Iffy Mileage !!

[laffing]

Hi

 

Bought a car Christmas 2009, (from MotorRange) and just bumped in to the previous owner who has made me aware of a discrepancy with the mileage to the tune of 50,000 miles (mileage when i bought it 70,000 and the previous owner reckons it was 120,000 when he sold it)!!

 

What are my rights and how do i go about proving this???

 

Please help

[sailor sam]

Your rights will depend on whether you were lead to believe the mileage was accurate or not. Proving it would be by obtaining a written statement from the previous owner. The mileage would also be shown on the cars MOT history which could be used as proof.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[laffing]

Your rights will depend on whether you were lead to believe the mileage was accurate or not. Proving it would be by obtaining a written statement from the previous owner. The mileage would also be shown on the cars MOT history which could be used as proof.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

Hi SailorSam

Thank you for your very quick reply

Luckily the car was previously used as a private hire vehicle, i have found and contacted the testing station who have no recorded mileage and i am now waiting for the licensing officer to ring me back, the garage assure me that the licensing office have to keep a record of the mileage.

 

What do i do next if i get the info from the licensing office and

what do i do if they can't give me the information??

where else will i get the mot history from?

 

Thanks in advance

[sailor sam]

Hi SailorSam

Thank you for your very quick reply

Luckily the car was previously used as a private hire vehicle, i have found and contacted the testing station who have no recorded mileage and i am now waiting for the licensing officer to ring me back, the garage assure me that the licensing office have to keep a record of the mileage.

 

What do i do next if i get the info from the licensing office and

what do i do if they can't give me the information??

where else will i get the mot history from?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Do you not have any previous MOT certs? It should be shown on them. You havn't mentioned how the mileage was described by the seller. In a lot of cases, a trader will stipulate that the mileage is not gaurenteed to be correct. There can be even stickers on the speedo stating this. If, however the seller used the phrase in any advertising 'genuine' or 'true' mileage then you may have a case against him.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[Boro]

If you do not have the old mot certificates (and i dont expect you do if its been clocked) then you can obtain the mot history including mileage from here Motoring : Directgov - MOT history request did the previous owners sell it straight to the garage you bought it from? far too much of this going on unfortunately and on modern cars it can be very difficult to spot especially if they have been looked after

[laffing]

Do you not have any previous MOT certs? It should be shown on them. You havn't mentioned how the mileage was described by the seller. In a lot of cases, a trader will stipulate that the mileage is not gaurenteed to be correct. There can be even stickers on the speedo stating this. If, however the seller used the phrase in any advertising 'genuine' or 'true' mileage then you may have a case against him.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

 

Hi again,

 

As the vehicle was to be used for private hire (the garage were aware of this), the mileage was a major factor in buying the car.

When I asked for the service history for the vehicle the garage 'couldn't find it' and said they would send it on when they found it... they haven't!

The only documentation i remember being given was the registration document, but they did say it was mot'd, but that wasn't an issue for me as the vehicle had to be licensed and mot'd for private hire use.

 

just trying to check mot info online @ motinfo.gov.uk

 

What next ???

 

Thanks

[Conniff]

A requested on two previous posts, 'how was the mileage described' in any advertising or was it not mentioned??

[laffing]

A requested on two previous posts, 'how was the mileage described' in any advertising or was it not mentioned??

 

Hi Everyone

 

Sorry caught up in work so only just getting chance to reply.

 

Right, have got the mot history off directgov and there is a definite discrepancy in the mileage....

 

I purchased the car from motor range and it was sold as genuine 70,000 miles as this was part of the reason why we bought it.

prior to motor range buying it, another person had the car for 1 month and then sold it on.

On the bill of sale it states on the sales declaration:

the mileage recorded on the above vehicle is sold as correct / incorrect

(neither has been omitted)

 

have tried to ring motor range this morning but manager not available, but i would rather know what my rights are before i ring and do i notify trading standards....

 

thanks for any help and advice

[sailor sam]

Hi Everyone

 

Sorry caught up in work so only just getting chance to reply.

 

Right, have got the mot history off directgov and there is a definite discrepancy in the mileage....

 

Please explain.

 

 

I purchased the car from motor range and it was sold as genuine 70,000 miles as this was part of the reason why we bought it.

prior to motor range buying it, another person had the car for 1 month and then sold it on.

