To be furious

[catgirl1976]

My lovely mum is in her 70s and has finally in June left the abusive relationship with my dad. This took a lot.

Shes now living very happily in a little sheltered flat and making friends and just about scraping by on pension and pension credit.

She managed to save up £600 by living very frugally and last week bought a 2nd hand car off Facebook marketplace. She was so excited and loved having her freedom back. My heart sank when she told me but I hoped for the best.

Anyway a week later it turns out is a bag of shite and won’t get through its MOT next month. If she’s asked I’d have got someone to look at it before she bought but anyway she didn’t. She rang the buyer who swore at her, hung up and blocked her.

She can’t afford to get another one or repair it (and it wouldn’t be worth doing any way) I can’t help her at the moment

AIBU to think people are horrific ripping off an elderly lady of all her savings. I don’t think there is anything she can do but I’m so upset. How can people be so evil? There’s no way they didn’t know how bad it was and told her it was in great condition “a really honest car with no faults”

I think that's what I'd expect from a £600 car.

Hello you

That’s awful your poor mum. I don’t think there is anything she can do, perhaps sell the car for scrap/ spares and get a tiny bit of money. I wonder if we buy any car would take it, even if she got £50 it would be better than nothing?

£600 is way too low for a second hand car.

£600 is very cheap for a car. I’m not surprised it’s rubbish. But it is mean to take advantage.

Hey @RJnomore1 ❤️ how’s it going?

I’ve told her she’ll get a bit for scrap :(

There may be funds she can claim for essential car repairs. Try contacting her local council and local Citizens Advice.

That's horrible but maybe she will learn and be more cynical in future.

She's brave to leave an abusive relationship, I hope it works out

These are good ideas about webinar car and grants - thank you

Webuyanycar are quoting £450 and I’ve been honest about the faults and put in the right mileage. I expect they knock you down once you are there but even if she got half of it back it would be something

Does your mum know who the seller was? If so, search for them on Facebook and find out what groups they belong to. You can see what they have been posting. If he sells several cars a year then he's a trader and she will be covered by consumer protection.
This link explains it a bit:
https://forum.rac.co.uk/threads/15033-Advice-please-The-difference-between-a-dealer-and-a-trader?p=96159#post96159

You can put the number plate into scrappagw websites - she might get more than she expects for it this way. I did this with my last car when it died, got a few hundred even though it was 14yrs old. They come and collect it too so don't need to do anything

Thank you these are really helpful suggestions

https://scrapcarcompare.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8e-gBhD0ARIsAJiDsaVi1GluUZiEEMhnEaPB_1dFSMZmJbxRbysrfz1jtpVxWvMnfit0ce4aAvpPEALw_wcB

Here is one example but I checked a few as some companies offered much more than others

Im all good thanks. I really hope your mum gets a good wee bit back ❤️ are you all well apart from this??

All good apart from my poor mum @RJnomore1

Gave me the rage. I had a Liam Nieson in Taken moment but it’s passed 🤣

glad you’re doing ok

I sold my nearly 20 YO smallish hatchback car for scrap at an agreed price of £330, collected. She might get more than she expects for scrap.
It’s a real shame that she has bought a bad car, but it is really hard to get a good, honest, car for £600.

She could get up to £400 in scrap value for it, shame though I'd be gutted too.

Does anyone expect a car to be reliable when he’s £600??
It’s like half a step up from scrap at that point.

If we buy any car are £450 to buy it from your mum then £600 was a fair price for it.

Webuyanycar only buy so they can sell on at a profit.

Moving forward help her calculate if it's actually worth her running a car. How often would she need to use a cab or bus, what would that cost over a year?

When would she be able to share a can to halve costs.

Get a bus places and a cab back etc

I have a 2004 Fiat Punto probably worth around that much and put it through the MOT last week with no issues at all. I have had it for 12 years though and looked after it and it has still done under 100k miles.

Tbh if it only had a weeks MOT I would have thought she would have known it wasn’t going to pass otherwise the seller would have put it through the MOT themselves and upped the price by a few hundred.
How much exactly is it to put right.
Could she park it up somewhere and save for the repairs or shop around and buy the parts off eBay and get someone to do the work. (Clutch bought and fitted for £350 as opposed to the £600 which was the lowest price we got quoted)

People who are saying what do you expect for £600 - DH nephew bought a car for £300. This car has been running perfectly for quite a while now. It passed its MOT first time too

I think your mum was a bit naive to think a £600 car was going to be reliable. Scrap it and consider it the cost of hire. I don't necessarily think anyone's ripped anyone off. If it was a dealership she could have negotiated something but he owes her nothing.
Tell her there's gonna be 3 hiccups in in the next year and she's just got through one. No-one was injured. She hasn't broken down on the M25...no tow fees.....and she's got her new life. Tell us the mums are rooting for her.