Use car advert not accurate...any rights?

[Lewis12]

Any opinions on this....


Bought a car for the wife today from a dealer (working out of his house...no "proper" garage or anything.

Anyway - saw the ad in the Autotrader which described the model (for example, Mondeo Ghia X 2.0 ....its not a Ford but you get the idea) So we go look at it, its only a few years old...looks mint so we hand over £4,500 and drive off.

Get home and wife says "wheres the air con button"....spent ages looking for it then realise the spec of the car is NOT what the autotrader ad said - in other words...its a Ghia NOT a Ghia X and the only real difference in the two specs is air con is on one but not the other!

So phone dealer back (about 50mins after collecting the car) and tell him....he says "oh, thats the autotrader's mistake....but i push the issue and he says "you cant have your money back as i have posted the log book off now so it will show 2 owners"

So where do i stand? I was daft not to check for aircon but didnt even think to....i didnt check to see if it had a spare wheel either but assume it has!

As the car was NOT as desciribed in the ad (which i have a copy of) is that enough to force a refund as the contract, which was based on that ad in part, is not correct....his point is the ad didnt say "Aircon".....my point is it didnt say "engine" either.....both are assumed to be on the item! (i have checked and AC is 100% a STANDARD fit on the model described and not the one it is.

Does it matter that the model name is "nearly" right? ie. ghia or ghia X?

I know if i dont pursue this now i will kick myself come summer when the wife and kids are boiling!

Lewis

[rosiecotton]

Simply put, the Sale of Goods Act states that all goods that you buy must be as described. This car was not as described. Therefore you are entitled to either reject the car and get your money back or alternatively accept damages to reflect the difference in value between your car and the one you should have had. Do you know how much it would cost to get an air con system installed, or is that even possible? (I'm not a mechanic!).

The trader cannot use the excuse that the AutoTrader got the advert wrong. First of all, he is expected to use "due diligence" in his trading, and this would include checking the advertisements before he sells the cars. Secondly, he has entered into a contract with you for a Ghia X and that is what you are entitled to expect. If he is saying that the Auto Trader got the advert wrong, he needs to take his case up with them for damages - this is totally separate to your rights against the trader.

It could go like this:

You reject car and get a full refund from the trader
He then sues Auto Trader for any losses he has suffered due to "their error", such as having to sell the car with an additional owner and the value it has lost due to this.


I'm assuming you have only just bought the car, in which case I would advise you to write to the trader, send it via a post office and get a proof of posting slip, keep a copy. Inform him that as the car is not as described, it does not comply with the terms of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and therefore you are rejecting the car and claiming a full refund. Give him a date to do this by.

How did you pay for the car?

[poppynurse]

If he wasn't a proper dealer you may have less rights - I think it's a case of buyer beware if it was just a guy selling from his home address

[rosiecotton]

Not necessarily if he is in business doing this and it's not "just a hobby". You can still trade from your address. Did the advert state that he was in trade? (This is usually shown by having (T) in brackets at the end). Each case would have to be looked at individually to determine whether he is acting in the course of a business.

Besides, the issue here is that the car is not as described and that would still apply even if you bought from a private individual - it's the satisfactory quality term that applies "in the course of a business" only.

to illustrate (from the Sale of Goods Act):

13.
(1) Where there is a contract for the sale of goods by description, there is an implied term that the goods will correspond with the description.

as opposed to:

14 (2) Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the goods supplied under the contract are of satisfactory quality.

[JonCris]

Originally Posted by poppynurse

If he wasn't a proper dealer you may have less rights - I think it's a case of buyer beware if it was just a guy selling from his home address

If he is a selling multiple vehicles through Autotrader he will be described at the bottom of the ad (as required by law) as a 'Trader' Then he is totally liable as under the circumstances described here would a private seller.

[GSMGuy]

I'd agree - if the ad was marked as Trade by Autotrader, this means he has declared to them that he buys and sells cars as a business, therefore if he mis-describes a car, then you are protected by thoe sale of goods act - If the Ad states both Trade and Air-Con, I'd be straight onto my local Trading Standards Mon morning...


Mike

[JonCris]

Just a point
Even if he hasn't told Autotrader but they are aware that he trades consistently using their mag they must insist the he declares himself or refuse to take his ads

Also some major dealers have been known to sell duff motors from their salemans home to avoid the SOGA

[rosiecotton]

If he regularly trades cars for profit - more than just as a hobby - and doesn't declare himself as a trader, this is a criminal offence under the Business Advertisements (Disclosure) Order and should be reported to Trading Standards.

If he's a trader and is misdescribing a vehicle, this is also a Trade Descriptions Act offence and they will be interested in this also.

Neither of the above will have an effect on your civil rights under the Sale of Goods Act which you will still need to pursue yourself - and as the car is not as described, it won't matter whether he's in trade or not from your individual case's point of view.

[meggyweggy]

If you sell more than 6 cars within a 12 month period you are classed as a trader i cant' trememeber exactly where i saw that but will have a look

[rosiecotton]

There isn't anything which sets it in stone - there was a case where a postman sold about 9 cars over about 2 years and it was classed as a hobby (I can't remember it off the top of my head).

Each case would have to be taken on its own merits and ultimately only a judge would be able to decide.

[JonCris]

I think he claimed changing cars that he had 'done up' was a hobby. HUH!