Used car claim - trade or private?

[spanielfan]

Hello,
I'm a first-time poster here and was wondering if any members could help with advice on a used car deal gone wrong - I bought a car from a friend who is also a car dealer and garage owner, It suffered catastrophic engine failure in the first month so I sent it back to her expecting her to sort it, but she is now claiming a private sale on the basis that we (were) friends. Stupidly, we paid the money to her personal account and the car was in her husband's name (the manager of the garage). But it was inspected by one of her mechanics prior to sale and I picked it up from the garage - returned it there when it went bang too. It was all done on trust, then she turned around and said "bad luck". I discussed paying for a new engine myself, but she wanted £2k to fit it with no guarantee if it went wrong! I paid full trade price for it, not a private sale price and only bought it on the reputation of her garage. Oh, and an independent inspection said that the garage should have spotted the fault which wrote the car off prior to sale. Thinking of going to court but would love to know what you guys think of my chances?

[des8]

Hi and welcome
presumably the friendship has gone south!

A private sale is a private individual selling to another private individual, not a dealer selling to a private individual.
The car was registered in her husband's name, yet she was the seller.

It is a bit of a grey area, but IMO you should be able to convince a judge that she was acting as a dealer.
Can a dealer ever act as a private individual when selling goods in which he trades?
He has the knowledge and expertise of a dealer and is at an advantage over the consumer even when dealing as a "private" seller.

[spanielfan]

Thanks Des. Yeah the friendship is well and truly over. I think it’s a case of her using her status as a friend to pull a fast one. The car was sold with a known fault but advertised as being in good condition. I’m just having a bit of bother wording my claim summary now - I’ve never done it before , so I’m not sure whether I need to include reference to the law or just outline the case as I’ve done it here - any advice gratefully received. Thanks again.

[des8]

Have you sent a letter before claim yet?

There won't be any templates as each claim is individual, but basic guidance is in CPR 16 (https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pr...es/part16#16.4)

you could post up your proposed wording for peeps here to give it the once over