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Help! Been given 48 hrs by garage to reply. Spares or repairs written on reciept for 'car in excellent condition'???


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I've recently bought a car, and after speaking to some friends a question has arisen about the receipt.

 

When the car dealer wrote the receipt they put "spares or repairs" on the receipt, this seemed strange, as the advert said that the car was in excellent condition.

 

When I asked the dealer why he had put this he said it was just a way of writing sold as seen.

 

My friends seem to think that both of these are shady practices, that a dealer selling to the public cannot mark a receipt with sold as seen, and that advertising a car in excellent condition, and then writing spares or repairs on the receipt may be the dealers way of trying to absolve themselves of responsibility in the event that a problem arises with the car.

 

Can you please advise if I should be worried about this? and what if anything I can do about it - I bought the car from a dealer rather than a cheaper private sale because I wanted some reassurance that I would be able to seek recourse in the event of an issue, and my friend seems to think that this may complicate that?

 

I emailed the garage the following:

 

Hiya, myself and my dad bought a car from you the other day. So far it is fine but I have spoken to people and I am not happy with the receipt that you gave me. I bought a car that was described as 'excellent' condition, the car is in excellent condition but you wrote a receipt saying spares or repairs. This is not the terms the car was sold under, I would like a new receipt to reflect this. Would you be able to post a receipt or should I come and collect one?

 

And this was the reply:

 

Hi Becki,

 

We sell all our cars as spare/repairs unless you buy warranty from us, that's the reason our cars are better priced than others. If you are not happy with the vehicle or the receipt,please bring the car back within 48 hours so that we may re-advertise it. This is just out of curtsey as you were not fully aware of what spares/repairs mean. After 48 hours of this email your receipt will stand and the offer of refund will expire.

Just to put it in perspective the retail value of your vehicle is £4200 according to Parkers but we sold it to you for £3400.

 

 

Kind Regards

Professional Cars LTD

 

01753 780182

07788 929755

 

 

This seems fairly dodgy to me. I've emailed trading standards but I don't think I'll get a quick response. Please can someone give me their opinion? I'm really worried and stressed as only just dealt with one dodgy car and now landed this. My husband thinks the clutch seems high also, so if it goes I need to know what rights I have.

 

Sorry for the long rambling post, I look forward to replys, thanks for your time! Becki:help::help::?:

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You really need to name this dealer Becki.

 

That is a disgusting practice that may fool some but is not worth the paper it is written on. They cannot sell a car to a consumer and limit the consumers rights like that. It will not stand up in court and is in fact unlawful.

 

You don't need a warranty as the law gives you one with the Sale of Goods Act and the Sale of Goods and Services Act.

 

That receipt could reduce greatly the selling price you get if it is seen by the person who buys it off you when the time comes to sell it.

 

I think you should write again to the dealer and tell them that they are trying to limit their responsibility to you by adding that and attempting to take away your consumer rights. You should also mention that you will be reporting this to Trading Standards and demand a proper receipt.

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You really need to name this dealer Becki.

 

Umm, she has

 

Professional Cars LTD

 

01753 780182

07788 929755

 

A Google search on that (landline) number turns up some 'interesting' results. And a look at their website makes them look anything but 'professional'. Various breaches of the Companies Act for a start.

 

Their registered office, according to Companies House is:

 

PROFESSIONAL CARS LIMITED

239 ROCHFORDS GARDENS

SLOUGH

SL2 5XD

Company No. 08763622

 

But their website only shows an address for what I assume is their car lot.

 

2B Upton Lea Parade

Wexham Road, Slough,

Berks SL2 5JU

 

Interestingly, a search on their domain name with Nominet gives another address of:

 

13 Arborfield Close

Slough

Berkshire

SL1 2JP

 

And a completely different Company Registration number of 4626175 which according to Companies House is:

 

PERSONNEL ACTION LTD.

19 EAST PARADE

HARROGATE

NORTH YORKSHIRE

HG1 5LF

Company No. 04626175

 

 

 

Tangled web indeed. Professional, I think not.

Please note that my posts are my opinion only and should not be taken as any kind of legal advice.
In fact, they're probably just waffling and can be quite safely and completely ignored as you wish.

