Issues With Buyer

[yaris781]

Hi guys

My mrs sold her Rav last week to someone privately. However this morning the lady who bought it rang to say that it's not starting and her mechanic thinks its the diesel pump and we responsible for it.

The car was sold early last week and as the MOT was due to expire in March we decided to put a full mot on it which it failed on numerous thingd but were all fixed and a new mot issued.

We owned the car for a few years always serviced on time with bills and history to prove. We never had any problems with the car starting apart from when the original Battery required replacing.

The car did have a full history and thr buyer was happy with everything checked everything and drove the car and said that it's the best car they'd seen and wanted to take it away straightaway. I did suggest thst would be easier if they took it on weekend but they indisted and I agreed to that

What I wanted to know is am I responsible as thry saying that we knew it was faulty. When the csr was mot'd I asked them to check if there was anything that might need replacing in the near future and thry assured me there wasn't nothing mechanically as fsr as they were concerned apart from the things it failed on.

My wife is really worried snd I've tokd hercand the buyer that its just one of thosre things and there was no way that she woukd have known if the pump was on its way as we never had any issues with the csr starting.

Any advice will be appreciated

Thanks guys

[Merseyshark]

caveat emptor

buyer should have had her tame mechanic look at the car BEFORE buying it.

If it's a neighbour, you could meet half way I guess but if it's a stranger......

[Grumpy stumpy]

These things happen and I was always told sold as seen so not your problem, if buying from a dealer you have a come back but privately they drove the car and were happy with it so not your problem. Any fault can develop at any time. That's why most cars tend to be cheaper when buying privately as dealers normally give you some sort of warranty. Tell them sorry but their problem.

[redlew]

Ask to state what statute or case law they are relying on -and wait for the silence or something that applies to a trader .

[Tbird1600]

If she was happy with the car when she took it for a test drive and made the decision not to have it checked by her mechanic at the time, then I'm afraid the it is down to her.

Did the bill of sale have the magic words "Sold as seen" as they help a great deal in unfortunate cases like these.

[DrBob1]

It's sad when these things happen, but that's the risk one takes buying from a private person -- just to echo the previous posts, you're not responsible!

Dr Bob

[Davrav]

Your responsibility to the new owner ended as soon as they drove it away....................

[Tech01]

Exactly. All good advice from everyone above.

If she were to follow it up legally (on ???? grounds) she would have to show that you knowingly sold her the car with a fault.

You seem to have taken every precaution before selling the car, which is more than many folk would have done.

Chris

[Davrav]

Also a nice little ploy on behalf of the buyer to try and get some money back..........

Anyway, the mechanic only 'thinks' it's the diesel pump. Could be a whole range of things. Wonder if she filled it with petrol?

[Jamesbelfast]

If the buyer could prove you were aware of the problem prior to the sale then there may be grounds for a kick-back. If you were totally unaware of any problems or they can't prove otherwise then the buyer has to accept respopnsibility.

Sadly many people seem to take the view that if a car has a fresh MOT certificate it means the car must be in good condition. An MOT certificate means the car only complied with a given criteria when it was examined. I would advise both buyers and sellers NOT to judge reliabilty based on an MOT cert.,

Personally I have seen numerous cars pass MOT but I wouldn't set foot in them never mind buy them.

[yaris781]

Thanks guys for all the advice. She's a little assured by your replies. We can hand on heart say that we didn't know it was going to go wrong. The car was advertised ob eBay and gumtree.co.uk and we described it honestly. Tried apologising and said its unfortunate that it happened. I had the car advertised for £3195 and we let it go for £3000. Calls starting to become not so nice now so not answering them now. I'd understand if it happened immediately then I would've probably sorted sonething out. They've driven it back to midlands and few days later the pump has stopped working.

Thanks for your advice though guy's

Ash

[yaris781]

Also a nice little ploy on behalf of the buyer to try and get some money back..........

Anyway, the mechanic only 'thinks' it's the diesel pump. Could be a whole range of things. Wonder if she filled it with petrol?

