Sale of Goods for second hand car

[tony999]

23 months ago I purchased a 2 year old Audi from an established second hand dealer. The dealer suggested it was a mobility car , 1 careful owner etc, it looked in great condition.
However....recently I advertised the car in auto trader where it was brought to my attention the car was a cat D.( this means it had been in an accident and the repair had been deemed uneconomical by the insurance company.)
In essence this means the car has lost approximately 40% of the value.
I went back to the dealer , he had offered to buy the car back at a reduced rate leaving me £3500 out of pocket.
I believe the dealer sold the car without disclosing these facts
My question is this...the dealer maintains he was NOT aware or this cat D scenario, his HPI check did not point this cat d out as it as a admin error by RSA. (the insurer)
Would this fact that the dealer had no knowledge of the previous accident mean I would not be entitled to full compensation.

[des8]

Re: Sale of Goods for second hand car

Hi and welcome.

I would write (send signed for & keep a copy) setting out your complaint to the dealer.
Point out the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 prohibits commercial practices that are unfair to consumers.
Tell him you consider he is in breach of the regulations, as he misled you by failing to advise you the vehicle had been involved in an accident and was declared a cat, D write off. By misleading you he induced you to make a decision to purchase a vehicle which you would not otherwise have done,
Remind him that his offer to purchase the vehicle leaves you considerably out of pocket and is unacceptable.
If he does not improve his offer you will be reporting to Citizens Advice for investigation by trading standards.

Obviously your difficulty is that the dealer can only act reasonably and IF the write off had not been recorded he would not have knowledge of it.
However RSA had written the car off, they would have sold it on (possibly to vehicle dismantlers). From there it would probably have gone to a repair shop (although it could have gone to a private individual), eventually finding its way to the dealer. It is possible the dealer actually arranged the repairs themselves.
It might be worthwhile trying to contact the previous keepers if shown on the V5c form, to ascertain what damage was sustained to the vehicle.
One would expect a dealer to spot if repairs had been carried out following an accident (there are nearly always tell tale signs of repairs if you know what to look for) and IMO the dealer should have advised you.

[righty]

Re: Sale of Goods for second hand car

I agree with des8 Also the Sale of Goods Act applies to both used & new items both must be fit for purpose AND the dealer whether he knew or not has misled you because as des8 states the dealer is considered as having 'expert knowledge' & should have spotted the repair.

However notwithstanding the aforegoing be aware that some insurers do seem to delay registering their write-off's RSA appear to be one such company

[tony999]

Re: Sale of Goods for second hand car

Thank you so much for this....I will start the ball rolling.
My real concern is if the dealer can prove he was unaware of the cat d status, would have any baring or would it be his responsibility to know the facts??

[des8]

Re: Sale of Goods for second hand car

How do you think he will be able to prove "I know nothing" . (apologies to Manuel:tinysmile_grin_t

No matter how often he asserts he did not know it was catD, IMO he should have known it had been damaged.
You could try contacting HPI to ask them when they flagged the write off, or even RSA.
As I said, find out from previous owner what damage was caused, and then possibly take it to a local bodyshop and ask them to examine the vehicle with a view to them pointing out to you the indications (if any) of repair work if you can't spot it yourself.

[dogtired]

Re: Sale of Goods for second hand car

Wouldn't anything like that be on the log book?
We have one that was a catogary c about four years ago, this is on the log book and will continue to be on it even when we sell it on.( previous owner)

[des8]

Re: Sale of Goods for second hand car

No Cat D not always recorded on V5c, and even if it was it would not be there until new keeper recorded change of keeper