Hi,

 

Purchased a  2000 Fabia 1.4 16v on Sunday on getting the car home went to try and get the car remote working and found this

 

The Alarm has been bypassed to prevent it showing a fault by having the front Door switchs being disabled, the alarm sounder disabled, the car was described as needing new battery for keyfob, so need to unlock the car by the car which does not disabled the alarm. the car thinks and report a alarm set off

 

Also on the vagcom report was coding error I am now thinking this is related to this.

 

Travailing home tonight noticed the ASR button and pressing it did nothing so looking on here suggested checking if the lights taped over, The ASR and ABS lights have been covered with Tape to prevent the light showing this is the most worrying as I am unsure of the fault as nothing showing up on VagCom and the light on.

 

From reading online the 1st problem I think is classed as selling not as described as the advert stated needs new battery, and after speaking to the previous car seller (Trader) he remembered writing on the sales invoice the faulty keyfob to prevent comeback under warranty  he said the car was a main dealer trade-in and no other faults.

 

The second I am trying to work out as the brake system is faulty the car is not roadworthy and then making this a criminal matter.

 

I know some people will think you brought a car private get over it and I would take this on the chin for the first issue but a unroadworthy car I am not willing to put my kids in the car with a brake fault.

 

Any advise gratefully received if this is classed as unroadworthy and if I have a case.

 

thanks

 

 

Trev

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think it's always buyer beware when it's a private seller. If the seller put sold as seen and tested on the receipt, or words to that effect then I would as you say have to take it on the chin. A bit harsh I know, or you could try and get your money back, or even something back (money) to sort out the defects.

Apart from what I have said there is an option of a small claims court if you have trouble with the seller not playing ball, and of course there should be plenty of advice online re claims etc and Citizens advice.

Edited 2 December, 201411 yr by MickA

If ABS and ASR lights are on, the likely culprit is one of the four ABS wheel speed sensors.  When one goes it disables the whole system.  However if you are getting no sensor fault codes this is odd.  Is it being scanned with VCDS?  VCDS will tell you which corner is gone too, if one has gone.

 

ALSO, check the fuses on top of the battery.  One of those is also known to split and cause ABS light, however that wouldn't bring on the ASR light, I don't believe.

Maybe one sensor went and someone cut the wiring and put a resistor onit to stop the fault coming on a scan?

I think it's always buyer beware when it's a private seller. If the seller put sold as seen and tested on the receipt, or words to that effect then I would as you say have to take it on the chin. A bit harsh I know, or you could try and get your money back, or even something back (money) to sort out the defects.

Apart from what I have said there is an option of a small claims court if you have trouble with the seller not playing ball, and of course there should be plenty of advice online re claims etc and Citizens advice.

 

It is actually illegal to sell a motor vehicle in an unsafe condition in the UK under the Road Traffic Act, this includes private sales (a fault with any of the cars safety systems would attract this). But when talking about a near 15 year old Skoda, it would cost a lot more than the car is worth to go through court to get it sorted. You can contact the person and seek a refund armed with quoting the RTA and that Citizens Advice have advised you, or even a letter from a solicitor to make it seem as serious as possible..... But I doubt it will work as most people assume private sales = no rights.

 

You shouldn't have to take it on the chin, but I fear you are going to have to do just that.

Misdescribed and/or unroadworthy are the only two comebacks you have against a private seller and it seems you have them on both counts here. It might not be that easy to get your money back, but the law is on your side on this one.

It is a criminal offence under the RTA to sell an unroadworthy vehicle.

Small claims route if desired should be easy to undertake and fairly cheap too.

Thanks for all replies. , going to put this down to experience as once programmed the Comfort unit with the correct codes and ran a full reset the lights are out, all faults except the alarm have gone, i have tired ABS and ACR and both work ok so no safety issue,  Also programmed a new key and remote locking all working out of pocket a bit more then wanted but lesson learnt.

Good to hear. Sounds like someone been messing with something they didn't understand and you've just put it right.

What ever the outcome there is absolutely no excuse for taping over safety related warning lights!