should it go to court?

Question

an lpg car was advertised on ebay we bidded for it but was outbid and the car wasnt sold as the reserve wasnt met so we conatcted the owner to see if we could still buy it he said yes but we had to pay a deposit of £250 through paypal so we did. it was advertised that the had nothing wrong with at all. we picked it up and brought it home and found there the left wing mirrors not working, theres no reverse light no tow bar as advertised no valve to put in the gas had to pay £60 extra and when my boyfriend filled it up with gas the car was filled up with the gas as theres no tank at all! we're lucky our chldren weren't in the car. its gonna cost us an extra £350 maybe more to fit one in and the guy is refusing to pay even when he assured us it was underneath (got a copy of his ebay email of this) also the car passed its moton the same day we picked it and it clearly says lpg on it but shouldnt they have least checked it? and isnt it false advertising? please help?

Answer 1

I would say you would have a case because he wrote himself nothing was wrong with it. Most car sales are buyer beware. Which means sold as is. But if he wrote specific things and hid the truth then you got a case. These cases are tricky b/c who is to say what happen to the car once it left the sellers hands.

Answer 2

O.K. you can forget the wing mirror and probably the reversing light. I assume, since most cars have had reversing lights fitted since Adam was a lad, that you mean the reversing light doesn't work This is a comparatively minor problem, involving either a) new bulb, b) new switch or c) new relay. Don't think you can claim for that.Tow bar, valve for gas and gas tank, that's a different ball game. Since it was advertised on eBay, I assume the seller is a private individual, not a trader. (This is worth checking out, as your rights against a trader are greater than your rights against a private individual.). If the car was advertised as having a tow bar and fully fitted for LPG then you have not been sold goods which conform to the advertised description. Depending on the amount involved you are therefor entitled to take action by way of repudiating the contract and suing for a full refund, or for damages to put right the misdescription. Your first step should be to contact your local C.A.B. who will assist you. (See in the Telephone book under "C.A.B." or "Citizen's Advice Bureau[x]).Finally, please assess if the seller is good for the money. You can have a positively lovely Court Judgement in your favour, but if the other guy has no money, no property on which you can distrain, and isn't working, then you may usefully employ the judgement in your toilet!

Answer 3

The Misrepresentation Act 1967 defines misrepresentation as "an untrue statement or fact which, whils not forming a term of a contract, has an inducing effect on it." Basically, if they misrepresente the car, you do have recourse under English law. There are three types of misrepresentation, fraudulent, negligent and wholly innocent. fraudulent is when they deliberately lie to you and gives a party the option of completely rescinding the contract, and returning both parties to the state they were in before the contract was entered into, negligent misrepresenation (covers cases where they may not have deliberately lied, but the courts would consider it the other party's responsibility to have checked, and as such you coul dagain rescind the contract.

the best thing to do is to write to the seller and tell them what you want, either to rescind the contract, or them to pay you compensation to cover repair costs and other costs incurred by you, and to wait and see how they respond. make it clear that you will go to the small claims court and also make use of your local trading standards office

Answer 4

You probably need to make a claim through paypal first. They will make a determination and, if they feel you are right, they will try to get most of your money back from the seller, but you will also have to return the car. You should be able to pursue the seller for any out of pocket expenses they were incurred.

You should seek the advice of legal counsel in your area.

Good luck!

Answer 5

You State .......You picked it up...the Car I presume?.. and bought it Home ? Didn't you bother to check it over before attempting to take it Home ? you also state that there was no Tow Bar.....and When your B/F filled it up there was no Tank...........where did the Fuel go then ...Directly into the Car or Did it Flood the Garage Forecourt ??..... Sorry but I have to say that reading and re- reading this Question several times....does not Ring True......Try again.

Answer 6

Ebay has a rule called " received but significantly not as described ". You should contact them, (copy link into the URL) and let them contact the sellers or advise you on what to do.
They should have some powers, however, i'm not sure if you bought the car as an ebay buyer, or as a private transaction. If it was the latter, I think what you can do is limited

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/tp/inr-snad-process.html

Answer 7

I'm afraid this is a case of buyer beware but you do have recourse through your trading standards office. You can also take the seller through the small claims courts. I wouldn't buy anything of that nature from a private seller just because of the problems you have described.
You do have redress aginst the garage that passed it off but remember a MOT is only valid on the day it was issued, and that's the law.

Answer 8

In the some states, when you buy a used car other than from a dealer, you can't go back after them because you buy it as is, and that is the chance you take. You might be able to take him to small claims court to see if you can get any money back, but they might just tell you, you bought the car in that condition and that is they way you purchased it.

Answer 9

if you stayed within the confines of ebay, they would have secured your payment and added a quite limited warranty, but since you basically bought it on the sly...buyer beware

Answer 10

Go to court,Good Luck