Car broke after 2 days, need help.!!

[NotAHappyCamper]

there is a guy across the road from me who is selling cars under the company name of Stones' Motor Company.

 

I bought a renault megane off him for £695.

I purchased this on friday the 10th of february 2012 and on sunday the 12th the exhaust pipe underneath the car detatched itself from the front end

and is now hanging down and it is unsafe to drive.

 

I have spoken to the person who sold me the car who has assured me since sunday it would be fixed but am still waiting for something to be done.

 

I had some correspondence with him today and he told me somebody from his garage would be coming to pick the car up and weld it back on but nobody has come.

He also said if it isnt able to be welded there is nothing he can do.

 

i do not trust this guy any more and i am going to get it checked for safety after (or if at all) the required work is carried out.

 

My question is if it is not repaired to a safe standard or repaired at all where do i stand legally, am i able to get a refund?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in Advance =)

[Conniff]

Give the man one last 24 hours, tell him that if it has not been fixed by then, you will take it to a garage to be fixed and bill him.

[NotAHappyCamper]

thats good advice and i thank you, say i have to do that as i stated in my OP where do i stand legally on this .

[NotAHappyCamper]

also how would i go about billing him im not really well up on things like this and it is my first car =(

[Conniff]

Ok, confirm that he is a dealer and not a private seller ?

 

If so, then you are covered by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) which means the car must be of 'satisfactory quality'.

 

Now the price and age of the car would need to be taken into account, but not 2 days after purchase, it should be fit for the purpose that is was sold.

It would be best to correspond in writing, so don't be afraid of him, go across the road and hand him the letter mentioning the above act and he has been given adequate time to repair the car, so you are giving him one more opportunity which expires in 24 hours upon which you will take the car to another garage and have it repaaired handing him the bill, (you will have had to pay the bill first).

 

If he doesn't help you, then take it to the garage and give him the bill requesting payment within 7 days. At the end of those 7 days, you drop him another letter giving him another 7 days but this time the letter will be headed 'Letter Before Action' and atelling him that failure to pay will result in a claim in the small claims court.

 

You can do small claims on line and it isn't expensive either - https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

 

This might all seem long winded, but it is the way you are expected to go and will show any court, if it should come to that, that you have been reasonable and given him ample opportunity to rectify the situation.

 

Only threaten court if you are prepared to go through with it though.

 

You don't have to drop the letter off in person, you can do it through the post but I would recommend it be sent recorded delivery if you do.

[NotAHappyCamper]

thanks for that i will follow your advice..!! Well when i bought the car he handed me a receipt in which he had written stones motor company, his address and the amount paid with his signature. So i guess that makes him trading as a dealer and not a private seller? i am not clear on the rules on this.

 

But i will certainly follow your advice thankyou =)

[Conniff]

There is a lot of help on here, so don't be afraid to come back and ask, remember, there is no such thing as a silly question.

[NotAHappyCamper]

haha thankyou. So then can i confirm that by giving me a reciept with a company name etc etc he is selling as a dealer and not a private seller.

[Conniff]

He certainly is or is fraudulently portraying himself as such which is even more serious.

[NotAHappyCamper]

He certainly is or is fraudulently portraying himself as such which is even more serious.

 

Well that is good to know, what would happen to him if he was fraudently acting as a dealer?

 

Would i still be protected?

[rebel11]

Some further info:- http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_world/consumer_affairs/buying_second_hand_vehicles.htm

[NotAHappyCamper]

Some further info:-

 

Thanks for that it is a very good link and i shall read it later. There doesnt seem to be anything on there about people fraudulently acting as dealers. Only thing i can find is dealers posing as private sellers and not the other way round. =/

[oddjobbob]

To be quite honest, on a £695 car, you can't expect him to move heaven and earth in order to sort it out... if he's said he'llsort it then I daresay he will, but be careful that if you get on his nerves he'll say 'get on with it....'

 

Most cars under £1000 are nearing the end of their life, so be careful....

[sailor sam]

To be quite honest, on a £695 car, you can't expect him to move heaven and earth in order to sort it out... if he's said he'llsort it then I daresay he will, but be careful that if you get on his nerves he'll say 'get on with it....'

 

Most cars under £1000 are nearing the end of their life, so be careful....

 

SOGA still applies Bob especially after only 2 days.

[oddjobbob]

Sam, despite the fact that soga does indeed apply, for goodness sake be realistic... It is NOT going to be a good car for £695 is it?

 

And at that mnoey the dealer is far more likely to say get on with it than if it was £6950.

 

Thats all I'm saynig... you can quote soga at people all day long, but for £695 he's got a fight on his hands.

[oddjobbob]

BTW OP I am nOT saying that yuo've deliberately gone and bought and old clunker of a car... motoring is an expensive business these days and that was very likely all yuo could afford.

 

The point I'm making is that at that mnoey you don't get much of a car.

 

The exhaust hangng down does not make it unsafe... undriveable in case it catches a speed hump, yes, and mot failure yes, but unsafe.. no.

 

Give him a chance to fix it... although I susoect that if you go back there with anything much more than that he'll tell you where to go.

[sailor sam]

Sam, despite the fact that soga does indeed apply, for goodness sake be realistic... It is NOT going to be a good car for £695 is it?

 

And at that mnoey the dealer is far more likely to say get on with it than if it was £6950.

