i saw an advert of a rover 75 on eBay, and these can being known for their engine problems, the advert clearly stated that a new head gasket had been fitted on the car and the car was being sold for £750. i made an offer and spoke with the seller the next day about the car and he confirmed everything in the advert. i went to pick the car up later in the day. i looked the car over and since i am not a mechanic, there was no way i could tell if the head gasket was changed or not. i took the green slip and filled out my details...paid £650, but the seller failed to disclose that the car was on disabled tax.The seller asked me to sign a paper that said Sold as Seen, which i did and drove the car home without any problems. i had to tax the car to be able to drive, which meant me changing the tax class and filling out a v62 form, and purchasing insurance for the car. i took the rover 75 to a mechanic to have a look, and he said the head gasket had never been changed. at least it was not a new one. i have taken it to two other garages and they have all said the same thing. i have tried to contact the seller and he is telling me since the car was sold as seen, i did not have a case. i have had the car for 10 days now, and still looking to retuen it for a refund. can anyone help advising please
Please help
- Thread starter barkorful
- Start date
Hello,
You are absolutely covered here .. 'Sold as seen' signed or not.
The seller has applied a false description (knowingly or not), to the car, and as you say even confirmed the advert when you went to go take a look.
The misdescription under Section 13 of the Sale of Goods Act means there is a breach of condition, which can lead to recinding the contract if you so wish provided that 'Acceptance' hasn't occured, otherwise there is a breach of warranty which leads to damages.
I may suggest that you have not accepted the vehicle, though you may have implied acceptance by getting the tax changed, and the fact that it has been 10 days, which gives the impression that the seller no longer holds title the vehicle. Merely getting it inspected by mechanics is fine though.
Was it a trader you bought it from or a consumer?
Reason I ask is, if it's a trader, they *should* know the implied terms of SOGA and so you might struggle claiming that you have not accepted the vehicle in order to obtain a full refund, resulting in your claim being for damages (I'd suggest either a claim for a head gasket replacement, rather than the value of the vehicle without the replaced head gasket).
On the other hand. If its a consumer, chances are they won't know the law, and you might be able to wrangle it and claim for a full refund based on the misdescription.
I hope this helps, if you have more questions or need clarification, let me know
Adam
You are absolutely covered here .. 'Sold as seen' signed or not.
The seller has applied a false description (knowingly or not), to the car, and as you say even confirmed the advert when you went to go take a look.
The misdescription under Section 13 of the Sale of Goods Act means there is a breach of condition, which can lead to recinding the contract if you so wish provided that 'Acceptance' hasn't occured, otherwise there is a breach of warranty which leads to damages.
I may suggest that you have not accepted the vehicle, though you may have implied acceptance by getting the tax changed, and the fact that it has been 10 days, which gives the impression that the seller no longer holds title the vehicle. Merely getting it inspected by mechanics is fine though.
Was it a trader you bought it from or a consumer?
Reason I ask is, if it's a trader, they *should* know the implied terms of SOGA and so you might struggle claiming that you have not accepted the vehicle in order to obtain a full refund, resulting in your claim being for damages (I'd suggest either a claim for a head gasket replacement, rather than the value of the vehicle without the replaced head gasket).
On the other hand. If its a consumer, chances are they won't know the law, and you might be able to wrangle it and claim for a full refund based on the misdescription.
I hope this helps, if you have more questions or need clarification, let me know
Adam
Hello ALewis
Thank you for your advise on this issue. First of all, the sale was a private sale(I presume because I went to his house to see the car). I had to tax the car in order to be able to drive the car to a garage to have it looked at. I guess it was a safety precaution, in case I got pulled over by the police; and that would not have been a good excuse for not having tax.
The mileage on the car was high (167000) which led me to question further about the car, and he said the car has had a full service history and a new head gasket. I took his word for it and took the car.I managed to tax the car on the 5th of February (five days ago), and as soon as the mechanics gave me the unpleasant news, i gave him a ring to arrange a return. i have evidence of that. in addition to all this, upon critical analysis of the receipts he gave me, i realised the one that stated a head gasket change did not actually have the correct registration number of the rover 75 that he sold me. To add insult to injury, he added a 3 year warranty of an exhaust change at kwikfit, and said he had spoke with them and it was transferable. But i went there and was told it was not transferable. In summary, i bought the car based on the fact that all that he said was true. (it is on eBay)
Thank you for your advise on this issue. First of all, the sale was a private sale(I presume because I went to his house to see the car). I had to tax the car in order to be able to drive the car to a garage to have it looked at. I guess it was a safety precaution, in case I got pulled over by the police; and that would not have been a good excuse for not having tax.
The mileage on the car was high (167000) which led me to question further about the car, and he said the car has had a full service history and a new head gasket. I took his word for it and took the car.I managed to tax the car on the 5th of February (five days ago), and as soon as the mechanics gave me the unpleasant news, i gave him a ring to arrange a return. i have evidence of that. in addition to all this, upon critical analysis of the receipts he gave me, i realised the one that stated a head gasket change did not actually have the correct registration number of the rover 75 that he sold me. To add insult to injury, he added a 3 year warranty of an exhaust change at kwikfit, and said he had spoke with them and it was transferable. But i went there and was told it was not transferable. In summary, i bought the car based on the fact that all that he said was true. (it is on eBay)
Well the misdescriptions are there, there's no doubt about it. Now it's just down to the acceptance issue to decide what your remedy is.
If you continue to use the vehicle you will without doubt be classed as having accepted it, whereby you cannot return it for a full refund.
If however you don't use it, you might be able to convince him/court (if necessary) that you have not accepted it. Resulting in the right to return.
The best way that you can buy yourself extra time with the acceptance issue is to get in touch through a durable means ie letter, or an email (and keep a copy of the sent email) requesting information about the head gasket replacement, ask when it was done, by whom and ask for evidence of the replacement.
Once you've asked for further information, you can't be deemed to have accepted the goods until you actually receive the information, as without the information you can't make an 'informed decision' on whether to accept the vehicle.
Request for reply within 7 days (but then you won't be able to use it for 7 days).
If buying time isn't so much of an issue, simply take the vehicle back to the address and ask for a refund due to the head gasket issue.
If he refuses, tell him you'll see him in court instead then.
And file your claim at court. It will cost to claim, so add the cost to the total claim value.
That's all you can do really.
In order to determine if he's acting as a business, take a look at his feedback - seeing as its ebay, and see if this person sells cars on a regular basis. Or if there's any pattern to the selling / if there's a commercial gain.
If you continue to use the vehicle you will without doubt be classed as having accepted it, whereby you cannot return it for a full refund.
If however you don't use it, you might be able to convince him/court (if necessary) that you have not accepted it. Resulting in the right to return.
The best way that you can buy yourself extra time with the acceptance issue is to get in touch through a durable means ie letter, or an email (and keep a copy of the sent email) requesting information about the head gasket replacement, ask when it was done, by whom and ask for evidence of the replacement.
Once you've asked for further information, you can't be deemed to have accepted the goods until you actually receive the information, as without the information you can't make an 'informed decision' on whether to accept the vehicle.
Request for reply within 7 days (but then you won't be able to use it for 7 days).
If buying time isn't so much of an issue, simply take the vehicle back to the address and ask for a refund due to the head gasket issue.
If he refuses, tell him you'll see him in court instead then.
And file your claim at court. It will cost to claim, so add the cost to the total claim value.
That's all you can do really.
In order to determine if he's acting as a business, take a look at his feedback - seeing as its ebay, and see if this person sells cars on a regular basis. Or if there's any pattern to the selling / if there's a commercial gain.