Sold car - Now Buyer threatening

[tradertown]

I will detail in steps what happened and hopefully someone can advise me in the right way.

In description i stated the car hasnt been driven for a month so needs a service.
Buyer came to view the car and liked it. Agreed price of £950. left deposit of £500 and came back next day to pickup car. I insisted the buyer to test drive the car but they said they were happy with it. 20 minutes into there journey they rang me to say the gearbox is having problems and they wanted to return the car for a refund. at this time i was gone to collect kids from school so asked the buyer to wait by my house until i returned. upon return i offered the buyer a full refund as i didnt want any problems and genuinely never knew about the problems. he said that he likes the car so will take it and get a second opinion. now he wants me to pay half the repair cost (£400) to him. he doesnt want a refund. Claims to take me to court in i do not.

What can i do as i offered a full refund which he refused. (have proof of this in text messages)

kindly respond and help me out. thanks

 

[ALewis]

Hello.
Providing this is a consumer to consumer transaction for the second hand car, SOGA - Section 14 'Satisfactory Quality' will NOT be an implied term to your contract (as you are not acting in the course of a business).
Providing that you have not mis-described the car, you are under NO legal obligation to provide a refund, repair etc.

The rationale behind this is because if you were a second hand car dealer, acting in the course of a business, the knowledge is there that faults may exist with a second hand car, though as the dealer has the resources available, all cars must be of 'satisfactory quality' taking into account all relevant facts.
The law gives a bit of slack to a consumer who's selling their car on, as an ordinary consumer won't have the resources available or knowledge, to ensure their car is of 'satisfactory quality'

The buyer can threaten with court action all they like, it won't get to court - the case will be rejected and they'll lose their fees.

Adam

Edit: Ofcourse, if you are acting in the course of a business, you have a legal obligation to ensure that the car is of a roadworthy condition and complies with S.14 .

 

[Witch consumer]

Hmmm sounds to me like he's trying to pull a fast one, nobody with half an ounce of sense would buy a car without a test drive. I agree in this case, he hasn't got a leg to stand on!

 

[tradertown]

I mean the car was parked on my drive for over a month and not driven so maybe a problem occurred. So when he complained i said take a refund but he wanted to keep the car. Then he says the repair is costing £900 + vat when the car was sold for only £950

 

[tradertown]

I think its assuring that if he trys to take this to court then i should be ok. thanks for your replies.

 

[ALewis]

Right, I assume you are acting as a consumer then.
You have no legal obligation to ensure the car is of satisfactory quality, you have no obligation to refund, you have no obligation to do anything.
He can file a court case if he so wishes, but he will not win the case (if it even gets heard), you do not owe him a penny.