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More and more "dealers" are using this technique now.

Just have a look on ebay and you will find dozens of dealers selling nice cars, but in the ad description they use the spares or repair trick.

I've got to say, some of them are very opened about it and they say it in large print at the beginning of the ad also suggesting to have the vehicle checked by a mechanic before buying because there would be no come back.

Seems fair that way, but to offer a car in excellent conditions and then give a receipt for a scrap is surely illegal.

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Thanks for everyone's replies so far. I feel like a complete idiot, I should have done some searches and research prior to the sale. I will in future. I will send a reply email this afternoon using the advice I have received from you all and I'll post the reply when I get one. Really not what I need, got a little one on the way, this was supposed the family car. Can not afford for this to be happening :(

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Thanks for everyone's replies so far. I feel like a complete idiot, I should have done some searches and research prior to the sale. I will in future. I will send a reply email this afternoon using the advice I have received from you all and I'll post the reply when I get one. Really not what I need, got a little one on the way, this was supposed the family car. Can not afford for this to be happening :(

 

Congratulations for the future arrival.

Be a bit pragmatic: You bought a car cheaper than it's worth and hasn't got much wrong with it.

Even if you have to replace the clutch, unless it's an Impreza or similar, it will cost less than £500 at a local garage.

When I bought my Passat I was told that the clutch was on its way by the mechanic I took with me.

7 years later and I'm still on the same clutch without any problems.

I later found out that my model has a naturally high biting point, but gears engage smoothly and it doesn't slip.

You might be lucky and run this car for the next ten years without major problems.

Stay positive.

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I agree with king.

 

Treat this as a learning experience, but file it for future reference. There might be nothing wrong with the car and it might give you years of trouble free motoring, and even if you do have to do some minor work on it in the future, there's an equal chance of that with any car. It's one of the "Joys of motoring" driving.gif

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Please note that my posts are my opinion only and should not be taken as any kind of legal advice.
In fact, they're probably just waffling and can be quite safely and completely ignored as you wish.

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Yes True True! Being positive. My husband called the dealer who admitted on the phone that that is how he runs his business as he doesn't want the responsibility of any problems with the cars. My husband advised that this was not right and the dealer said if my husband buys a warranty for the car he would issue you a new receipt but if not then he would not. The dealer did not seem to grasp any future implications such as reducing the value of the car in future sales, just shouted at my husband and advised that is what you get for £3500. I have reported this guy to trading standards and am going to report him to the police as my husband thinks this is not only unfair and shady but criminal. I am unsure if the police would do anything about it, but I don't want this to happen to anyone else. We will keep the car and just deal with any problems that may arise. I will also search for any Slough based forums ( I am more north Bucks ) and see if I can let people know to avoid this [EDIT]. If anyone has any other ideas for how I could get word out about him, please let me know. Thanks again for your time! :)

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You don't have to show a purchase receipt if you sell the car in the future, so no effect on the car value.

The police won't be interested, they're very short of staff these days and this frankly sounds more like a consumer problem than criminal activity

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Yeah police not interested, not surprised, as you say thinly spread. Just wondered if there was anything else I could as he is so openly dodgy. You are right don't NEED to show receipt as part of history but it's nice to have as full a history as possible in my opinion. Just upset at this dealers business practises.

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Facebook and twitter is the fastest way of getting the word out there.

 

 

He says he doesn't want any future problems, but if you have a problem with the car he can't refuse to repair it as those words are unlawful.

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In my opinion, writing "spares and repairs" on a receipt doesn't affect your statutory rights at all. For a contract to be binding, there has to be three parts, an offer (description of the vehicle given before purchase) acceptance of the terms given and to make it binding, a consideration or payment. The receipt was issued after the payment was made so I don't believe it would form part of the initial contract of sale. For it to be enforceable, you would of have to been advised before you made payment. Did you keep a copy of any advert advertising the vehicle and does it mention anything about being sold as spares or repairs? Did you sign anything before paying that mentioned it was spares and repairs? In my opinion, if its not mentioned before the sales is finalised then its not enforceable.

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To be quite honest I'd just take the car back and get a refund.