On the bill of sale it states on the sales declaration:

the mileage recorded on the above vehicle is sold as correct / incorrect

(neither has been omitted)

 

These points will be signifitant especially if you have written proof.

 

have tried to ring motor range this morning but manager not available, but i would rather know what my rights are before i ring and do i notify trading standards....

 

thanks for any help and advice

 

NO! Initially you write to the dealer indicating that you have recently become aware that the mileage on the car when you purchased it was signiffitantly incorrect. That car was advertised as having completed 70k 'genuine' miles. Following further investigation by your self, you have now obtained proof confirming this. As the car was potentially miss-sold, you are writing to invite the dealer's commenst and intentions before seeking legal advice in the matter. Inform him that you require a response within 14 days from the date of your letter.

 

If you wish to explore the possibility of rejecting the car and obtain a re-fund, then consult trading standards before sending the letter as you have gone past the 6 month period which is nomally covered under the SOGA for defects. In my opinion under these circumstances, you ought to be able to still persue a rejection claim because the car was miss-sold (according to your information). If trading standards tell you that you can demand a refund, then you must stop using the car immediately and send a formal rejection letter by ommiting the 'invite intentions/comments' bit and replace it with 'you wish to formaly reject the car and obtain either a refund or replacement'.

 

In addition to all the above, trading standards will be extemely interested in this as they can prosecute the seller but I suggest it be in your own interest to sort your problem out first by not giving them the dealer's details when asking if you can reject the car. Obviously if the seller does not play ball with you (but i'm sure he will), then just hand him on a plate to TS.

 

Please keep us posted.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[laffing]

Please explain.

 

 

 

 

These points will be signifitant especially if you have written proof.

 

 

 

NO! Initially you write to the dealer indicating that you have recently become aware that the mileage on the car when you purchased it was signiffitantly incorrect. That car was advertised as having completed 70k 'genuine' miles. Following further investigation by your self, you have now obtained proof confirming this. As the car was potentially miss-sold, you are writing to invite the dealer's commenst and intentions before seeking legal advice in the matter. Inform him that you require a response within 14 days from the date of your letter.

 

If you wish to explore the possibility of rejecting the car and obtain a re-fund, then consult trading standards before sending the letter as you have gone past the 6 month period which is nomally covered under the SOGA for defects. In my opinion under these circumstances, you ought to be able to still persue a rejection claim because the car was miss-sold (according to your information). If trading standards tell you that you can demand a refund, then you must stop using the car immediately and send a formal rejection letter by ommiting the 'invite intentions/comments' bit and replace it with 'you wish to formaly reject the car and obtain either a refund or replacement'.

 

In addition to all the above, trading standards will be extemely interested in this as they can prosecute the seller but I suggest it be in your own interest to sort your problem out first by not giving them the dealer's details when asking if you can reject the car. Obviously if the seller does not play ball with you (but i'm sure he will), then just hand him on a plate to TS.

 

Please keep us posted.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

 

Thanks SailorSam

 

have spoken with the dealership manager who has assured me that if after completing their own investigations they find my findings to be true, they will settle outstanding finance and replace vehicle.

I have put all my findings in an email and what i expect to resolve this and they have said they will get back to me tomorrow.

 

I haven't contacted trading standards at present, gonna wait and see what happens tomorrow.

 

Will let you know how i get on.....

 

Thanks again for your help and advice

[sailor sam]

Thanks SailorSam

 

have spoken with the dealership manager who has assured me that if after completing their own investigations they find my findings to be true, they will settle outstanding finance and replace vehicle.

I have put all my findings in an email and what i expect to resolve this and they have said they will get back to me tomorrow.

 

I haven't contacted trading standards at present, gonna wait and see what happens tomorrow.

 

Will let you know how i get on.....

 

Thanks again for your help and advice

 

I thought he might because he knows how serious this could get!

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[Boro]

It would be interesting to know who the previous owner (before the dealer) was and whether they have any connection to the dealer

[sailor sam]

It would be interesting to know who the previous owner (before the dealer) was and whether they have any connection to the dealer

 

Reading the OPs first post suggests that the previous owner has no connection with the dealer as it was he who bought the descrepancy to the attention of the OP in the first place!

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice usefull.

