Private Car Sold As Seen Any Combacks??

[mcmullet-vtec]

alright folks just wanted a bit of advice on a car i sold approx 5 months ago. It was a private car owned by myself that is now 11 years old and has over 80k miles on it..

I sold the car with the belief that everything was perfect on it. just before the car was sold i paid a belfast mechanic to run the car through the mot and diagnose and fix an abs light issue. he did this to the best of my knowledge.

then the car was sold to a lady who came out, drove the car and checked everything as much as she could.. she loved the car left a deposit and collected it approx 3 days later.

I have heard nothing since...

Just yesturday i received in the post a small court claims letter for the amount of £800 for the car in question. stating that the abs wasnt working from day 1 of ownership and there was some sort of 'timer' fitted to the warning lights to make them operate normally when there was still a problem. Obviously mr mechanic never fixed the abs problem and just set the warning lights to go on and off as normal.. ( I didnt even know this was possible!!)

anyway it was a private sale that was completed around september time and i have an A4 page with my details, the cars details, and the buyers details with 'SOLD AS SEEN' on it.. and two signatures.

surely theres no case here or is there ???

cheers folks

 

[Gaz]

No case at all Mark, private sale, sold as seen, end of story. The onus would have been on the buyer to have the car fully checked out (by an independent engineer, if necessary) prior to purchasing it. She wouldn't have had a case a week later with a nearly new car, never mind 5 months later with a car over 11yrs old. I had a similar issue with a guy who bought a car off me, blew the head gasket 7 months later and then rung me to see what I was going to do about it - I just laughed at him. Last I heard of it.

If you were a trader, it would be a different story and if the car was advertised as roadworthy - but wasn't - then you'd be liable.

Though if I was in your shoes I'd be having a word with that mechanic, what he did was dangerous. And maybe a ripoff too, depending on what he charged you to 'fix' the ABS problem.

 

[pablo]

after this length of time how can she prove it was you that done it? Also why no communication for 5 months?

its easy to say dont worry about it but im sure its not pleasant.

 

[da.murf]

no case imo..... jog on kitty

 

[mcmullet-vtec]

havent got a clue but there was no communication what so ever... i was never aware of a problem! cant even remember what she looks like..

when she bought the car i gave her every invoice possible, and one of them was for an abs sensor from about a year ago and i honsetly told her that it needed one as the lights came on..

nope not very nice at all! never been in a small claim court situation!

 

[pablo]

bummer man hope it works out.

 

[mcmullet-vtec]

No case at all Mark, private sale, sold as seen, end of story. The onus would have been on the buyer to have the car fully checked out (by an independent engineer, if necessary) prior to purchasing it. She wouldn't have had a case a week later with a nearly new car, never mind 5 months later with a car over 11yrs old. I had a similar issue with a guy who bought a car off me, blew the head gasket 7 months later and then rung me to see what I was going to do about it - I just laughed at him. Last I heard of it.

If you were a trader, it would be a different story and if the car was advertised as roadworthy - but wasn't - then you'd be liable.

Though if I was in your shoes I'd be having a word with that mechanic, what he did was dangerous. And maybe a ripoff too, depending on what he charged you to 'fix' the ABS problem.

yea i cant believe the way the mechanic 'fixed' the problem but hey how was i to know..
I just cant understand how and why its going all the way to a small claims court?!! surely they wouldnt even bother trying to put though a case like that.

i think i should send them a letter explaining the situation with a photocopy of the original sold as seen A4 page..

 

[pablo]

you can bring anything to small claims afaik. then the judge decides on the day if its pish or not.

so I understand anyway

 

[Gaz]

Don't deal with them directly, take the bill of sale you have to your solicitor and instruct him to respond.

 

[Cess]

Useful info below on how the small claims court operates in Northern Ireland:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/oyb/legal_financial/small_claims_court.shtml

 

[mcmullet-vtec]

yea i think i will get my solicitor to look into the situation.. its just the hassle of having this in the back of your mind to deal with..

if she would have came to me just after she took the car i would have most likely helped her out, just one of those things i guess!

