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Tue 3 Apr 2012 10:17

any comeback form a trade in? - Polk 75

Hi, I've been having a few intermittent problems starting my old car smoothly (i.e. it turns over for a while before it fires - nothing too bad, but indicating something amiss), so thought the time was right to get a new car. Got a new car from an independent dealer and traded my old car in. When i got there, he checked out my car to be traded, started it a couple of times and was happy to progress. He noted that it took a little while to fire, but was happy that it was going straight to auction, so said that was nothing to worry about. I drove home happy in my new car - unitl he rang me about an hour later saying that he couldnt start my old car and started giving me a moral lecture. I'm of the opinion it was sold as seen, but is there any legal comeback from a trade-in that has been accepted? I thought a trade-in was supposed to be stress free!

Thanks.

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 11:00

any comeback form a trade in? - tony g

Hi Polk, the dealer is seen as a professional in the contract when you buy a car .youre not responsible for the dealers lack of know how,or his mistakes.

As a private buyer you're not considered in law ,to have sufficient knowledge to instruct a dealer about the quality of a car.

He can not pursue you for damages after the deal is done ,for mechanical problems with your car .

If the car you bought gives problems ,he's still as responsible for any repairs .

The idea of a car dealer giving moral lectures is ludicrous .

Tony g

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 11:36

any comeback form a trade in? - Polk 75

Thanks for that explanation Tony. I thought as much, but I wanted to make sure there was no legal stuff that I was unaware of, before i explain that to him. I guess I'll just have to ignore any irate calls to avoid the stress.

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 12:06

any comeback form a trade in? - RT

There might be an issue if you've mis-described the car - but that doesn't sound to be the case.

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 12:46

any comeback form a trade in? - Polk 75

Well I don't think I've mis-described it. I agreed that it soemtimes takes a while to start. He suggested that the diesel pump was possibly on its way out, and that it was probably a good time to get rid of it. I have no idea. I would imagine that mis-selling is a difficult grey area which he'll be keen to get into.

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 13:01

any comeback form a trade in? - Armitage Shanks {p}

If I'm reading you correctly there was an agreement in general terms, that the car was hard to start, sometimes. Then HE suggested that the diesel pump was on the way out, you'd be wise to get rid of the car and HE took it from you as a P/X? Truly amazing!

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 14:05

any comeback form a trade in? - tony g

Hi all ,the issue here is ,the dealer in law is the professional ,Polk is the amateur .
The law applies in the same way , in that a private buyer can't sign away his warranty rights when he buys a used car from a dealer .The law says that a private buyer lacks sufficient knowledge to agree to buy a car ,as seen ,without warranty.

The same situation applies when Polk part exchanged his car .Its for the professional car dealer to satisfy himself as to it's condition .In law a private seller is considered not to have sufficient knowledge to advise a car dealer .

In addition Polk describes his car as old ,if the dealer has given less than £1000 ?,for the car in part exchange .He must be mad to be complaining about its condition .

Tony g

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 14:33

any comeback form a trade in? - unthrottled

This is why I always advise people to make sure that a diesel engine starts while hot as well as cold. Difficult hot starting is a classic sign of HP pump failure.

A few years back a friend of mine beghan having intermittent starting problems and the HP pump was diagnosed. He took the car to a well known large dealeraship in the centre of Cheshire and did a deal on a new car. The old car managed to start perfectly and the dealer agreed a p/ex price on it. The agreed handover date was a week ahead.

In the meantime, the pump got worse and worse. On handover day, we had to start it on ether and crawl to the dealership. We were literally doing 20mph at the end of the journey. After a very hasty exchange of documents and keys, we jumped in the new one and fled. I still remember the salesman's face as he sat there cranking away. Priceless!

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 20:42

any comeback form a trade in? - pd

As a dealer if a customer knowingly does me over on a PX there is a big difference as to how I treat them if they have a problem.

A dealer can follow the letter of the law which means you have to return the car (even if you are 200 miles away), wear and tear is argued, no loan car etc. or a dealer can treat a customer well, provide a loan car, provide goodwill etc. If everyone becomes an amateur lawyer and thinks they're in an episode of watchdog no one does very well and it is a miserable experience for all concerned.

That said, 90% of customers who trade in are honest and point out faults which I don't consider significant.

The annoying thing is that generally I wouldn't change the price but if a car has a hidden fault I'd prefer to know so as to know how to treat it and not land it on some unsuspecting customer with a fault they won't find for days.

It is attitudes like "getting one over on the salesman" which breeds attitudes like "getting one over on that idiot customer" and no one wins in the long run from that approach.

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 21:32

any comeback form a trade in? - unthrottled

That's a good point. I do agree with being straight with people. It's just that the rapidity and the magnitude of the downturning of the salesman's mouth was a sight that will live with me forever. I don't condone pulling fast ones though!

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Tue 3 Apr 2012 22:43

any comeback form a trade in? - gordonbennet

I don't agree with misleading anyone, including the seemingly hated car dealer and estate agent...i would include politicians but they are simply too dishonest to ever contemplate dealing with.

As a post above suggests, don't expect any bending over backwards from the dealer if the trade up turns out to have problems.

Trust and fair play are a two way street.

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Wed 4 Apr 2012 00:29

any comeback form a trade in? - tony g

. (It's just that the rapidity and the magnitude of the downturning of the salesman's mouth was a sight that will live with me forever. I don't condone pulling fast ones though!)

You were involved in pulling a fast one ,and seemed to enjoy the salesmans misfortune ,contradictory and pathetic ?

Tony g

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Wed 4 Apr 2012 00:42

any comeback form a trade in? - unthrottled

That's not fair Tony,

I was not involved in the negotiations, nor did I advise him to keep schtum about the pump. I went with him to pick the car up, that's all. What did you expect me to do, go and tell the salesman about the pump?

We've all been 'done' at some point in our lives and, with hindsight, I think it is healthy to smile about it.The salesman lost a few hundred pounds at most from a cheap trade in.

For heaven's sake, I signed up to a mobile phone contract from a cold call. I didn't need or particularly want it. I grin ruefully when I think back.

FYI, had it been my car, I would not have behaved similarly, but I don't feel guilty for having a chuckle.

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