Facebook Marketplace car sale

[Ali moore]

I bought a car off facebook marketplace and paid the price of around what other cars of the same age and make are going for. When driving round corners i noticed the steering was not centering smoothly (nothing major) so I took it to the garage and it turns out the rear axle is completely rusted making the car very dangerous to drive. I then spent a day travelling to buy a new axle with the prospect of getting it fitted for the total cost of around £500. When the garage took the axle off they found beneath it all the mounting and everything is all rusting out and is just not worth replacing. The seller is refusing to refund or take the car back. I am now around £1700 out of pocket and still need a car. Is there anything i can do?

[Pezza54]

Hi
If you can prove the seller is a used car dealer you have more legal rights. Check to see if the seller is advertising other vehicles.

It is still an offence for a private seller to sell an unroadworthy vehicle unless the seller makes the buyer fully aware of the cars condition. A current MOT certificate is not proof that the car is roadworthy at the point of sale

You stated that the garage told you the car was dangerous to drive. Did you get anything in writing? If not you will need an inspection report to prove the car is unroadworthy

You didn't mention the advert. If a seller misrepresents the car they are in breach of Section 75 of the Road Traffic Act. This could include an inaccurate description of its condition, mileage, number of owners.

Collect your evidence, garage report, advert, contract/receipt. Write a pre-action letter to the seller warning him or her that you intend to make a court claim if the matter is not amicably resolved (your money you paid is refunded and the car returned)

[des8]

As Pezza54 first ascertain if you purchased from a private seller or a trader.

If it was a private seller and the advert was misleading you might have a claim under the Misrepresentation Act 1967
If it was a trader you have many more rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

I doubt sec 75 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 will be of much use to you.
Although it criminalises the supply of unroadworthy vehicles, it also contains the caveat that the it does not affect the validity of a contract

[echat11]

How did you pay?