 

Thats all I'm saynig... you can quote soga at people all day long, but for £695 he's got a fight on his hands.

 

Bob, obviously the exhaust was shot when the OP bought the car so it wasn't fit for the purpose. It dosn't matter whether it cost £695 or £69.50, it should be fit for the purpose and clearly it wasn't The seller must rectify it end of. I would be inclined to agree with you if we were talking a few months down the line.

 

OP should follow the advice given by Conniff.

[oddjobbob]

Ok.... but it may well end in tears!

 

For example how do we know that the OP hasn't driven over a speed hump or something and damaged the exhaust himself?

 

I'm not saynig he has, just saying what the seller might say.

 

If he's offering to get it repaired then he should be given fair opportunity to do so.

 

If they get it up on a ramp and the exhaust is damaged by its having been driven over a spped hump / rock etc then for me that's be tough... I'd get it welded but at the OPs expense.

 

I know the law is the law and soga applies.. bt if the law really was the law then 100 MPs would be in prison for thieving and not still MPs... and it appears that HMRC can 'lose' the details of 26,000,000 taxpayers and no one is held to account but I would get a fine and a snotty letter if I sent in my VAT return a day late.

 

The law is not always your friend and the OP should be careful bearing in mnid the price pais for the car.

 

I don't to get into a big discussion on this as it will run off topic and will say no more, save to say that in the real world its nearly always a question of what's possible and not what your rights might be under soga.

[NotAHappyCamper]

thanks for your input guys.

 

Bob as the other poster says i believe that it shouldnt matter how much it cost the rule of law still applies does it not, he has had since sunday to rectify the problem and still has not been in touch although i have seen him outside 'sorting' other cars out so clearly he thinks this is not an issue for him to swiftly deal with, which i think it is.

 

Furthermore i would deem it to be unsafe as it could cause an accident.

 

Either way it is a moot point and i will be following coniffs advice.

 

I may also be reporting him to the OFT as i do now believe he is illegally posing as a dealer.

 

=)

[NotAHappyCamper]

Ok.... but it may well end in tears!

 

For example how do we know that the OP hasn't driven over a speed hump or something and damaged the exhaust himself?

 

I'm not saynig he has, just saying what the seller might say.

 

If he's offering to get it repaired then he should be given fair opportunity to do so.

 

If they get it up on a ramp and the exhaust is damaged by its having been driven over a spped hump / rock etc then for me that's be tough... I'd get it welded but at the OPs expense.

 

I know the law is the law and soga applies.. bt if the law really was the law then 100 MPs would be in prison for thieving and not still MPs... and it appears that HMRC can 'lose' the details of 26,000,000 taxpayers and no one is held to account but I would get a fine and a snotty letter if I sent in my VAT return a day late.

 

The law is not always your friend and the OP should be careful bearing in mnid the price pais for the car.

 

I don't to get into a big discussion on this as it will run off topic and will say no more, save to say that in the real world its nearly always a question of what's possible and not what your rights might be under soga.

 

So are you saying you think i should just sit back, accept this and move on and let him get away with it??

[sailor sam]

Ok.... but it may well end in tears!

 

For example how do we know that the OP hasn't driven over a speed hump or something and damaged the exhaust himself?

 

I'm not saynig he has, just saying what the seller might say.

 

We don't but the advice being offered is based on the info that the OP has provided. (see my signature)

 

 

 

If he's offering to get it repaired then he should be given fair opportunity to do so.

 

Absolutely

 

If they get it up on a ramp and the exhaust is damaged by its having been driven over a spped hump / rock etc then for me that's be tough... I'd get it welded but at the OPs expense.

 

Agreed

 

I know the law is the law and soga applies.. bt if the law really was the law then 100 MPs would be in prison for thieving and not still MPs... and it appears that HMRC can 'lose' the details of 26,000,000 taxpayers and no one is held to account but I would get a fine and a snotty letter if I sent in my VAT return a day late.

 

Slightly irrelevant but I know where you are coming from

 

The law is not always your friend and the OP should be careful bearing in mnid the price pais for the car.

 

I don't to get into a big discussion on this as it will run off topic and will say no more, save to say that in the real world its nearly always a question of what's possible and not what your rights might be under soga.

 

Again, all agreed BUT in this case time is deffinately on the OPs side.

[oddjobbob]

OP... its your car, you own it, do as you wish, all I'm saying is that if you go in heavy with a soga letter in yuor hand you're more likely to be told where to go, thats all. If the car was £6950 it'd be a totally different ball game.. and I DO understand that that's probalby all you could afford to spend on a car, I'm not having a go at you or anybody.

 

look at it logically... you paid £695 for the car... it probably owed the dealer £500 or so. There are NO CIRCUMSTANCES under which you can get some kind of safety check done following the exhaust repair and then confront him with a £500 bill and expect it to be paid,, it won't happen, he'll either tell you where to go or just give you back your money.

 

Hopefully the exhaust can be welded (most clever welders can work wonders) and all will be ok... I sincerely hope so.

 

No I 've NEVER said let him get away with it.. he's offered to fix it, get him to do so: if he won't ask for your money back, I'm sure you'll get it.

 

BTW you can't illegally be a private seller and pose as a dealer, you can only illegally pose as a private seller when you are in fact a dealer