Ripped off with a lemon!!!

[daithi]

sorry ya got stung mate
but no offense mate but in my opinion it wasnt the smartest move
ya bought a car without looking at it
i would of went to see the car first and then make a bid on it
ya would of noticed all those simple things ya pointed out like rough body ...banging ...knocking pulling in steering etc and could of walked away

least ya only got stung for 770 pound and lesson learned

there was dopes in the boom in ireland that spent hundreds of thousands in the same way buying houses off plans not known what they looked like apart from the fancy models and computer images the contractors drew up

long story short never buy anything ya haven seen
there paying to live in a match box for the rest of there lives

[gc1966]

why did you still go through with the sale when seeing it showed it to be a dog??????

[Canker_Canison]

Most of the body work issues are related to trim cut out by the police, same as the interior.

Most of my thinking was revolving around how urgently I needed a car & once the bits I could see were put right I'd still have a bargain.

To be honest, I wasn't really that bothered about the extra bits on the front o/s. But when the engine went, I reached the limit of my forgiving layed back nature.

But none of this changes the fact that the car should never of been sold as a runner, whever he 'knew' about the defects or not. Ignorance is not a defence.

[Wolfpack]

See here - Car might of failed or have multiple advisories on certain points in its history that were not rectified properly, giving you a bit more of a standpoint :

Check vehicles MOT status and failure history back to 2005

Sounds like he blatantly knew and was getting rid rather than pay to fix MOT defects. Thats the first big alarm bell.. , selling 1 month before mot with no offer of him renewing it. I thought the seller is resonsable for making sure that to his knowledge, the discription is a full and acurate representation of the item ? So, After accepting it wasnt an honest mistake or coincedence, i'd be on a mission to send some bad karma back his way and hopefully get some of my cash back , i'd try if nothing else.

Should change your name to man-cub.

Yeah, thats a really worthwhile post... how d'you americans say it ?....... NOT ! my post aint exactly helpful, but thats plain patronising... if, everytime someone shits on you, 'you just chalk it up to life experience and move on', youre gonna be knee deep in turds. You saying anyone who buys a car off ebay deserves to be tucked-up ? If you bow your head and let someone take you for a cnut.. then you are a cnut.

What are you saying that if i was a knucklehead and bought a car that was one step from the junk yard that i should go back and beat the hell out of the guy who sold me the car! Are you some type of caveman? I would try to get the money back by asking him or trying thru ebay but 700 pounds is really not alot of money when buying a used car. I'm sorry Canker is going thru this but he explained what he seen and assumed he could fix these problems. Since there is a chance he will lose his money i wouldn't spend anymore fighting this and put the money toward a new engine. Everyone makes mistakes all i said he should learn from it and move on. I wouldn't risk going to jail over a lousy 700 pounds

[Snowy79]

I fully sympathise with you having bought a pile of shi++ but I'm afriad you'll soon find out most of the Authorities including Trading Standards have less teeth than my Gran.

The good old buyer beware will kick in and Trading Standards will send him a naughty boy letter.

Probably better to research to see if he sells cars on the side without telling HMRC and drop a subtle hint that you will inform them unless he pays up.

As a final option I know what I'd do but it's not quite legal so I'd better not encourage it here.

[Canker_Canison]

What are you saying that if i was a knucklehead and bought a car that was one step from the junk yard that i should go back and beat the hell out of the guy who sold me the car! Are you some type of caveman? I would try to get the money back by asking him or trying thru ebay but 700 pounds is really not alot of money when buying a used car. I'm sorry Canker is going thru this but he explained what he seen and assumed he could fix these problems. Since there is a chance he will lose his money i wouldn't spend anymore fighting this and put the money toward a new engine. Everyone makes mistakes all i said he should learn from it and move on. I wouldn't risk going to jail over a lousy 700 pounds

@Drawflex, the last MOT does give a clear indication that he never looked after the car. It's all ammunition.

@Wolfcub, the major problems were not identified fully until it was on a ramp. You, yourself, are American. The laws must be a little different over there. Once upon a time if you put 'sold as seen' on an advert or reciept the buyer had no comeback. So the government passed the Road Traffic Act 1988, part of tha act includes a legal requirement that all vehicles sold as running have to be roadworthy. So even if a vehicle is 'sold as seen' it only implies that there is no warranty. We also have Trading Standards, yes at times they do lack teeth, but this guy is a trader. There's no doubt he has broken the law & risks a ?5000 fine, a criminal record & probably the loss of his business. I'm looking for ?500 max, I know which I'd choose if confronted by this.

I fully sympathise with you having bought a pile of shi++ but I'm afriad you'll soon find out most of the Authorities including Trading Standards have less teeth than my Gran.

The good old buyer beware will kick in and Trading Standards will send him a naughty boy letter.

Probably better to research to see if he sells cars on the side without telling HMRC and drop a subtle hint that you will inform them unless he pays up.

As a final option I know what I'd do but it's not quite legal so I'd better not encourage it here.

