should I pursue this? and if so, how? car related

[garlicandsapphires]

I bought a car in Jan that has spectacularly failed its MOT - a "death trap" according to the mechanics. They think the prior MOT must have been 'bent' e.g. faked and are encouraging me to try and get refunded by the private sellers. They will back me up, and I have taken lots of photos.

What is the next step? a letter stating the above and that I will take it further if they do not comply, or is this better sent my email (which could go to spam), or both?

I feel bad for the seller as they may not have known? but if this is the case they need to take it up with the dodgy garage (who are being incredibly dangerous issuing bent MOTs!!)

I also feel pretty stupid and naive to have lost so much money, but I did check out the MOT history so not sure what else I could have done.

Has anyone done similar?
Is there a risk that I end up accruing lots of legal fees in pursuing this?
Any advice appreciated.

I'm not anyone legal, but I thought a private sale is sold as seen? How could you prove the MOT was dodgy?

Hopefully bumping for more knowledgeable people.

It is a case of buyer beware. You have no recourse and should have had the car examined before purchase.

I wouldn’t waste money taking this any further .If you are having the MOT done now then it’s a year since it’s last MOT and cars can go spectacularly wrong very quickly . What is actually wrong with it

I don't think you're likely to get your money back from a private seller, but you could report the "dodgy" garage to Trading Standards.

If it is a private sale, there will be no recourse from the sellers unfortunately.

You also cannot prove the previous MOT was dodgy. Especially if you did not own the vehicle.

If you’d like to PM me the failure sheet with identifying information taken off, I can help identify which bits are going to be more expensive, and whether or not it is actually a death trap! Eg brake pipes can look terrifying when listed on a failure sheet, but realistically only take a few hours, unions and feet of copper pipe to rectify.

Private or business sale? You've no recourse, AFAIK, against a private seller - caveat emptor.

You might be able to prove something against the original MOT station, not as you were not the client, you could probably only report them to VOSA. Your current garage will struggle to prove the prior MOT was dodgy though.

Private sellers are 'sold as seen' aren't they, so you'd have little comeback. Unless there are legal reasons that you can get them for fraud?

Was the car expensive?

how soon after purchase did you get it checked yourself?

how do you know the previous mot didn’t have advisories on?

have you contacted the garage to see if they have insurance for errors like this?

hiw many miles had you driven the vehicle before you noticed faults?

Thank you everyone.
It cost 3k - expensive for me.
I'm afraid this is the first time I've had it checked - it was running fine with no problems but the underside is crumbling away.
I have looked up the previous MOTs and it was all okay, as far as an old car can be expected to be. A knowledgeable relative looked this over with me too.

The current garage - my garage, who I've known for a while and trust, swear that it should have been condemned and can't possibly have passed (the whole of the bottom is basically rusting and falling out, we went underneath and looked. They couldn't even carry out the MOT as it was deemed too dangerous) I don't know that they can 'prove' this but it hasn't done many miles since last MOT.

They also say that 'sold as seen' means nothing legally but 'fit for purpose' stands.

If there's a dodgy MOT then I believe the usual recourse is via the DVLA. It tells you somewhere on the website what to do if you've had a dodgy MOT.
I think probably you've left it too long though and you're a bit stuck now. The sellers probably knew it wouldn't pass another MOT. This is why it was sold with such a short MOT. I doubt you'll be able to get anywhere with them.

If you do pursue it via DVLA, then I believe you have to hand over the car to their inspectors. I looked at it with my Land Rover that came with a new MOT not worth the paper it was written on that started dropping to bits 10 days after passing. Suspension, brakes - pads and discs, horn, axles and other stuff I can't remember now it was a real pack of lies and very expensive to repair. It's lucky that their value was riding so the work was viable. So if you do want to complain you lose the car whilst it's inspected and then probably either suck up the repair costs or scrap it and learn a lesson.
What are your garage saying is wrong with it?

Ah cross posted. If it's significant corrosion that obviously hasn't all happened in the last year then you may get lucky with an MOT complaint, I'm not sure about a private seller and getting your money back though.

How many years was corrosion an advisory on the MOT history?

If you have home insurance sometimes legal cover is included so check that out

and definitely consider reporting the garage but like I said you ought to look at the advisories as they may have corrosion on there

sorry this happened to you

Ignore those saying, "sold as seen" and similar. That is not correct legally.

When buying from a private seller, the vehicle must match any description that was given, the seller must not misrepresent the car and it must be roadworthy. If you can prove it wasn't roadworthy when purchased, you have a claim against the seller. However, it may be difficult to pursue the claim.

Are you sure this was a private sale? Some dealers pretend to be private sellers as you have more rights against a dealer and your rights are easier to enforce.