I did think that but she's checked receipt and its diesel. The car was perfect and to be honest I don't know weather a mechanic had checked it or not and after the not so nice calls I'm not answering the phone and all Voicemails are being saved

[Awebb180]

where abouts were they from when you say midlands? only reason i ask is we have had 2 diesels in with issues starting and turned out to be contaminated diesel.

the vehicle is sold as seen, private sale.

with the phone calls keep a record of them and any voice mails and call your local non emergency police number a record it with them

Alex

[yaris781]

This was the original ad

http://m.gumtree.com/toyota-rav-4-d4d-gx-5-door-full-service-history/v?adId=1006961468#rav4 d4d

[yaris781]

where abouts were they from when you say midlands? only reason i ask is we have had 2 diesels in with issues starting and turned out to be contaminated

the vehicle is sold as seen, private sale.

with the phone calls keep a record of them and any voice mails and call your local non emergency police number a record it with them

Alex

Nottingham and we're in Bradford

[gjnorthall]

Second hand cars will always have faults and sellers may be well aware of a fault but there is no obligation to disclose to either a trade or private purchaser. It's up to the buyer to satisfy himself by inspection or testing that he's happy to purchase the vehicle. Private sellers are only liable if they misrepresent e.g. claim that the vehicle has had one owner but later transpires that there have been three. The cover-all on a receipt for a private sale is "Sold as seen, tried, tested and approved and without warranty either expressed or implied"

[grasshopper]

The cheek of it! If I were you - ignore their phone calls, block emails - do not make conversation with them - SOLD AS SEEN - they should know the score. How on earth were you supposed to predict that would happen?

I sold a car a few years ago privately, seller test drove - fine, we agreed a price - waited a week for bacs transfer mallarky - then the buyer came to collect car and drove away, and guess what on his drive home the back part of the exhaust fell of - loose clamp I think - was absolutely fine before - how was I to know - not my problem!

[firemac]

All good advice above. They have no comeback and if they begin harassing you, report them to the police.

You need to avoid looking at this as if you are in the wrong - you're not! You cannot know how they have treated the car since you sold it. As Davrav very wisely says, they may have filled it with petrol for all you know. As Alex points out there are a number of threads on the forum discussing recent problems with the quality of diesel & that is not down to you..

[yaris781]

Thanks again guy's

[anchorman]

It won't be the pump anyway - that is fairly bomb proof. If you want to appease them you could offer to buy them a pair of SCVs (available off eBay in Denso boxes) and a fuel filter. That should cover anything to do with the pump.

As the others have said, you are not obliged. Tell them to find a decent mechanic who doesn't come out with duff information.

[firemac]

It won't be the pump anyway - that is fairly bomb proof. If you want to appease them you could offer to buy them a pair of SCVs (available off ebay in Denso boxes) and a fuel filter. That should cover anything to do with the pump.

As the others have said, you are not obliged. Tell them to find a decent mechanic who doesn't come out with duff information.

With respect, Don, that could be dangerous in that it could infer liability on the part of the seller which could open him up to claims for anything else that the buyer dreams up. Ash has already been totally reasonable in his advert and in being prepared to accept a lower selling price. He has no obligation in this at all and he should simply sit tight. If the buyer gets nasty then it becomes a police matter.

[Hoovie]

Have a look at this web page for some reassurance .....

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/advice/problemswithvehicles-sum6.cfm

I recall there was some change to the rules regarding "fit for purpose" but this was for trade sellers where putting things like "sold as seen" was irrelevant and the only way TRADERS have no comebacks is if they advertise a car as 'for spares or repair' now.

[DjRav]

What a shame. Sounds like you really did everything reasonable before selling. Don't lose any sleep over this, your buyer sounds a bit daft to be honest. Be civil but firm if you speak again to them. You had no idea anything was wrong so have nothing to feel responsible for.

I sold a BMW once. They came and saw it in the dark, although it was sound in the paintwork. They bought it cash there and then and as they drove off I could see water sloshing side to side half way up the inside one of the rear side light lenses!! (Water leaked in somewhere, but sure wasnt leaking out again!). I had no idea, but never heard a peek from them.

Dave

[anchorman]

I don't think the buyer has any comeback and I would make it absolutely clear but yes I can see the risk and implications.

[yaris781]

Thanks again guy's. My wife is the sort of person who feels guilty but told her no reason to be. I had a chat with my neighbour who is a good mechanic and works at a local dealership (not Toyota ) his convinced as some have suggested that it's highly unlikely to be pump. He daid the first thing he would check id glow plugs and take it from there. However like I said to my wife not our problem now and to forget about it and we've done nothing wrong on our part