Trading standards have to investigate every case. By the time I contact them I'll have a report from the MOT tester that looked at the car, photo's of all the faults as well as a video showing the same faults being looked at by a qualified engineer.
If he's doing anything else he shouldn't then I think TS will find it. He operates from his home not a forecourt, it will be kind of hard on his whole family.

As to the last option.... That has been mentioned & for a quiet, easy going, average Joe... Between friends, family & acquaintances I have access to a lot of very nasty people.

But I'm hoping that he sees paying up ?500 to put an end to it is easier than risking a ?5000 fine, criminal record & losing his business.

[xant14]

Whos paying for the report from the MOT tester?

[lagerland]

Way 2 go CC send the boys round.............

[thered]

@Drawflex, the last MOT does give a clear indication that he never looked after the car. It's all ammunition.

@Wolfcub, the major problems were not identified fully until it was on a ramp. You, yourself, are American. The laws must be a little different over there. Once upon a time if you put 'sold as seen' on an advert or reciept the buyer had no comeback. So the government passed the Road Traffic Act 1988, part of tha act includes a legal requirement that all vehicles sold as running have to be roadworthy. So even if a vehicle is 'sold as seen' it only implies that there is no warranty. We also have Trading Standards, yes at times they do lack teeth, but this guy is a trader. There's no doubt he has broken the law & risks a ?5000 fine, a criminal record & probably the loss of his business. I'm looking for ?500 max, I know which I'd choose if confronted by this.



Trading standards have to investigate every case. By the time I contact them I'll have a report from the MOT tester that looked at the car, photo's of all the faults as well as a video showing the same faults being looked at by a qualified engineer.
If he's doing anything else he shouldn't then I think TS will find it. He operates from his home not a forecourt, it will be kind of hard on his whole family.

As to the last option.... That has been mentioned & for a quiet, easy going, average Joe... Between friends, family & acquaintances I have access to a lot of very nasty people.

But I'm hoping that he sees paying up ?500 to put an end to it is easier than risking a ?5000 fine, criminal record & losing his business.

i feel for you m8 but im not sure you will get much joy from trading standards or anybody else he will say it was ok and ask why you drove away in a car that was ~~~~ed?

he will say it had a current mot which is all you need to drive in the UK

to me you have options

snowy made a good point see if he is a dealer watch for other adds and bribe him that way

go round and smash his house up

forget about it and move on

sorry but i dont think you will get much joy soo revenge is probably the next best thing

[patkins]

Best of luck Canker.Expose the bustard for what he is.

[racin-snake]

yup CC 24v and a power probe up every temp sender wire in his car lot mate
hel be on here lookin for ecu repair info

revenge is a dish best served cold and with his empty wallet

[wetdog]

for what its worth mate i have just seen a very tidy lookin astra for ?550 near me.
if you want i'll gather some intell for yer if ya need to buy again.

mick.

[Liteace]

One you got it all sorted out and got your money back you can try and offload it on DK member thewizardofodds, he loves cars like that:

http://www.digital-kaos.co.uk/forums/f152/megane-scenic-misfire-oil-plug-coil-212086/

http://www.digital-kaos.co.uk/forums/f152/matiz-smoking-like-hell-after-oil-change-212852/

[Wolfpack]

The laws are different over here but since you went thru ebay they might do something for you. If someone sells a car privately once the payment has been exchange it's good luck. only if you buy thru a dealer will you get some remorse. Like i said good luck Canker

[Canker_Canison]

Update

Ebay will not get involved as he is a trader. Guess section 75 of the road traffic act is better than ebay at resolving problems


In his last email he pretty much admitted to knowing there were issues.

i am not a mechanic or mechanicaly minded other wise i would have repaired the car myself and sold it on with a warranty

He yet again confirmed that it was a trade sale.

now you are threatening me with further action this is a bit hollow considering you signed a trade sale invoice

So I sent a mail advising he had broken the law before I had even placed a bid, and he should read about section 75.
I'm in the process of getting a report from the MOT tester that saw the car & will be videoing a mechanic/engineer examining the car on saturday. Photos will also be taken. All of this will be sent to him once I have it ready.

Now normally he gets back pretty quickly when I send a mail. Since mid day on saturday, when I sent the last mail, I've not heard a peep out of him.

Taking all goes well, he will get the evidence on tuesday 26th. At which point I will give him till 2nd Aug to ensure the settlement amount is in my back account (BACS or cheque). If it's not there I'll be contacting Trading standards.


More things for him to consider, other than the criminal record, ?5000 fine & probable loss of his business....

Legal cost of defending himself
He operates from home, does he pay the correct council tax/rates?
If he owns the property, does the mortgage company know?
If it's rented, does the land lord know?
Is he registered for VAT? (it wasn't charged on the car I bought)
Did he set up as a limited company or sole trader?


I have nothing to lose, Trading standards pays all the costs in taking him to court.


@Mick,
Nice thought. But I'm looking for a very specific car.

Either Astra or Focus estate
CDTi/DTCi preferred, if DTi it has to be bigger than the 1.7l
Reg 04/2001 or later for the cheaper tax

I've already had a guy ask me if the Astra is for sale & how much. Told him the story & all the known faults, didn't put him off in the slightest. It's all down to the price.