Further to the recent letter from P.W., of Dyserth that drew attention to the possible risks of buying a car when the vendor is not in the UK, I'd like to also draw attention to the risks faced when the buyer is not in the UK but the vendor is. I have lived abroad for several years and for my return to the UK planned to buy an almost new Lexus 450h SE-L as a 'retirement present'. I checked the Lexus GB website regularly for several months until a car of the exact specification I sought became available and then started negotiating a sale with the Lexus dealer. As part of this process I sought and was given written and verbal assurances, including verification that it was being sold as a "Lexus Approved Used" car with no history of accident and repair. I paid a deposit by credit card over the phone and arranged to pay the balance on delivery of the car. About three days after delivery, and the first time that I had driven the car more than a mile or so from the house, an engine / gearbox warning light came on so I called the Lexus helpline and was advised to take the car slowly to my local Lexus dealer. I was advised that the car needed a replacement gearbox, and that Lexus had agreed to replace it under warranty. This took several weeks as the 'box needed to be sourced from Japan, and during this time the dealer called me to advise that he had found evidence of poor repair work on the car and strongly recommended that I have the car inspected by an independent RAC engineer. This I did and the report made shocking reading, identifying that the car had been in a significant front end accident and that the repair works had been poorly carried out - including use of non Lexus parts - and recommended that the car be put on a jig to check the alignment. His verbal report to me was much more colourful. I also discovered that although the correct mileage was shown on the Lexus GB website and on the emails we exchanged, on the sale document this mileage was significantly under declared - presumably to try to bypass the Lexus 30 day, 1,000 mile offer. I contacted the dealer and requested that I return the car for a refund, and also advised their local Trading Standards office as I had written (email) evidence that the dealer had lied to me about the condition of the vehicle. Here's the rub - Trading Standards advised that as I was not in the UK at the time that I opened and first read the email then the Sale of Goods and other related acts did not apply and that there was nothing they could do. I eventually recovered my money and returned the car, but ended up being about £1,000 out of pocket for the legal and RAC fees. I could not recover these costs as I was made an offer of the refund of the purchase price on a 'full and final settlement' basis and advised that if I didn't accept then that offer would be withdrawn and that I would need to take legal action to recover any money. Lexus GB said it was a commercial between between the dealer and myself and nothing to do with them. If you are abroad and planning to buy a car in the UK - Caveat Emptor.