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Kia Sportage - Part Ex Dispute With Dealership - Mike Reith

I bought a 2016 Kia Sportage last year (May 2019) and subsequently found out the seller hadn't listed the car as CAT S, nothing was listed on the V5.

I recently fancied a change of car, spotted my next car (2010 Jag XJL) on the dealers website and offered it as a part ex on the new car, the valuation came back as the same price of the car I was interested in.

Made an appointment to view the new car and let them see my car as part ex (after 3 hours of paperwork & checks) at dealership they confirmed they were satisfied with the part ex and valued it like for like with the new purchase. Nothing but a £5.00 admin fee to pay and the deal was done.

The Kia (Part Ex) was listed within a few days on AutoTrader by the dealership as CAT S which i thought was odd, and obviously several thousand pounds higher than valued (understandably).
After nearly 6 weeks the vehicle is still for sale (recently reduced by £500) and they've now chosen to contact me to demand £3000 + as they're not able to sell the car at the moment for the listed price and blame as it's a CAT S!!

Surely the time I spent at the dealership on the day if they were supposedly doing vehicle/background checks would have thrown something up?

They're threatening me with legal action and to take me to court over this to reclaim the £3000?

Seems like a very dodgy & desperate move by them.

Any advice of help will be greatly appreciated.

Kia Sportage - Part Ex Dispute With Dealership - Bromptonaut

I guess you need to read the p/ex conditions carefully to see what you committed to.

Otherwise 'see you in court'.

Kia Sportage - Part Ex Dispute With Dealership - Falkirk Bairn

A customer is not a car expert.

If you knew it was a damaged /repair & did not say when asked you have a problem.

If you knew it was a damage / repair and signed it was ok on the P/Ex the car you have a problem

If you were completely unaware of any damage / repair THE GARAGE have a problem.

Kia Sportage - Part Ex Dispute With Dealership - Gibbo_Wirral

Oh the irony. For years customers have been shafted by dealers, nice to see it go the other way!

Sounds to me like they didn't do all their checks properly at the time.

Kia Sportage - Part Ex Dispute With Dealership - Mike Reith

A customer is not a car expert.

If you knew it was a damaged /repair & did not say when asked you have a problem.

If you knew it was a damage / repair and signed it was ok on the P/Ex the car you have a problem

If you were completely unaware of any damage / repair THE GARAGE have a problem.

I was unaware (info not given by seller) when I originally purchased the vehicle, only when I saw the advert for the car after I'd part ex'd it to a dealership for my new car and then received a phone call 6 weeks later from them?

Kia Sportage - Part Ex Dispute With Dealership - Avant

Mike - could you come back to us and clarify whether or not you knew the Kia was Category S when you traded it in?

Difficult to comment or advise unless we know that.

Kia Sportage - Part Ex Dispute With Dealership - Mike Reith

Hi,

I was not made aware of the CAT S from the original seller, nothing was on the V5 document when I received the new version with my new keeper details on.

I was only aware of this when I saw the dealership I'd part ex'd it to advertise on AutoTrader as CAT S 1 week after the deal was done.

Fast forward 6 weeks later they call me to demand 3 grand due to the vehicle not selling, I questioned them the fact it had been advertised by them as CAT C and why was it not brought to my attention on the day? To which they had no answer for?

Kia Sportage - Part Ex Dispute With Dealership - Palcouk

The dealership is trying it on as they failed to undertake due diligence..

And if you were unaware it was a Cat S and the V5 didn't show anything. Then you cannot e held liable.

I do wonder however if this is a DVLA error (Not that its up to you to chase up)

Kia Sportage - Part Ex Dispute With Dealership - Miniman777

They key to all of this is timing. Also some pertinent Qs.

1. Did the OP do his due diligence on the car - HPI check - or rely on dealer's say so?

2. At some point post sale, this vehicle has gained a Cat S marker. When? That could explain why OP was unaware and nothing on V5.

3. Did garage making part-ex not undertake HPI check before making offer? Where is the paper trail....? Surely you cant make a proper off having not done so. Again, timing of Cat S marker crucial. If dealer buying p/ex did not do check, hardly the OPs problem.

Seems the marker was added post the OP first acquiring the car as surely the Ins Co would have raised it, as some wont insure. The situation also raises questions on how long markers take to get added, and appears to left a loophole.

Garage demanding £3k needs to be told to back off as investigations are needed to create a timeline so a sound judgement can be made. Garage also needs to show how they account for the £3k demanded.

If it gets nasty and goes to court, this info will be needed in any event. It may also be a case of fat fingers..... what is the ball ache is that someone will need to spend time and money to obtain the facts.

Kia Sportage - Part Ex Dispute With Dealership - glidermania

Well I dont subscribe to the view that motorists have been 'ripped off' in the past so it's ok for a dealer to be ripped off.

But, if the OP genuinely wasnt aware the vehicle was a Cat S with nothing on the V5 or coming back from their own insurers (seems odd they never picked it up), I think the dealer is between a rock and a hard place with this one.

Alternatively and depending where this may end up, if the OP had \ has a good relationship with the dealer, consider making say a £500 goodwill payment making clear the OP isnt accepting any liability regarding the unknown Cat S marker.

Kia Sportage - Part Ex Dispute With Dealership - SLO76
The dealer made a mistake. Not your issue, as you sold the car in good faith and were unaware of its write-off status. Let them threaten you all they want, their own lawyer will be advising them incorrectly if he tells them to take it to court. A judge will almost certainly find in your favour if the facts are as stated and you stick by this. My prediction is that you’ll see several threatening letters then nothing further. I wouldn’t however expect any warranty to be honoured on the Jag.

Edited by SLO76 on 06/03/2020 at 23:52

Kia Sportage - Part Ex Dispute With Dealership - HGV ~ P Valentine

The dealer is most certainly better equipped to find out if the condition of the car and if it has been scrapped and the category it was given, they have failed to check the vehicle properly which is not your fault, the onus is on them to do their job and not on you to offer instruction on how they should do it. All 2nd hand cars are bought as seen and this is accepted in the courts.

I would tell them to go swivel, and tell them if they continue to bother you then you will make a complaint of harassment with the police, and that you will see them in court.

I doubt it will get that far, they are as someone said hoping you will pay up without a fuss.

Finally how the ell can a car dealership spend all that time checking a vehicle and not even find out that much, sound like cowboys to me.

Edited by A Driver since 1988, HGV 2006 on 08/03/2020 at 15:47