a ass he'll ignore anyway. Then you'll get judgement in his name you can escalate collection and get your money before he has time to ask the court to reopen in LTD name
Click to expand...

I've not a clue mate, the invoice says a different company name PJ motors.

Also he has being in contact with the DVLA as he's sorned the car and asked about the V5/log book in which he still hasn't received. DVLA claim they have received nothing from the previous owner.
 
From my own experience you will have to go in guns blazing, easy to do if bought on a credit card or less than 30 days old.

I had an issue with an EML light on a car I bought in Feb, called the dealer and he tried to shrug it off as it was sold "Part ex to clear" and hung up on me. He gave up about 30 mins later as he didn't have a leg to stand on ended up paying for the repairs.
 
Iamzod said:
From my own experience you will have to go in guns blazing, easy to do if bought on a credit card or less than 30 days old.

I had an issue with an EML light on a car I bought in Feb, called the dealer and he tried to shrug it off as it was sold "Part ex to clear" and hung up on me. He gave up about 30 mins later as he didn't have a leg to stand on ended up paying for the repairs.
Click to expand...


He's not that sort of person, like I said to him ... should have walked.
 
Your first sentence says he bought it with a known fault, but didn't get it checked to find out the extent of the fault. Why is this the dealers problem? Genuine question, is fine to take a car back because you've changed your mind?
 
The fault will be the timing chain tensioners, most likely, and it's probably bent a couple of valves. It'll cost a few grand to put right, I'd have thought.

An MOT only proves that, on that particular day, the car met basic safety requirements. It can still have a list of faults as long as your arm, or a completely shot engine.
 
GeX said:
Your first sentence says he bought it with a known fault, but didn't get it checked to find out the extent of the fault. Why is this the dealers problem? Genuine question, is fine to take a car back because you've changed your mind?
Click to expand...

I asked the same question today, the dealer said the knocking noise is normal on a cold start for this type of engine and age. He drove the car and said it drove ok.

As i mentioned already mate, I said that he should have walked but a family member pushed him to buy the car.

He says the car is immaculate and probably get his money back by splitting the car for parts but he doesn't have the space or knowledge to do this.
 
Maccapacca said:
I feel sorry for dealers that are supposed to honour warranties on cheap massive liabilities of cars.
Click to expand...

Could just give a refund and the dealer would be back to square one.

I don't see the massive liability.

The dealer bought a lemon for £500 and was hoping to sell it for £995.
 
1k on a 20 year old car that was probably 40k plus new?

I'd say you should be buyer beware at something like that. Accept it and move on.
 
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