Faulty second hand car purchase

[Mike1984]

Hey,

I recently bought a second hand car and it is now broke down the part of text below is from an email I sent to trading standards on the 7th of this month (to save me typing out it all again I just copied and pasted it from my email)

 

I purchased a 2001 Saab off a trader on ebay described as mechanically perfect for a "buy it now" of £1895 (plus £143 for road tax) I went and paid for and collected the car on the 21/08/2011 on the way home the check engine light and tcs light come on on the dashboard I was by a mates house so I took the car there and left it there got a lift home and contacted the seller. The seller replied back and said that lights often come up on saabs for no reason and once they get reset they never come back and that if it drives ok then it will be ok.

The next day I got a friend to read the fault codes and they were fault codes for the throttle body after resetting the fault codes we gave it a drive down the road to see if they came back on and they did so I contacted the seller and let them know so they sent me a throttle body (a second hand one.)

Once I received the throttle body off the seller I booked my car in at a garage to have it changed over however on the drive to the garage the check engine light started flashing and the car cut out on the right hand lane of the motorway I managed to get it across on to the hard shoulder I tried restarting it but after a few seconds it would just cut out so I phoned the AA and waited for them to come.

Once they come the guy had a look and couldn't get it started so I had to get it towed unfortunately I was going on holiday on the 26/08/11 so this meant I had to get the car towed home instead of to the garage I was going to (I wasn't in the country so I wouldn't of been able to confirm to do any work or to collect the car when it was finished until I came back which was the 03/09/11)

Once the AA guy dropped the car off he had a few more goes at trying to get it restarted but he couldn't get it to run for more then a few seconds.

I contacted the seller however they were/are on holiday and don't get back until later today (07/09/11)

 

I was just wondering what rights if any do I have? and if there is anything I can do what steps should be my next ones.

When I purchased the car I signed a piece of paper stating I bought the car "sold as seen, tried and approved by the purchaser without any representations, warranties or conditions express or implied whatsoever." however the seller also said to me that if I left feedback when I was there that they would give me a warranty for the engine and gearbox on the journey home.

Additional points don't know if these make any difference but here they are

The car has just over 62,000 miles with full saab service history (serviced every year due one now)

I've done less then 100 miles in it.

They did say they would repair any problems with there mechanic if I bought the parts is this correct or do they have do pay for parts also if they put second hand parts in is this still deemed as ok?

When I inspected the car there was a message on the info display in the car stating "service theft alarm" when I questioned about this the seller stated it was because the car is due a service however when I got back off holiday I was told that the car alarm kept going off when I searched up on the internet I found out that the cause of this is related to the alarm box and the when it states service theft alarm it means you need new batteries problem is you can't by battery separate so you have to get the whole unit off saab £207 +vat.

If the seller repairs the car who has to pay for transport of the car to the sellers chosen mechanic? reason I ask is that there about 80 miles away and the car will have to be trailered.

heres the original ebay advert (** EDITED OUT **) as you can see in the advert they state several times the car is excellent condition and completely free from and mechanical fault.

 

Trading standards sent an email back refering me to consumer advice who then told me about SOGA and advised writing a letter etc etc I have now finished writing my letter for the seller and I am going to send it recorded delivery tomorrow.

 

My question are who has to pay for transportation of the car back to them? and if its them do they have to get it back to me when there done?

Do I have to get the car diagnosed to find out what is causing all the problems? reason I ask this is the seller got off there holiday on the 9th and when they emailed me they said they want me to take it to Saab to find out the route of the problem. However the car isn't driveable (so it would have to be trailered and they expect me to pay for all of this)

 

Thanks for any info or advice

 

Just to add I've had to edit out the link to the original ebay advert because I haven't got 10 posts yet.

[raydetinu]

The dealer cannot subvert your consumer rights in any shape or form and SOGA will apply and the dealer must be given an opportunity to put the problems right.

You need to write/email him with problems and ask him to sort out asap; suggest the cost of getting car back could be shared. give 7 days to respond.

[Conniff]

I signed a piece of paper stating I bought the car "sold as seen, tried and approved by the purchaser without any representations, warranties or conditions express or implied whatsoever.

 

Take joy in what Ray has said above, and to make the point stronger, you cannot sign away your rights even if you wanted to so the bit quoted has no standing whatsoever in law and wouldn't dare be mentioned in a court of law by anyone.

 

The regulations state that during the first six months, the seller is responsible for any faults as they are assumed to have been there at the time of purchase. It is up to the seller to show that the faults were not there. After the six months, it is up to the buyer to show that the faults were there at the time of purchase.

 

Naturally there are other things to take into consideration in the above regs, and that is not written in stone so strongly that there is no way out for the dealer, so be prepared for a fight if he decides he wants nothing to do with it.

 

What have you said in your letter to the dealer?