Used car unfit for the road - where do we stand

[bombay121]

Hey guys,

Before I met my girlfriend she and her mother bought a used car from a garage back in December last year, the car passed its MOT in November the same year and have the certificate to prove it. The car was sold with a three month warranty from the garage and all seemed well.

Now the other day the cars front suspension and wheel bearings failed and upon inspection we found that the underside of the car was completely rusting away (we have images to prove this), we believe that this rusting was here when they bought the car and when it was MOT'd because it is extensive and we have had an independant mechanic look at it and he also agrees to this.

Further to this the garage that carried out the MOT is next door to the garage that sold the car to them and we have heard from a friend that this garage has passed cars that would have otherwise failed an MOT, some with extremely dangerous faults.

We have tried to contact the garage to get it repaired but they keep getting fobbed off claiming the MOT garage to be at fault even though they admitted on the phone that the MOT garage operated questionable business practices. They have also contacted the MOT garage and they are claiming the seller is at fault, basically passing the blame to each other.

Basically I would just like to know where they stand with the garage and what their rights are as nothing like this has ever happened before and we are all confused about what to do and having no car is becoming increasingly stressful and any advice would be helpful.

Many Thanks

Dan

[gwc1000]

Hi, could be difficult as VOSA are only interested in corrosion up to three months after MoT was issued. It's 28 days for all other problems.

[Conniff]

Well first of all you are going to have to prove that the rust was there at the time of the MoT and that is was in an advanced state and should have been a failure. You will only be able to do this with the help of a laboratory that specialises in these things, the opinion of another garage is of little use I'm afraid.

Any problems in this area which may not have been a problem at the time or warrant a refusal to issue a certificate would have been noted on the 'advice' sheet, do you have that and what does it say.

Don't repeat 'hearsay' from friends or friends of friends about the integrity of the MoT station or you might land yourself in trouble.

Trading standards can (but not necessarily will) help in this. They can take in a doctored car and see what the outcome is, so give them a ring and see what they have to say.

If you don't have a copy of the advice that goes with the MoT (some garages don't give it if it could advise of future problems), then go here and enter the details to see what it says:

MOT Information - Introduction

[Prolix]

Your big problem, as Conniff says, is proving what the car was like 9 months ago. Impossible, I'd say, especially as it has come through a winter since then.

Trading Standards should be made aware; this might not be their first complaint about this trader.

I'm afraid there might not be remedy to this for you.