Hello and help!

[RJL Services]

looks like the trader sold a dangerous vehicle to a vulnerable person i would go back to him and show him the failure sheet and ask he takes it back or repairs it and i would also get some advise from trading standards vosa etc how was it advertised etc rouge dealer by the looks of it

[Phlipper]

I don't think he was a genuine trader, although he told me he'd taken the car part-ex. Here's the original ad I responded to:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...ter/1263563276

[RJL Services]

i think he new what he was selling thats why he put he would want a lot more for it with a mot on his ad he was aware what i would cost to get a mot on it
dodgy seller to me taking advantage of someone

[macabethiel]

I would certainly go back and say it is unfit to be on the road and ask for a refund or ask him to put 12 months test on her. Take someone like Giant Haystacks with you when you ask nicely.

What's the worse that can happen - he says no or offers to buy it back a little cheaper?

A good friend of my wife's has just bought a Petrol Rav4 from a local small trader. She said she was going to ask my advice before she bought it but decided it looked so good she would not risk loosing it so went ahead and bought it. My wife told me to keep my mouth shut and not tell her what I thought about the vehicle. The interior is immaculate as is the exterior apart from the rear bumper, it has only done about 65k miles being an 03 plate paid £850 but............

I just could not tell her she had bought a Pup so I have stayed silent I looked at the MoT history and it has loads or corrosion history over the last 3 tests. The EML light is on, it has about £300 of damage to the back bumper and wing caused by the trader who knocked £90 off as a good will gesture. The only good part is it has a years MoT but I doubt the Seat Belt Mounts and the floor rot have been repaired properly if at all. Both headlights are so milky I can't see how it passed an MoT.

Sadly there are some Crooks out there with no conscience.

[jims-terrano]

The advert does say PRIVATE seller.

I'd like to see the fail sheet too, I'm not saying the vehicle doesn't need work doing but has the tester been over zealous too.

Good luck what ever happens.

[Phlipper]

The fail sheet is listed on the previous page.
The ad says private, but he has another car up now stating he took it in part ex, and he also told me again today that he took the Terrano in part ex. He didn't object when I stayed he must have known about the work needed for MOT, and he didn't know about checking MOT history online. He's goimg to look at the fail list and then speak to me.

[rustic]

Tell him that you have spoken to some forum friends, Uncle Rustic in particular, and they get the impression that the seller is an honourable man, tried to sell the car in good faith, but appeared to be unaware of the true extent of the work required to sort it. As such, it is my belief that he will give you a complete refund.
Shake hands and every one is happy.


It is also my belief that Santa Claus exists.
Uncle Rustic

[jims-terrano]

Just looked back and seen the list. Actually depends how handy you are at repairs but it isn't beyond repair from the list. The bright side is that once these are repaired they're going to last a long time before they need repairing again. I guess your biggest problem is the welding, it's fixable but depends on repair costs and how much you can or can't do yourself.
The mechanical is really run of the mill.

[solarman216]

Having read the fail list, I would say the tester is a mumpty, ie rear sills are not part of the rear suspension, like wise front inner arches are part part of the body not the suspension, most of the other stuff is just general, the worst parts are chassis corrosion, but need to be seen to discover if really serious or not, I had a "JustMOT" place try and tell me my front wings (covered in gaffer tape) were a failure due to suspension, never been back there, and it has gone through 3 passes since, but looking to change the wings now as have a pair and do not want to push my luck, (the gaffer tape is struggling to hold them together now) Rick

[Banshee]

At the risk of sounding really harsh I'll apologise in advance, but did you not get under the truck with a torch before handing any cash over to see what it was like under there?

The fail sheet is pretty extensive and some serious structural components failed there, even with no knowledge of vehicles at all, if there are holes and it's crusty and orange under there then you should have walked away

What was the name on the V5 when you signed it over? If it was a private sale then it should have been the seller, if it was the previous owners name before the guy you brought it off then it was likely a trade sale in which case I reckon you may have a better case.

Always try the firm and professional approach first, it works wonder when you are armed with facts, figures and a legal approach. See how he responds and don't take any rubbish.

If you're not getting anywhere fast after a couple of weeks and he starts becoming angry, obnoxious etc etc, then I'm afraid it might be time to get the Balaclava out and the Transit

If you're not that way inclined then you'll just have to settle with this being valuable life lesson and stump up for another new motor or getting this one repaired, but looking at that fail sheet, I'd probably scrap it, but hard to say unless I've seen underneath first hand

[Phlipper]

I did slide under Banshee, but to be honest it looked remarkably clean to me! There was some rust that I presumed to be surface rust because it looked (at least to my untrained eye) no worse than my car which has never even had an advisory for rust.
I've just come back from the garage and I'm livid! It turns out the cracked windscreen was caused by the chassis flexing because of the level of corrosion. I'm so angry that the seller watched me put my grand-daughter into that car and drive off.
He's refusing to answer the phone to me now, I get his missus answering, stating he's not there, then slipping it onto speakerphone so he can hear what I'm saying.
Thanks to Google cache I've collected loads of evidence that he's actually a trader, not a private seller. These days you have to go through Citizen's Advice to be referred to Trading Standards, so I've done the first bit and I'm hoping that TS get back to me (it's purely at their discretion ).
I still don't have too much hope of recompense, but I'm going to make sure that I'm a thorn in that guy's side for as long as he's selling cars.
On the plus side, I've located a Grand Cherokee 4.0L (lpg) and the guy (a mechanic) wants the Terrano in the deal because he'll weld it himself and put it to work on a farm. He's also willing to put a new ticket on the GC.
The garage quoted me £700 just for the welding - and those are backstreet prices for an old friend!

[RJL Services]

might be worth contacting gumtree to and advise them of your problem as a trader he has to pay to advertise so by saying it is a private sale he has avoided having to pay to list it on there so conned them too might not lead to anything but the more sh.t you can give the better you will feel hope all goes well with new car

[Phlipper]

Oh, I also retrieved the photos he put on the gumtree ad from Google, and he had covered up the hole in the sill, which is why I didn't spot it.
The log book wasn't him on it - I'm trying to get in contact with the previous owner so that I can track where he part-ex'd it etc. so I have full details of where it came from and through when I set about legally making his life a misery.
I'm afraid my balaclava days are over - but I'm a black belt at being a pain in the arse!

[RJL Services]

nice A board outside his place telling people what he is like or a gentle stroll past his car with some battery acid trip on little stone and over the car it went sorry officer

[Phlipper]

Lol