category D car mis sold privately

[mm001]

Hi, i bought Nissan micra today from a private seller. Seller didn't mentioned us about any car accident history. It was unluckly rainy weather today.. i couldn't check car properly.

When i reached home i noticed car radio security code is locked. then i opened bonnet and noticed that front light is broken as well. then i checked HPI online and findout its category 'D' previous.

I did mentioned all this to seller but now he is not picking up my phone call.

Please help, i will appreciate your advice.. i paid £2700.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Did you not do a hpi BEFORE spending 3k on a car. Oh well. As long as its road worthy I guess you are going to have to live with that. Maybe seller didn't know its a cat d. Imho I dont think you have any comeback.

[Conniff]

Not telling you something like that would make it mis-described, but we have to say, assuming that he knew about it.

Being not as described and dangerous, (not that this car need be dangerous), are just about the only things you can get recompense from a private seller.

If he has owned the car some time, then it sounds as if he bought it from the insurance company and tidied it up himself. If he hasn't owned it for long or isn't on the log book, then he probably bought it at an auction for cleaning up and selling on.

 

 

How do you know he is a private seller ?

Some dodgy sellers, (is there any other sort), will take a car home from the dealership and sell it from their house pretending to be a private seller.

 

 

How long had he owned the car? that will say if he was aware.

This can have serious comebacks from your insurance. You will have to inform them. (They will know but won't mention it until you make a claim and they turn you down).

[Slimm]

Unless you have something in writing to say it wasn't a previous write off I'm afraid you've been the author of your own misfortune. If he said it wasn't a write off then you might be able to chance your arm but it's unlikely to justify the effort involved. If you just didn't ask then he wasn't obliged to volunteer to tell you everything that was wrong with the car.

 

 

You could try a strongly worded letter (keep a copy) but if he's ignoring your calls then he'll probably just ignore anything up to an actual summons and if you took it that far you are likely to lose if you don't have anything in writing.

[Aretnap]

Not telling you something like that would make it mis-described

Only if he said that it wasn't a cat D. A private seller's under no obligation to volunteer information.

 

This can have serious comebacks from your insurance. You will have to inform them. (They will know but won't mention it until you make a claim and they turn you down).

You only have to inform them if they ask (I've never come across an insurer which asks if the car has ever been written off), or if one of their assumptions is that the car hasn't been written off (this only apples to a handful of insurers). Insuring a Cat D is not generally a problem - the only issue if that if it gets written off again the payout may be reduced to reflect the fact that its market value is lower than that of a car which hasn't been written off.

[mm001]

Thank you very much to all for your response.

I bought this car yesterday and found these problem later. Car headlight was broken from inside bonnet, radio security lock, accident category D etc... Previous owner kept this car for 3 years but accident happened before he bought this car. I mean accident happened in 2010 and previous owner bought this car in 2011.

I personality think this is mis-sold deal with hidden description which was not mentioned in car advert at all and not even they mentioned verbally.

Is there any legal action for this kind of matter? actually £2700 is a lot of money for me.

Previous owner is not picking my phone call and messages.

Please advise.

[raydetinu]

As long as car is roadworthy and not in a dangerous condition then it your problem.

The seller does not have divulge any history as long as the car is legal.

However it was miss described, like not been in accident or HPI free, you may have a case.

caveat emptor!

[Conniff]

If you fail to inform the insurance company the probability is very high that they will refuse to pay out should you make a claim. If you watch their assessor, the first thing he does is look at the tax and then the tyres to see if there is an easy out for them.

Insurance companies do not like paying out and will do everything in the book to avoid it.

[Slimm]

The payout reduction for a Cat D should be pretty minor, maybe something like 10% if I were to pluck a figure out of thin air. D is cosmetic damage only.

 

 

When taking out insurance you're expected to act in utmost good faith, so if they ask you what the vehicles worth (or similar) I'd suggest following Conniff's advice and making sure they're aware of the facts. I doubt they'd refuse point blank to pay out if you didn't, but it could cause problems.

Edited February 1, 2015 by Slimm
Grammar

[Isiris]

Thank you very much to all for your response.

I bought this car yesterday and found these problem later. Car headlight was broken from inside bonnet, radio security lock, accident category D etc... Previous owner kept this car for 3 years but accident happened before he bought this car. I mean accident happened in 2010 and previous owner bought this car in 2011.

I personality think this is mis-sold deal with hidden description which was not mentioned in car advert at all and not even they mentioned verbally.

Is there any legal action for this kind of matter? actually £2700 is a lot of money for me.

Previous owner is not picking my phone call and messages.

Please advise.

So you say that the write off was while he wasnt the owner?

 

So how can you prove he knew?

 

Sorry but if you dont HPi check a car before you buy it then thats your own fault really

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Thank you very much to all for your response.

 

I bought this car yesterday and found these problem later. Car headlight was broken from inside bonnet, radio security lock, accident category D etc... Previous owner kept this car for 3 years but accident happened before he bought this car. I mean accident happened in 2010 and previous owner bought this car in 2011.

 

I personality think this is mis-sold deal with hidden description which was not mentioned in car advert at all and not even they mentioned verbally.

 

Is there any legal action for this kind of matter? actually £2700 is a lot of money for me.

 

Previous owner is not picking my phone call and messages.

 

Please advise.

 

Crack to inside of headlight doesn't make it un roadworthy.

 

Radio code missing is your problem. Thats a simple thing to test on purchase.

 

Cat d accident would have been on hpi should you have done it which you didn't so its your issue, not the seller.

 

I dont feel there is any legal action you can take as none of the above makes the car unsafe, and all of it would have been found if you had inspected the car properly.

 

I wouldn't pick up the phone to you either as I would have convinced myself you were trying to [problem] me by now.

[Conniff]

Reading through the problems you have found, they are all visible so even if the car was covered by the sale of goods act, they would be classed as obvious so it looks as if you didn't examine the car closely enough. Things like the radio code really is obvious and seen instantly by turning the radio on to see if it worked, likewise the broken headlight.

 

 

If he has been driving it for three years and it has MoT certificates for those three years plus a current one, then there is nothing inherently faulty that makes the car dangerous and the headlight meets MoT standard so no complaint.

 

 

£2,700 is a lot of money for anyone, which is all the more reason to have examined the car properly, or if you didn't feel confident enough, to have taken someone who knows cars with you. An HPI check beforehand for a few quid could have saved you this or let you know and then you could have haggled if you were happy to go ahead with the purchase.