Looking for a bit of advice from those who will know more about consumer rights etc or have been in this position before.
A friend of mine purchased a car from a garage in West Brom via Raccars in September. After having to ask for the v5 on 4 different occasions she’s finally got it and the car is showing up as a cat S. She’s 100% sure it wasn’t advertised as a cat car and the company have since removed the listing.
Is there anything she can legally do?
Did she buy it using any form of credit?
Unfortunately not, I asked the same thing but she paid cash.
Legally, she can reject it and get her money back, as that's something that a seller that needs to disclose.
Practically, she's effed because she paid cash. She could sue (small claims, it's not hard) and win but good luck enforcing.
Only crumb of comfort is a cat S may still be safe to use and they can be massive bargains if the repairer knows what they are doing. That...a VERY big if.
Unless she can somehow get her money back she’s pretty screwed as when the time comes to sell it she’ll get even less than expected.
Has she let the dealer know it's on the register ?
Did she pay Cat S money for it? Was it a great bargain? If so the dealer knew
If she paid proper price for it the dealer needs to be told its on the register and he didn't advertise it as such . If the guy acts up and refuses to refund threaten to review him all over the relevant social media and not in a Good way .Reputation is a big thing for car dealers .I've had occasion to do this myself after having been sold an absolute lemon AND IT WORKS
Waste of time trying to do anything. I bought a used car with cash and it was faulty. Dealer was eastern European and basically told me he wasn't interested. Threatened him with court and he had it back twice to "fix" it. Still getting engine lights so got a full AA diagnostic report and the same from BMW. I got solicitors involved and started small claims court proceedings. It dragged on for months and cost me more than the car did in solicitors fees. I won the case by default as he didn't turn up to court. I used bayliffs to try and get my money back and nothing was in his name. I ended up massively out of pocket.
You don't need sols for small claims. That was an even bigger waste of money.
Waste of time trying to do anything. I bought a used car with cash and it was faulty. Dealer was eastern European and basically told me he wasn't interested. Threatened him with court and he had it back twice to "fix" it. Still getting engine lights so got a full AA diagnostic report and the same from BMW. I got solicitors involved and started small claims court proceedings. It dragged on for months and cost me more than the car did in solicitors fees. I won the case by default as he didn't turn up to court. I used bayliffs to try and get my money back and nothing was in his name. I ended up massively out of pocket.
I'm always really sad to hear of instances like this .... for over twenty years on here and Planet Blues i have regularly told people to get a full RAC inspection done on ANY car they are thinking of buying, whether that is a private seller or a trade seller.
Some people have taken that advice and walked away from cars that looked great on the surface
Basic test is £110 ... but i always go for the full test at £250.
£250 is peanuts compared with the cost of the most basic repairs needed these days.
As an aside ... just to prove a recent point ... i bought a car for a friend 6 weeks ago (obviously with his money) .... £6,750 was advertised price (probably £800 less than i would have expected) .. with full 12 months MOT, zero advisories, ... but RAC test at £250 showed up a fair few faults over and above what you would expect for a car of that age and mileage. Costed the repairs ... £2000 .... !!
So it was "time to walk away" .... or negotiate the cost down by £2,000 (unlikely on a £6750 car) but showed the dealer the report and he got every single fault put right through his own mechanic and offered to pay for another similar RAC inspection afterwards if it failed anything.
So had a second RAC inspection done 3 weeks later - passed everything with flying colours ... negotiated cost down to £6,500 ... plus two inspections = £7,000 ... bought it for my friend. They are as pleased as punch knowing they are driving round in a beautiful car that is completely fault free.