 

[Karlos Da Jackle]

Don't deal with them directly, take the bill of sale you have to your solicitor and instruct him to respond.

But this will most likely incur costs. They must charge something to even write a letter,

The lady doesn't have a leg to stand on. As mentioned above. But how to go about responding i'm not sure. The best way would be as Gaz suggest, but will cost money I'd think. Maybe that be retrieavble in costs if you do go to court and win.

 

[Cess]

Agree with Karlos. You may not need a solicitor (nor do you have to) and the cost of a solicitor may outwiegh the actual cost of the claim.

 

[Rocko]

£60 letter vs £800 claim?

Go to a solicitor mate, it'll go away a lot quicker if he/she knows you have one on standby to fight any claim.

 

[pablo]

Id be tempted to try and put them off going any furthe while still being nice about it.

- you should have got in contact straight away
- had no knowledge of anyything being amiss
- this far on I cant help
- not sure what you or your mechanic has done in those 5 months
- why go straight to court rather than try to resolve
- car was sold as seen as agreed on purchase documentation
- if you feel the need to continue I will forward this letter and docs to my solicitor to defend case

If you tell them you are bringing in a solicitor they may back down as they would get tore apart. And they will hardly have a solicitor as it would cost more than £800 and you dont get costs paid if you win afaik.

 

[Chris Mac]

Id just photocopy and send the sale reciept to her and inform her she doesnt have a leg to stand on, Sold as seen will stand up in court

 

[mcmullet-vtec]

brillant advise folks,

think i will send the buyer a email about the situation with the above statements and speak to a solicitor asap. just cant believe this is going on 5 months later..

 

[Lyons]

Interesting one. I know nothing about such things, but could the problem not fall back on the mechanic if anyone because he was meant to have fixed it? If for whatever reason the woman is successful, the mechanic has a lot to answer for.

Keep us posted anyway.

 

[Marc]

how do you know she didnt get another ABS problem and had her mechanic butcher the light?

 

[Lyons]

True!

 

[pablo]

how do you know she didnt get another ABS problem and had her mechanic butcher the light?

thats what I was getting at above
- not sure what you or your mechanic has done in those 5 months

I cant see it going anywhere to be honest given the time and the straight to court attitude.

 

[PacMan]

you can bring anything to small claims afaik. then the judge decides on the day if its pish or not.

so I understand anyway

My dog jumped the fence and(apparently) got into a fight with another dog that a woman was walking nearby(well, when i say walking, it was off the lead). I didn't see this happen, but she arrived at my door asking for me to pay some vet bill (about £80). I told her i wasn't going to pay it, as i hadn't agreed to this, nor did i see this alleged "fight". She called back a week later and stated if i didn't pay it, then she would take me to small claims court, i laughed, and closed the door.

Month or two later, i got a letter from the court with a claim for over £200. She was caiming the vets bill, and 2 days off work due to stress (LOL). Didn't even bother going to court, all further correspondence was filed under B for bin.

 

[PacMan]

In this case, i would suggest the original poster make use of the phrase "sling yer hook".

 

[Gaz]

When I suggested a solicitor, I was aware that doing so would incur costs - but as stated above, it's a £60 letter vs a potential £800 bill. I wouldn't enter into any legal or court situation without consulting a solicitor first. Sometime a solicitor's letter in response (as opposed to some half-legal jargon googled by the person themselves) is much more effective as a warning shot across their bow.

Just make sure that Maserati has no dodgy ABS lights before June Mark

 

[DaddyCC]

after this length of time how can she prove it was you that done it? Also why no communication for 5 months?

Exactly. Sure there's only a 3 month warranty/come back for traders selling 2nd hand cars is there not? Nevermind private....

Bengal lancer in my opinion.