 

 

You CAN sell a car for spares or repairs only (ie no guarantee as to condition) otherwise scrapyards wouldn't be in business.

 

 

However, unless this is made absolutely plain to you before you buy it then I very much doubt it would be lawful.

 

 

The other thing is though that, lawful or not, if something goes wrong you will get no help from the seller without a court case.

 

 

So you are best off paying a bit more and going elsewhere.... or take the chance that you will get no help at all from the seller and be happy with a seemingly good value car.

 

 

Your call OP!

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I've read though this post and you don't actually mention what is wrong with the car, if anything?

Unless there is a fault with the car I can't see how the receipt (which is not worth the paper it is printed on) will affect the future value. You spent 3.5k so my guess is the car is at least 8 years old really. If you keep it for a couple of years it is going to be practically worthless when you come to sell anyway.

 

A warranty is different from the SOGA anyway. You still have some legal recourse under SOGA if some major failure happens in the first 6 months approximately. No court would reasonably believe you spent 3.5k on an everyday car as 'spares or repairs'.

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Yes but you're missing the point.

 

 

It's all very well saying the SOGA gives protection, but as many on here have found, being right in law and actually getting redress are two different things.

 

 

In this case I can't see the dealer being of any help at all if something goes wrong, and what use is a court case if you've got a broken down car sitting on your drive for months on end?

 

 

It's up to the OP, personally I would get a refund and pay more elsewhere.

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Yes but you're missing the point.

 

 

It's all very well saying the SOGA gives protection, but as many on here have found, being right in law and actually getting redress are two different things.

 

 

In this case I can't see the dealer being of any help at all if something goes wrong, and what use is a court case if you've got a broken down car sitting on your drive for months on end?

 

 

It's up to the OP, personally I would get a refund and pay more elsewhere.

 

No I'm not missing the point.

 

The OP has not stated there is anything actually wrong with the car. There is no reason to believe anything should suddenly go wrong just as far as I can tell. And as I said if something should happen there is a chance of using the SOGA to get a major fault repaired.

 

You are arguing the dealer wont be helpful should this happen and you are probably right. However what makes you think the dealer will be more helpful if OP goes back demanding a refund now, note he says he will re-advertise it not refund. What makes you think any other dealer will be more helpful, regardless of the crap they write on the receipt?

 

I'm no apologist for dodgy car dealers, I've had several bad experiences myself. But I can't quite see what the OP is upset about really, the words on the receipt are meaningless and she has no more rights if he dealer to print a new receipt. IME all dealers at this end of the market are dodgy to some extent.

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No I don't think there is actually anything wrong with it... but if something happens down the line then the seller will try to hide behind the 'sold for spares' lark.

 

 

I'm not saying they have demanded a refund either, if you read through, the dealer has said 'that's how we sell them, if you're not happy, bring it back within 2 days and get your money back'

 

 

Which is an option for the OP, either take it back or go and buy elsewhere.

 

 

The words aren't actually meaningless. If they make it CLEAR (which they haven't) before you part with any money that the vehicle is being sold on the basis that it is for spares or repairs only then that's what you bought.

 

 

Some on here will say that you can't sign your rights away, but in the case outlined above (ie as long as it's CLEAR on what basis you are buying from the very beginning) then you are indeed buying a car for the purposes of spares or repair.

 

 

However that's getting away from the point which is that the OP has been offered a refund if they don't like the deal. I don't like the deal as it's very sneaky to put that on the receipt afterwards and I wouldn't want to deal with someone like that.

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No I don't think there is actually anything wrong with it... but if something happens down the line then the seller will try to hide behind the 'sold for spares' lark.

 

 

I'm not saying they have demanded a refund either, if you read through, the dealer has said 'that's how we sell them, if you're not happy, bring it back within 2 days and get your money back'

 

No, if you read though you will see the Op actually said:

 

If you are not happy with the vehicle or the receipt,please bring the car back within 48 hours so that we may re-advertise it.

 

Very subtle change of words that mean different things. There is a chance they may 're advertise' the car for less money and give the OP back whatever they sell it for next time. IF they offer money back IN FULL personally I would only accept cash as well. Too many of these types of businesses will happily write rubber cheques.

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