Always remember that car salesmen are exactly that .... sales people .... they often have very little knowledge of mechanics and aren't always trying to screw people, they just aren't aware
RAC inpections ... [www.rac.co.uk] ... remember the "comprehensive" includes everything in the "basic" and "advanced"
For accidents, write offs, thefts, mileage verification, ownership changes and HP etc i always use [www.carvertical.com] ... £30.00 ...
but you can get a good discount using voucher code from [www.youtube.com] ... which, by the way, is an absolutely brilliant place to learn what to look for when buying cars
PS ... i do this a LOT less than i used to, and when people say "ask Rags- he knows all about cars", i don't really .. i just know the right people to ask and the right things to do ("family" was in the trade for decades)
PPS ... even with all of the above - if you have £5,000 (for example) to spend on a used car - DON'T !!! ... always spend £4,000 and keep the other £1,000 separate for peace of mind if anything goes wrong, which it can, in the first 12 months.
RagsWaste of time trying to do anything. I bought a used car with cash and it was faulty. Dealer was eastern European and basically told me he wasn't interested. Threatened him with court and he had it back twice to "fix" it. Still getting engine lights so got a full AA diagnostic report and the same from BMW. I got solicitors involved and started small claims court proceedings. It dragged on for months and cost me more than the car did in solicitors fees. I won the case by default as he didn't turn up to court. I used bayliffs to try and get my money back and nothing was in his name. I ended up massively out of pocket.
I'm always really sad to hear of instances like this .... for over twenty years on here and Planet Blues i have regularly told people to get a full RAC inspection done on ANY car they are thinking of buying, whether that is a private seller or a trade seller.
Some people have taken that advice and walked away from cars that looked great on the surface
Basic test is £110 ... but i always go for the full test at £250.
£250 is peanuts compared with the cost of the most basic repairs needed these days.
As an aside ... just to prove a recent point ... i bought a car for a friend 6 weeks ago (obviously with his money) .... £6,750 was advertised price (probably £800 less than i would have expected) .. with full 12 months MOT, zero advisories, ... but RAC test at £250 showed up a fair few faults over and above what you would expect for a car of that age and mileage. Costed the repairs ... £2000 .... !!
So it was "time to walk away" .... or negotiate the cost down by £2,000 (unlikely on a £6750 car) but showed the dealer the report and he got every single fault put right through his own mechanic and offered to pay for another similar RAC inspection afterwards if it failed anything.
So had a second RAC inspection done 3 weeks later - passed everything with flying colours ... negotiated cost down to £6,500 ... plus two inspections = £7,000 ... bought it for my friend. They are as pleased as punch knowing they are driving round in a beautiful car that is completely fault free.
Always remember that car salesmen are exactly that .... sales people .... they often have very little knowledge of mechanics and aren't always trying to screw people, they just aren't aware
RAC inpections ... [www.rac.co.uk] ... remember the "comprehensive" includes everything in the "basic" and "advanced"
For accidents, write offs, thefts, mileage verification, ownership changes and HP etc i always use [www.carvertical.com] ... £30.00 ...
but you can get a good discount using voucher code from [www.youtube.com] ... which, by the way, is an absolutely brilliant place to learn what to look for when buying cars
PS ... i do this a LOT less than i used to and when people say "ask Rags- he knows all about cars", i don't really .. i just know the right people to ask and the right things to do ("family" was in the trade for decades)
Good job you're not on ignore 😂👍
I totally agree. The car I bought had a massive list of faults and I was putting more oil in than petrol. It was a total shambles from start to finish which I can't be bothered to type about because it will take forever but it was unbelievable what went on, if someone told me the story I'd say it was a load of rubbish long story very short but he's still trading but someone else who was involved is now in prison for selling houses that he didn't own (he acted for the selling garage as their solicitor) even though he was struck off the register for voting fraud(he stood as a labour candidate). He also claimed benefits relating to his dead partner who died in the 7/7 London tube bombing and he stole a neighbour's electricity. Id put the link up to the newspaper article about him but I'd imagine it would get removed. I'm very careful where I buy my cars from now. Luckily I've met a bloke a few years back who I now consider a friend who has a small garage and I've cars off him since. I tell him what I'm after and he finds it for me.
