any redress from this?

[user1471504821]

Hi, my partner bought a used car from an Ebay seller on Sat which listed it as having various jobs done in the last MOT. He has since taken it to 3 garages who have all advised him to get his money back as these jobs haven't been done correctly/botched and it's basically a money pit.

Our problem is that he wasn't given the option to pay by Paypal and instead paid by bank transfer which he has had a written receipt for but the seller hasn't marked on the site as paid for. My partner has emailed/texted/rung this seller a few times this week to try to resolve it to no avail. The latest development is that Ebay have said the item isn't eligible for refund so we are stuck with a non-communicative seller with £1400 in his bank. What, if any, is our next step? Could he have any joy contacting his bank? Is it worth taking to small claims? Or is this a chalk it up to experience situation? Many thanks to any who can advise.

In a private sale, whilst the car must run (unless stated otherwise) and be roadworthy, the buyer is responsible for ensuring the car is of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose before buying. A private seller isn’t expected to have mechanical knowledge: if the seller said that certain work had been done and provided receipts / service records of such, then the car is as described. The fact that professionals have now identified that the work is of poor quality isn’t on the seller: your DH didn’t recognise it when he bought the car, either.

Unfortunately this is something you’ll need to chalk up to experience. It’s always wise when buying privately to take somebody along with you to view who knows their way under the hood; it’s no good afterwards.

Many thanks, he has been to the Citizens Advice who have sent him a template email to send, but I think as you say we'll draw a blank unfortunately.

It’s unclear from your posts whether or not a fault has actually developed with the car, or whether some mechanics have just said they don’t think much of the work that’s supposed to have been done. If a fault has developed almost instantaneously and it’s something which you can argue that even a layperson would have been aware of, then include that in your letter.

That's really helpful, thankyou. He is doing that. The MOT stated that various things had been done, however all the garages said the same thing re an additive added to coolant to hide a leak, and that timing belt replacement was incorrectly done. My partner is highlighting that a full service and MOT were carried out so he had no reason to doubt the condition of the car; and also that the man is used to selling cars so it's not as if he'd be unaware it wasn't running properly.

This argument won’t work: if you are claiming that your DH relied on the full service and MOT to demonstrate the car was sound, then you can’t argue that the seller must have known differently. The seller was presumably also relying on the full service and MOT, and had no reason to believe a bodge job had been done.

If the seller is “used to selling cars” is this because there’s a clear eBay pattern of them regularly buying and selling cars for profit? If so, then that changes things, they may be classed as a dealer rather than a probate seller, which gives a buyer more rights. You’ll need to download the evidence and make this representation in your letter to them.

However, simply sold cars in the past doesn’t I’m used to selling cars, I generally sell mine every couple of years when I fancy a change. It still doesn’t mean that I could be expected to know, as a layperson, whether my mechanic did a good job of the timing belt or not.

Good points. Unfortunately all his Ebay feedback relates to car parts etc he's bought, rather than sales. As regards selling cars for profit- he told my partner (and showed him other cars he had bought to sell on (so just his word there). He hasn't listed any on Ebay so far. Really think we've gone as far as we can with this, though my partner is still sending this template letter in the hope of the Sale and Supply of Goods Act coming in helpful.

If he has admitted buying cars to sell on then he is a trader. One of the oldest tricks in the book is car dealers pretending they are just a private seller to avoid the legal obligations a trader has. Did you say this to citizens advice or did you just say it was a private seller? Speak to them again and tell them you now think he is a trader and can trading standards get involved. Message him to say you are going to do this.

Thankyou- we have since discovered in his sold listings (not shown on feedback as all his positive feedback is from buying car parts online not selling them ) that 3 other people are saying he lies on listings and have been sold cars in poor condition. We can also see he sold a car in January with no feedback left.

It sounds like he must have sold at least 3 cars. If he has done that in a relatively short space of time, he is clearly a dealer, not a private seller. That gives you additional rights.

With a private seller, the car must match any description that was given and be roadworthy. If, for example, the seller states that the car has air conditioning, it must have air conditioning fitted and it must work. If he is a private seller, you are probably going to have to chalk this one up to experience.

If, however, you buy from a dealer, the car must match the description, be roadworthy, be fit for purpose and be of satisfactory quality taking into account its age and mileage. From the information you have given, the car is not of satisfactory quality so you can return it and receive a full refund. However, given that this is a dealer pretending to be a private seller, this may not be easy. If you want to take him to court, you will need to prove that he is a dealer (you don't need absolute proof - this would be a civil case, so it would be decided on the balance of probabilities).

It sounds like you may already have evidence that he is a dealer, although it isn't clear if the evidence is sufficient. If you want to pursue the legal route (which is probably the only way you are going to get any money out of him, and even then it is not guaranteed), you should send him a letter before action - basically a letter setting out the facts, saying what he owes you, giving him a reasonable deadline to respond (28 days is normal) and stating that you will take legal action without further notice if he doesn't respond satisfactorily by then.

You have all been so helpful, cannot state how much it is appreciated. He will speak to Citizens Advice tomorrow with the new information and amend the letter accordingly.