Been sold a faulty car

[whyalwaysme79]

I bought a car last week from a private seller - started driving today for the first time and it keeps cutting out and won't start. Had mechanic look at it and I'm looking at over £1000. The car cost me over £5000. I need a car for work and don't have money to repair or for a new one. I am currently sat here shaking in that mad and crying.

Do I have any rights? I've messaged seller who is ignoring. I transferred the money.

I'm sorry that's happened to you but unfortunately it's the risk you run when buying a second hand vehicle from a private seller, generally it's buyer beware and sold as seen.
Did you get any checks done before buying?
Did you get a receipt?

I checked mot and service history.
No, I used all my savings to buy the car and wasn't expecting to get a bill of over £1000 a few days later

Unfortunately, it would be sold as seen but rule of thumb when buying a private car is at least a grand for repairs because there is normally a reason they are selling it. Especially as 5k doesn't get you much in today's secondhand car market.

Did you take it out for a test drive?

Wow, really I would never dream of selling a car that needed such repairs and not let the buyer know. Can't believe I've been so stupid to think people are genuine

Yes but not far as wasn't insured

Did you get your own mechanic to have a look.

I know it's too late to say this but you would have been best paying a mechanic to go with you.

What's actually wrong with it?

If you weren't insured, you shouldn't have drove at all.

Did you test drive it? Was it running OK then? What did the mechanic say was wrong with it, it sounds like a fault that could be trivial or bad.

It's a case of caveat emptor, and t could be co-incidence, or the buyer could have known before selling - you'll never know.

I sold a second hand car a few years ago. It was running fine when I sold it. The buyer took it for a test drive, looked under the bonnet etc and bought the car.

A few days later he messaged me to say the radiator had cracked and all the water had run out over his drive. The car needed a whole new radiator, which would have cost more than they'd paid me for the car (it was an old one we'd bought for DS to learn to drive on).

He was cross. I was embarrassed. But I had honestly no idea, and he had done all his own checks. It was just one of those things.

Did you check when cam belt was done? If its a chain?

Normally you can workout what needs doing on a car by its mileage/ age and factor that into your budget. Did you check oil/ tyres etc.

What brand/ model to see if it has certain issues.

@whyalwaysme79, see this link from a solicitor's website: https://www.stephensons.co.uk/site/individuals/srvdisputes/bought-a-faulty-car/#:~:text=If%20you've%20bought%20a,the%20car%20to%20the%20seller.

Buyer beware I’m afraid. Bit gutting though. Not everyone is dodgy when selling a second hand car privately but due to there being no comeback, like with this, you have to be so careful.

Do I have any rights?

You do but not many. The only right you would have to a return/refund for the car is if the seller sold a faulty car and did not describe it correctly. In that case the Consumer Rights Act would allow for it to be returned and refunded - if the seller is not answering you then the only way to achieve is through the small claims court as it is under 10k. However, you would have to prove that the car was faulty at the time of sale and that is never easy - cars can and do go wrong at any moment - and your case would be affected by the fact you’d had the car for a week before it happened (only your word that it hadn’t been driven in that time).

Should have added - if you could get a garage to report and confirm whether or not it looks like a longstanding issue,rather than a brand new fault, you might be in with a chance.

I wouldn't part with any money unless I had someone with me to fully check a car.. which I did 2 years ago found a car for a grand went to see it the same day with a mechanic I know and it's just passed its second mot with no problems still. It's also a luck of the draw because you can also take someone to see it and there are hidden things that can go wrong that nobody can predict also. But nothing would have made me drive uninsured on a public road that was a very very bad move on your part.

It was sold as seen, so you took a risk not getting it checked out by someone who knows. Even then a car can still break the next day.

Thank you for this