Polo - Private Car Purchase

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Mon 7 Jun 2010 11:51
Polo - Private Car Purchase - C3383H

I have recently sold a car privately. The guy emailed me after his first trip to advise me that the car had broken down. He then sent me a letter formally requesting me to compensate him for the cost of the replacment parts, he says he is doing this as I quoted on the advert '' Excellent drive & condition ''.

He has also quoted a statment from the Citizens Advice website:
If you can show that the vehicle did not match the description the seller gave you, you will have a claim against them, even if the seller believed the description to be true. It will strengthen your claim if you have written proof of the false description, for example, a newspaper advertisement.

He has asked if we can deal with this matter privately, if I do not reimburse him for the costs of parts within 5 days, he states that he will purse this matter through the small claims court.

Can you please advise if he has a claim or not and what I should do next

Thanks
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Mon 7 Jun 2010 12:03
Polo - Private Car Purchase - bathtub tom

Sounds like a scam. If it was a genuine private sale, then I believe he has no recourse at all.

If you want to string him along, then you could ask him for an independant engineer's report. He'd probably need something like that to present to a court.

I'm sure Lucy'll be along soon to give solid advice.

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Mon 7 Jun 2010 12:54
Polo - Private Car Purchase - LucyBC

Private sales are almost always based on the principle of "Caveat Emptor" - buyer beware - so unless you make a factual mis-statement or the car has been clocked he has very little comeback.

A factual mis-statement might include something regarding the car which can be reasonably called into question with evidence - "four new tyres and shock absorbers" for example "new clutch" or "new brake pads all round". If you could have been shown to misled him an a factual manner then he may have some recourse.

"Excellent drive and condition" is not a warranty as to anything and is something that he could reasonably be asked to ascertain for himself prior to purchase - so Caveat Emptor would apply.

Write to him to tell him you will rigorously oppose his claim should he choose to bring one.

Come back to me if he does. If the total foundation of his claim is "Excellent drive and condition" - he does not have much hope of success.

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