Used car faulty, trader not replying, do i pay for fix and seek reimbursement later?

[Iron65]

Hi all, hoping for some guidance on how to proceed please ...........................

I bought a used car about 6 weeks ago. It was advertised on Autotrader by a trader account. On the day, I was directed to a home address to view the car. Had short test drive, car seemed to drive fine. It had passed its MOT less than 5 miles before with no advisories. Advert said mint condition.

I decided to buy the car.

Was just given the V5C, no receipt, and I paid via bank transfer into a personal account at the trader's request. In view of the relatively modest purchase price - because car is 13 years old and mileage is circa 140,000 miles - I went along with this request. Reasoned that it would be easy to prove a trade sale if necessary, and that it was up to the trader himself to correctly account for the sale proceeds.

After 2-3 weeks of use, started to notice knocking from the front of the car. Then noticed that the inner edge of one front tyre was bald and wearing through the body of the tyre. Looked dangerous and illegal. Was away from home, needed the car, so went ahead and immediately bought two new front tyres and got the tracking done.

Had only done 350 miles in the car at this point. Tyre technician said there was no way the tyre could wear that much in 350 miles and he was amazed it had passed an MOT just 355 miles ago and not even been advised.

Asked the tyre place (a national chain) to do one of their free suspension checks. They said front suspension bushings both sides were perished and quoted £432 to fix. Again, they were amazed not even mentioned on MOT.

I drove away from the tyre place and the knocking seemed a bit better for a few days but has got steadily worse since.

Been very busy with 'life' and only got round to contacting the trader last week, so just over 30 days since purchase. Sent a long explanatory text message to the phone number he had used to text me directions etc on the day of the sale. Essentially asked him to take back the car and repair the front suspension. Mentioned Consumer Rights Act 2015 etc etc. No reply at time of writing.

I'm thinking my next step is to send him a formal letter by recorded delivery to the home address where I bought the car. I'll include the text from the text message I sent him last week and ask for a response within 7 days.

Recently noticed that the business address given on Autotrader is different. Same town and from looking online, seems to also be a residential home. So thinking of sending a copy of my letter to there as well, again by recorded delivery.

Reading some other threads and online guidance I suppose in an ideal world I should have gone back to the trader as soon as a I noticed the bald tyre. But I couldn't be without a car and it looked dangerous and illegal to me, hence why I quickly went ahead in order to get the car roadworthy again. Tread on the other tyre was low but not illegal. Obviously best practice to replace both tyres on the same axle at the same time. Could I reasonably seek reimbursement from the trader for the one bald front tyre and getting the tracking fixed or I have missed the boat on that one?

On the basis that I think it's highly likely my formal letters, once sent, will be ignored too, what should I do in, say, 10 days time?

I am still driving the car, albeit short distances, and I do need a car going forward because of the rural location where I live and I also have ongoing caring responsibilities.

Should I go ahead and get the car repaired at my own expense and then seek reimbursement via the small claims court process? While the tyre place quoted £432, this was on the basis that it's just the bushings. They said other defects might become apparent once the front suspension is taken apart. In other words, it might well be more than £432.

My other worry is that if I don't pay for the repairs myself but do continue to drive the car unfixed and with knocking front suspension while I pursue the legal process, it could cause more damage and defects and the eventual repair bill will rise and rise.

However, I can't afford to just park up the car for months on end while a legal process goes on and have to start from scratch and buy another car to use for my essential day-to-day activities.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

[Pezza54]

My advice is to get the bushes replaced at a reliable local garage, not the national tyre centre.
You should have asked for a receipt as the dealer didn't offer one. Asking you to view the car at his home address and make payment into his personal account without an explanation, is he gong to try to deny he is a dealer? An invoice with the dealer's company name on it would suffice as proof in court.
Did you get a photo of the defective tyres before they were removed from the car and disposed of? The dealer described the car as in mint condition and may be guilty of misrepresentation.
If you do not have a photo of the worn tyres you do not have strong evidence to claim the cost of new ones. The dealer is likely to argue that the car had only been driven 5 miles after it passed its mot so the tyres were roadworthy when it was sold.

[Pezza54]

In case you decide to make a claim for the new bushes ask the mechanic to take a few photos of the defective ones before and after they are removed from the car.

[Iron65]

My advice is to get the bushes replaced at a reliable local garage, not the national tyre centre.
You should have asked for a receipt as the dealer didn't offer one. Asking you to view the car at his home address and make payment into his personal account without an explanation, is he gong to try to deny he is a dealer? An invoice with the dealer's company name on it would suffice as proof in court.
Did you get a photo of the defective tyres before they were removed from the car and disposed of? The dealer described the car as in mint condition and may be guilty of misrepresentation.
If you do not have a photo of the worn tyres you do not have strong evidence to claim the cost of new ones. The dealer is likely to argue that the car had only been driven 5 miles after it passed its mot so the tyres were roadworthy when it was sold.

Many thanks for the replies - in response:

1) Sorry, forgot to mention in original post that I have visited my local independent garage. They were too busy to properly inspect it on a ramp but said labour costs would likely be 3 hours not the 4 hours the tyre place quoted. Parts similar cost, they're actually relatively cheap. Both places said it's actually more cost effective to replace the whole control arm on each side rather than change out the bushes. Also needs ball joints and drop links doing. And yes, I would get them to do it, not the tyre place.

2) Yep, should've got receipt on reflection but have screen grabs saved of original Autotrader advert and text messages saved giving directions for viewing and in relation to the bank transfer. Also, while V5s don't give previous owners details anymore, trader did give me a stack of service history with previous owners details, so I'm sure I could prove that it was a trade sale and that the trader never registered the car in his name as a private owner.

3) Also, MOT was done in same town as where trader lives, just up the road in fact. Previous owner lives in different part of country. Oddly, although the car had only done a few miles since MOT, test was actually done back in June. Explanation he gave me was that the car had just been sitting in his brother's yard unsold all that time. Advert did say 12 months MOT but actually more like 9 months when I bought it. Wasn't too bothered at the time because I was relying on less than 5 miles driven since MOT with no advisories.

4) Yes got photos of old tyre. Did ask tyre place for condition report of front tyres before they removed them. Was assured that had been done, but saw later within the paperwork they've actually reported on the new tyres by saying both front tyres were 8mm! But do at least have some good photos.

5) Was thinking that legally, only I could rely on MOT for all tyres (and other aspects) being roadworthy ie. it wasn't necessary for me to get down on hands and knees and inspect inner edges of all the tyres etc. I do think there are definite question marks about the MOT. You'd expect most 13 year old cars with 140,000 miles to have at least one advisory!

6) Yes, good idea about taking photos of bushes. Was actually going to ask garage to let me have the old parts they remove from car as 'evidence'.

But still not sure whether to get work done and pay for it myself. Worried the actually costs could be £500+ once the garage starts stripping out the front suspension. Pretty sure they won't give a fixed price quote because at the age and mileage, bolts might not undo easily, other issues may reveal themselves.

What do you think my chances of winning a case would be?

And any idea of timescale for a small claims court process - 6 months, 9 months?

Alternative would be for me to just sell the car. Front knocking defect would be obvious to potential buyer and I'd get less than I paid. Perhaps a reasonably cheap fix for competent DIY mechanic because parts themselves are relatively cheap. Unlikely to lose more than £500 by selling it I'd guess. That said, other than the front knocking, car is great, perfect for my needs, and so I don't really want to sell it.....!!