[j66]

From post #8

 

 

I purchased the car from motor range and it was sold as genuine 70,000 miles as this was part of the reason why we bought it.

prior to motor range buying it, another person had the car for 1 month and then sold it on.

 

The 1 month owner could have had the mileage 'corrected'.

[sailor sam]

From post #8

 

 

 

The 1 month owner could have had the mileage 'corrected'.

 

Quite possibly, but this is still the resposibility of Motor Range as afr as the OP is concerned.

 

__________________

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice usefull.

[laffing]

Further update:

Had a meeting with dealership on 4th August, they have asked that they be given 14 days to rectify the problem, to do this they are to source a comparable vehicle with 70,000 'genuine' miles or less. If they find a vehicle and we agree to the swap then they will correct all the relevant paper work with the finance company ie: give new registration details and the original price and payments made will all be as was, so we will not be out of pocket.

I asked the question about what if we do not agree to a subsequent purchase and we decide to go elsewhere are they then willing to settle the finance and we then walk away from the deal?

This is where things got a big messy.... basically they then implied that because of the depreciation of the vehicle (my husband has done an additional 20,000+ miles since purchasing the car) they will settle the finance at what the car is now worth and we will have to settle any outstanding detriment!

We asked why this would be the case and we were brought back to the car now having done 162,000 miles and not the original '70,000', they didn't grasp that the 70,000 was an imaginary figure and the car would not have been worth the money we paid with 140k on the clock.

Right.... the 14 days is up on 14th August and they have a vehicle which we are going to look at tomorrow, if it is not suitable what do we do next?

The vehicle was purchased on a hire purchase agreement (scheme 1) and as yet the finance company have not been made aware of our problem.

Can we reject the car and hand the keys back and what if they won't accept it and what if they try to get us to pay the depreciation (I do not think we should be out of pocket)?

If we reject the car can we then claim the payments we have made back and how do we go about all this??

 

Would rather have all the facts with me tomorrow 'just in case'.

 

Hope this all makes sense and thanks again for any advice.

[sailor sam]

Further update:

Had a meeting with dealership on 4th August, they have asked that they be given 14 days to rectify the problem, to do this they are to source a comparable vehicle with 70,000 'genuine' miles or less. If they find a vehicle and we agree to the swap then they will correct all the relevant paper work with the finance company ie: give new registration details and the original price and payments made will all be as was, so we will not be out of pocket.

I asked the question about what if we do not agree to a subsequent purchase and we decide to go elsewhere are they then willing to settle the finance and we then walk away from the deal?

This is where things got a big messy.... basically they then implied that because of the depreciation of the vehicle (my husband has done an additional 20,000+ miles since purchasing the car) they will settle the finance at what the car is now worth and we will have to settle any outstanding detriment!

We asked why this would be the case and we were brought back to the car now having done 162,000 miles and not the original '70,000', they didn't grasp that the 70,000 was an imaginary figure and the car would not have been worth the money we paid with 140k on the clock.

Right.... the 14 days is up on 14th August and they have a vehicle which we are going to look at tomorrow, if it is not suitable what do we do next?

The vehicle was purchased on a hire purchase agreement (scheme 1) and as yet the finance company have not been made aware of our problem.

Can we reject the car and hand the keys back and what if they won't accept it and what if they try to get us to pay the depreciation (I do not think we should be out of pocket)?

If we reject the car can we then claim the payments we have made back and how do we go about all this??

 

Would rather have all the facts with me tomorrow 'just in case'.

 

Hope this all makes sense and thanks again for any advice.

 

Absolutley correct! And a judge would agree with that. If you are not 100% happy with the car they present to you (and I do mean 100%), inform them that you would like to reject the 'dodgy' car and recieve a FULL refund by way of settling all the outstanding finance. If they give you any problems just leave by saying you will be taking legal advice. This could get very serious for them and they know it. By the way according to your info, they have untill the 18th August if they asked for 14 days on the 4th!

 

Please Note

 

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[laffing]

Hi Sailor Sam

 

Thanks for your advice once again.... it's always good to know the facts before confronting people Also, it might have been the 1st of August.... cos I wrote the deadline date as the 14th at the meeting...

Wish me luck and i will let you know how I get on .

[sailor sam]

I think it's the dealer that needs the luck! But never the less, good luck.

 

Please Note

 

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

 

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

 

Please click my reputation button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.