My daughter bought a car just before lockdown from a trade seller. I had it valued on Saturday as she’s considering changing it, only to discover it was written off last year. We were not informed of this when we bought it, and paid a decent retail value for it.

 

Am I correct in thinking it’s an offence to sell a write off without informing the buyer?

 

The seller says they didn’t know it was a write off, and said they’d HPI checked it before selling it, but have agreed that it is now registered as a write off. 
 

My daughter has covered 1500 miles in it since buying it. They have offered a full refund if we buy another car from them, or a “mileage allowance” off the purchase price if we just hand the car back, a difference of about £300 less than we paid.

 

Would it be unreasonable to ask for a full refund?

This is why you should always do your own history check, no matter what the salescritter says. Water under the bridge now but you know for next time.

 

I'd suggest getting some advice from a solicitor or a trustworthy consumer advocacy group on what to do next.

 

My sense is that the dealer is in the wrong here no matter what: either they sold you a car knowing it was written off previously, or they failed to do due diligence on their purchase of it, suggesting that they're a bit incompetent.

I would snatch their hand off to get back all my money less £300 after 3 or 4 months.

 

No harm in asking for a full refund but dont play such hardball that they withdraw what was in my view a generous offer.

 

It may well not have shown up on an HPI check and they will have kept a copy, if it was clear then they are also in the clear.

 

As she is considering changing it then all the more reason to take the offer, she wont be able to P/X it with its history, didn't the V5 have the marker on it?

Fair enough that it was a 'right off' many cars sold have been 'right offs', 

but what class of 'right off was it'?

Very minor damage, even stolen recovered and requiring new keys etc can right off a car.

Cat N or Cat S or another.

 

?

So what class,  what car, and what was it's value /purchase  price, and are the Insurers OK insuring it. 

After all it is Insurance Companies / Underwriters that sell 'Write offs'. 

 

So it turns out that the V5 does indeed say "this vehicle has been salvaged because of structural damage, but it has been declared suitable for repair following a technical evaluation"

37 minutes ago, 2SkodaFamily said:

So it turns out that the V5 does indeed say "this vehicle has been salvaged because of structural damage, but it has been declared suitable for repair following a technical evaluation"

 

I'd say a key point is whether this information was disclosed pre-sale or not?

 

4 hours ago, StickyMicky said:

 

I'd say a key point is whether this information was disclosed pre-sale or not?

 

Not.

If it was on the V5 when you bought the car, you're in a somewhat weak position here as it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect you to read the paperwork thoroughly when completing the purchase. That said, it doesn't reflect well on the dealer either that this wasn't disclosed at the time as you would absolutely expect the dealer to have done due diligence on the vehicle when it came in to them. I'd put it to them that the write-off condition was noted on the V5 at the time the car was sold and see what they say.

All the more reason to grab the £300 loss deal before they change their mind.

 

There are faults on the system and mant repaired vehicles get sold into the trade and appear on dealers forecourts withhout anything showing up on their HPI and other checks.

 

Its quite possible that the marker did not appear until it was registered in the OP's name but its definitely a good strategy to make the assertion, they should have a copy of all the documentation, if it was there then you are now in the driving seat.

Aye i would go the £300 route, not bad for 1500 miles use. Would be happy with that.

Update:

 

Got a full refund on the purchase price, settled very amicably.

36 minutes ago, 2SkodaFamily said:

Update:

 

Got a full refund on the purchase price, settled very amicably.

The hunt starts again Martin!

Result!

Hy, i been unfortunately down this type of road...

 

All i can say is legally: according to CRA 2015 if  is more than 30 days since you took possession of the car you are not entitled to a full refund, but a refund less usage  up to 6 months.

 

My advice is as the dealer offered a full refund if you exchange it for something else it has in stock check if something suitable for your needs or accept the the refund less those 300£; bare in mind car prices went up on second hand market since pre lockdown. A superb exactly like my one is 1500£ more now than a year ago even tho i added 15k miles on in the mean time.

On 02/08/2020 at 21:30, 2SkodaFamily said:

My daughter bought a car just before lockdown from a trade seller. I had it valued on Saturday as she’s considering changing it, only to discover it was written off last year. We were not informed of this when we bought it, and paid a decent retail value for it.

 

Am I correct in thinking it’s an offence to sell a write off without informing the buyer?

 

The seller says they didn’t know it was a write off, and said they’d HPI checked it before selling it, but have agreed that it is now registered as a write off. 
 

My daughter has covered 1500 miles in it since buying it. They have offered a full refund if we buy another car from them, or a “mileage allowance” off the purchase price if we just hand the car back, a difference of about £300 less than we paid.

 

Would it be unreasonable to ask for a full refund?

 

 

Honestly, I think the dealer is being very reasonable here.

 

You can do a lot worse than a full refund if you change the car with them and only £300 depreciation in approximately 6 months and go elsewhere.

Personally unless you trust the trader, I would go elsewhere or at least carry out your own HPI check before any new car.

 

 

EDIT: Ignore all of that, I see you managed to get a full refund, and I should have read to the end of the thread.

Nicely done and to be honest with that being the case, I would say the dealer went beyond what they were obliged to do by law.

 

 

Edited 11 August, 20205 yr by cheezemonkhai