In a bit of a mess

[yellowgusset]

Hi everyone,

I purchased a car on Friday from a private seller, about 20 minutes after I left the warning light came on saying "stop: engine oil pressure too low" so I took it to a garage today. The has said that the head gasket is ruined, there's been a bodged fix to the engine which will cost £550 to fix. The car was £850! I don't have the money to fix that so it's really screwed me.

I contacted the seller who has said the car was 'sold as seen' and it's not his responsibility. From what I can tell online the law is only on my side if they were deliberately misleading or the car is unroadworthy. Both are true but I don't know how to approach this as he is refusing responsibility and saying he didn't know about the fault. Do I call 101?

Just for future reference when it comes to head gasket, check the oil level and look for any white mayonnaise/foamy residue around the oils cap before and after your test drive.

It's a sign water is getting in from the radiator and mixing with the oil. Also check the water level in the radiator before and after the test drive.

[quote netstaller]@Feminist10101 that's a harsh post, most people don't know the in and outs of car mechanics. Really sorry this has happened. [/quote]
Should be part of learning to drive, shouldn’t it? What with the risks to others of driving an unsafe one?

Do you have some proof as to how the car was represented to you? For instance, what does the advertisement say? If you have evidence that the car was sold as 'roadworthy, no faults' then you have a case, assuming the mechanic is willing to put his opinion in writing.

Do think about how likely the seller is to pay up, or even be traced, before you put in a claim. Remember that any enforcement action will cost you, and if he can't be found, that cost cannot be recouped.

You bout thing. We bought a cheaish car from a small dealer but has an AA chrck done. It wasn't too expensive, around £150. It was definitely worth it.

We didn't belong to the AA by the way. Anyone can do this.

Joining the RAC will provide you with a health check on your car for free. Plus there is 50% off for new customers.

OP, as a PP has mentioned, what did the original advert say? If you put in the reg number to the Gov website you can also get the previous MOT history and examine the advisory notes on previous MOTS .

There were so many red flags you missed/ignored in pursuit of what you thought was a bargain

• price
• temporary address
• owned car less than a year
• paying cash so you have no protection under debit/credit card legislation

I've been driving 20 years and bought several cars over the years - I'd never profess to have any understanding of what is under the hood of a car or know what to look for

Did you do any checks on the licence plate - see how many times it has failed MOTs in the past?

Even if you took this to court the bloke will be long gone - you don't even have his permanent address?! And you've got zero chance even if a court does find in your favour of seeing a penny

@ivfbeenbusy wow such empathy, what a peach you are
Many many people have limited finances to buy a car, my first car was only £600, I had it checked over by someone knowledgeable and it was a very reliable car for many tyrants.

We don't all want to buy some huge beast of a car on finance!

@allfalldown47

Wow and what a "peach" you are to make so many assumptions

• where does it say I have a beast of a car on finance 🤷‍♀️

• where does it say I've never bought a cheap car 🤷‍♀️

You said it yourself in your post YOU HAD IT CHECKED OVER BY SOMEONE KNOWLEDGEABLE

All I'm saying to the OP is that she has no hope
Of recovering her money in this situation

Update... I've done some Facebook stalking and he does permanently live at the farm clearly didn't want me to know his address.

The alarm comes on after 20 minutes of driving and then repeats every 2 minutes after that
So you continue to drive it? I was told that you should never continue to drive s car with such sign coming on and that it's by continuing to drive on it that causes the very expensive damage.

dontdisturbmenow, I pulled up and called the garage after the first time it happened, they advised me to check that there was oil in the tank and if there was then I could drive it home. I did that and then took it straight to the garage today having not driven it over the weekend.

Dear Yellow Gusset, in your post you mentioned it was a “Private Buyer” you purchased the vehicle off, you’ll need to really understand between buying off a Motor Trade businesses and private buyer, it does make a significant difference, whilst I’m considerate of year, and transaction price, it’s sad to say, you have proportionate responsibility of making sure you assess all the relevant risks attached to this transaction, you will not be under the CRA as this is a P2P NOT B2C transaction and more importantly you should be aware to get the vehicle checked out prior to handing your hard earned cash over...🤦🏻‍♂️

To the less than compassionate posters on here:

Have some heart. OP has parted with a substantial sum, has been left with a dud vehicle which is essential for her new job as a carer.

Yes, she should have done x y and z. But come on, have some sympathy.

Oh OP. What a horrible situation to be in.

I think you need to plan best case (getting money back) and worst case - what will you do if???

Could you sell the car for scrap? Or parts?

Could you do a crowdfunded for some of the repair costs? This might embarrass the man who sold it to you! Don't do any social media naming/blaming home though. Too risky!

It's a horrible way to learn a horrible lesson. Best of luck.

This exact same thing happened to a friend of mine. Sadly if it’s a private seller it is a case of buyer beware. Sorry OP.

Sadly if it’s a private seller it is a case of buyer beware.

That's not quite true. It only holds if there is no deception on the vendors part.

I really CBA to find it, but there was a case a while back that piqued my interest (as a caravanner) where a guy offloaded a dodgy caravan and lost when the buyer sued him as it was clear he must have lied when he was asked about certain critical components being "OK".

Most issues around getting people into court revolve around having evidence of assertions that will pass muster, rather than the legal principle that you mustn't lie in order to sell something.

Sorry to be somewhat unsympathetic. But what exactly did you expect to see when you lifted the bonnet? Being you know nothing A
about cars.

What checks did you do on the car/ precious history/mot failures?

All these people saying she should have checked the MOT history, the head gasket isn't something that would show up as an issue on the MOT! I've had a car with a head gasket issue and a botch job fixed it for the 2 years I had it, then I sold it for scrap but it was still driving well at that point. Chances are that the seller was dodgy but that's not guaranteed, and unless the buyer knew what to look for, then it's an easy thing to miss.

TJay1234 it was a private buyer. When I said garage I meant mechanic who I called to fix it.

*private seller

I am totally sympathetic to te OP's position.
But realistically IMO ,she has very little chance of making any recovery here

Hi OP,

You could try using one of the many forums that there will be associated with your make of car, just google the make and something like "owners forum" and it's likely you will find one where you can post for more practical information such as asking for anyone with local recommendations for repairs etc.

Also, have you tried something like "payment assist"?
It's a bit like Klarna/ Clearpay but specifically for garages providing car repairs.

NB: No affiliation with them at all, just came across the suggestion when using said forums.

Gosh looking at the title of the forum section i can see it's not the "tea and sympathy section", however i can also see it's not the "victim blaming section"
I know it's the internet which is a great place to feel superior but i wish people would think about who is benefiting from their reply before they hit post!

If you aren't knowledgeable on cars then it's always best to take someone with you when viewing

Yes, I agree with this. However, there are a few things that are easy to check.

A blown head gasket will often lead to water getting into the engine oil. If you take off the oil filler cap after a test drive, and the gunk around the inside of the cap looks like mayonnaise, it's a sure sign that there's water penetration and probably a head gasket issue.

There are loads of online guides that show you some basic checks, it's well worth studying them before going to look at an old car. I've only ever paid more than £1,500 for a car, it came from a dealer and was the most troublesome car I've ever owned. Some of the other "old bangers" I've had have gone on for years and years and cost very little in terms of repairs.

I've yet to beat DP's record though: a Peugeot 106 that cost £400 and never went wrong in almost 5 years and sailed through its MOT every time, until the day it didn't. And he got £200 when he scrapped it.