Had a quick Google and turned this up:
Trade Sales that aren’t
The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 gives buyers of relatively new used cars who pay a full retail price a virtual guarantee of 6 months from the date of sale by assuming that any fault that occurs with the vehicle within 6 months was already developing at the date of purchase. You have occasionally mentioned dealers attempting to get around these regulations by calling a sale that obviously is not, a "trade sale". A "trade sale" implies that the customer is a trader with some knowledge of the car trade who is buying the car to re-sell. In reality this phrase is meaningless. It is not possible for two contracting parties to agree to avoid the effects of the consumer protection legislation (even if they wanted to). Obviously, if the car is sold to an ordinary private individual at a retail price, then its status as a "trade sale" for legal purposes needs to be challenged and precedents set in the courts to guide judgements in other such cases. Where a carbuyer has paid a retail price for a relatively
new car for over £5,000 that suffered severe problems within 6 months and the dealer tries to wriggle out of his responsibility by calling it a "trade sale", then lawanswers.co.uk is prepared to take on the case in order to set a case precedent. Any reader in this situation should contact Conrad Murray at the Roadside Lawyer website:
www.roadsidelawyer.co.uk; email:
conrad.murray@lawanswers. co.uk; Roadside Lawyer, Shatwell House, Yarlington, Wincanton, BA9 8DL, tel: 0800 037 1066
Original text:
Honestjohn: Frequently Asked Questions
Nightmare 2nd hand car situation! 
