sold car with altered mileage

[winnie_uk]

Hi,

 

I owned Audi in February and sold it month ago. New owner contacted me last week and telling me that actually cars mileage was altered in 2008! I originally bought car from car company and got all receipts, service book with mileage and MOT papers for last 3 MOT's and HPI printout (i did one myself and got all clear) - and all with correct mileage (as i sold it). Now he is threatening with small claims etc. Any ideas?

[renegadeimp]

How would he know the cars mileage was altered? Only the docs could give a specific year.

[Bazooka Boo]

Tell him to put up or shut up.

 

You gave him all the documents with the car yes?

Not wishing to point out the obvious but if he seriously thinks he can take you through the small claims track then he is deluded.

 

Have you pointed out that you owned the car in February 2013 and not 2008?

[winnie_uk]

Hi,

 

Yes paperwork supplied was MOT, V5, service book with all stamps etc, few other invoice for tires, brakes and other stuff and last 3 MOT's for previous years.

It seems he checked thru VOSA in regards to mileages and sent me full printout together with letter of action. I did point out that i owned car since February this year. He has a copy of V5 which clearly shows that!

[winnie_uk]

Hi again everyone,

 

What shall i reply to him in my letter? He's requesting reply or will go to small claims..

[renegadeimp]

Ask him what evidence he thinks he can go to small claims with. You have only had he car from feb this year, so no court in this country would ever judge in his favour when he claims it happened 5 years ago.

[Conniff]

Has he told you what the supposed mileage should be ??

[Bazooka Boo]

Sounds like a deluded fool to me, he doesn't stand a chance in hell, he has nothing to make this stick...IMO.

[renegadeimp]

Could be yet another case of buyers remorse.

[crem]

Hi again everyone,

 

What shall i reply to him in my letter? He's requesting reply or will go to small claims..

 

Either don't reply at all as there is no requirement for you to do so or send him a brief "see you in court" letter.

[winnie_uk]

Well in his letter he's claiming Sale of Goods act 97 and saying that i have sold vehicle not as described (by that he means higher mileage).

He believes car has in excess of 170k miles at present. I sold it to him as 90k miles.

[renegadeimp]

SOGA does not apply in this case. I would ignore him. If you want to respond, simply tell him to prove that YOU altered the mileage since it happened 5 years before you owned the car, or use the info in post #10

 

It's looking more and more like a case of buyers remorse.

[scaniaman]

Tell him to ascertain who owned the car in 2008 and have a go at them!!!!!!!!!!

[winnie_uk]

Thank you everyone for help.

I decided not to reply at all. If he wants to go to court so be it. My nerves don't regenerate ...

[sameagle]

I wonder why he didn't bother to discover the "missing" mileage, before he agreed to buy the car?

 

Sam

[Crapstone]

SOGA does apply....even on second-hand goods...and they must be as described. They do have a claim against you even if you didn't know of any alteration on the mileage. You'd have to claim against the company that sold you the car. It's easy to check with VOSA on mileage, and with tax and insurance these days.

[crem]

SOGA does apply....even on second-hand goods...and they must be as described. They do have a claim against you even if you didn't know of any alteration on the mileage. You'd have to claim against the company that sold you the car. It's easy to check with VOSA on mileage, and with tax and insurance these days.

 

SOGA does not apply on a private sale of second hand goods in so far as provided the seller hasn't lied or mis-discribed the goods and/or known faults.

 

As the mileage was allegedly altered several years before the OP even owned the vehicle, he cannot be held liable for not knowing this.

[Surfer01]

If it was a private sale SOGA does not apply but the Misrepresentation Act does apply, but it is then up to the buyer to prove that the car was misrepresented and the buyer is going to look very foolish if it shows that the mileage was altered prior to you purchasing the car.

[Crapstone]

Sorry ..I didn't make it clear....I did mean the company you purchased the car from for SOGA. But they can pursue you as the one that sold the car. You seem to have owned the car for only 3 months? Sold in May and bought in February? The OP does not say it is a private sale and I'd be wondering why it was sold after 3 months. This sounds like a trader but that's just my opinion and that's why I think the aggrieved person has quoted SOGA.

 

My concern would be that if the OP purchased the car from a company then they would have paid well over the price for it, if it has indeed done 170k and not 90k. If I was the OP I'd be bothered by that and making a case myself against the company who sold it to me. There is no mention of that and it was sold after 12 weeks?

Edited July 11, 2013 by Crapstone

[Surfer01]

The OP needs to make it clear whether the original purchase was from dealership selling cars or from a company selling cars from their fleet. If the latter SOGA will not apply.