I totally agree. The car I bought had a massive list of faults and I was putting more oil in than petrol. It was a total shambles from start to finish which I can't be bothered to type about because it will take forever but it was unbelievable what went on, if someone told me the story I'd say it was a load of rubbish long story very short but he's still trading but someone else who was involved is now in prison for selling houses that he didn't own (he acted for the selling garage as their solicitor) even though he was struck off the register for voting fraud(he stood as a labour candidate). He also claimed benefits relating to his dead partner who died in the 7/7 London tube bombing and he stole a neighbour's electricity. Id put the link up to the newspaper article about him but I'd imagine it would get removed. I'm very careful where I buy my cars from now. Luckily I've met a bloke a few years back who I now consider a friend who has a small garage and I've cars off him since. I tell him what I'm after and he finds it for me.
Nothing beats research research research research ... and if you find a decent mechanic or someone with decent advice ..... stick with them.
another PS ... to others .... many repair places/mechanics can only buy from places they have accounts with.
Thursday my 175,000 mile, 19 year old MPV (beautiful beautiful vehicle which i only really use as a posh van now) failed its MOT because of a cracked exhaust behind the back box. My trusted mechanic HAD to quote me £475, £480, £515 from the suppliers his bosses allows him to use ..... "Rags, you're better sourcing it yourself" ..... having a new one delivered from ebay on Monday from a massive parts company ... [www.ebay.co.uk] ... for £125.00 ... was listed on ebay at £155.00 plus a 15% off code ... but rang them up to get it checked for compatibility against reg. no. and got it cheaper from same place, plus free gasket, plus free express delivery .... mechanic will fit it for £60.00 cash without head office knowing ... total cost = £125 + £60 = £185.00 ..... a saving of about £300 minimum ... and that's at the mechanic i know and trust.
So always question, think and research
I've used the bloke I found for everything from purchases/sales to MOT and service since i met him a few years back. Similar sort of advice from your mechanic but someone hit my Mrs side on and caved the drivers door in. Went through insurance and they faffed around and sent it to one of their approved repairers. It was there for 5 weeks when they rang and said they wanted courtesy car back and was returning her car undone as they couldn't find a door . Ridiculous . I Rang the bloke I know and he found one in less than 15 mins , I rang the place her car was at and told them where this door was (main dealer in Sunderland who offered next day delivery) and they said they couldnt use them because they only use certain suppliers. After loads of arguing and me refusing to return the courtesy car unless they sorted it they had to get special permission from some higher up person to purchase the door. It got sorted within 3 days then. It's great having someone like that to call on. He helps me out and I return the favour when he needs jewellery.
I've used the bloke I found for everything from purchases/sales to MOT and service since i met him a few years back. Similar sort of advice from your mechanic but someone hit my Mrs side on and caved the drivers door in. Went through insurance and they faffed around and sent it to one of their approved repairers. It was there for 5 weeks when they rang and said they wanted courtesy car back and was returning her car undone as they couldn't find a door . Ridiculous . I Rang the bloke I know and he found one in less than 15 mins , I rang the place her car was at and told them where this door was (main dealer in Sunderland who offered next day delivery) and they said they couldnt use them because they only use certain suppliers. After loads of arguing and me refusing to return the courtesy car unless they sorted it they had to get special permission from some higher up person to purchase the door. It got sorted within 3 days then. It's great having someone like that to call on. He helps me out and I return the favour when he needs jewellery.
The whole insurance side of motoring is a disgrace.
Another car i have, my "daily driver" ... 140,000 miles 15 years old ...beautiful car but only worth about £1800 ... sold in very limited numbers and shares no parts/panels etc with any other vehicle. I just know (from others on car forums) that if i have even a minor bump then it will be a "write off" according to my insurance company because they can't get new panels for it. Yet perfectly good secondhand panels are freely available from scrapyards (very astute are your scrapmen - know which cars are going to be in demand because they sold in limited numbers) and a repair would be quite cheap. But they wouldn't allow it and i'd have to go down the lines of buying the car from the insurers, getting it done myself and then having it as a recorded write off.