Sold a dangerous car!

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Sold a dangerous car!

Hi, a couple of weeks ago i bought a 1972 VW beetle through "a reputable auction site". The car was advertised as having 12months MOT and to "ask any questions" about the car. This i did but didn't get any answer. Anyway! When i went to see it, myself and a good friend of mine had a good look at it inside and out and it looked like a nice car which needed some TLC. I asked the guy (who is a mechanic and owns a garage) what had been done to it and any work needed doing. He told me what work had been done and other some TLC and a adjustment to the fuel system it was fine. Happy with this i drove it home. On the way the lights and wipers stopped working and the breaks seemed an optional extra! Once home i had a friend who is a vehicle electrician have a look at the car, he said it seemed fine other then the lights and the wipers. For piece of mind i took it to a trusted garage who on first inspection said it was again a good little car. This was until it was put onto the ramp....Basically they said it was a deathtrap as the entire underside was rotted away. This had been patched with filler and then painted with under seal to hide the damage (got a report saying this). I contacted the guy and to cut a long story short he revved me off. I then threatened him with referring the "new" mot to VOSA. At that he offered £300. I asked for a refund (£3300), he pay for the repairs (£2500 for welding alone at mates rates) or i'm going to small claims. His counter was £500. VOSA came and did an inspection and they found 16 major points to fail an MOT as well as a long list of other advisories which had all been hidden and were found to have not been caused in the 3 days it took me to get it to the garage where it's stayed.
That's where we are.
I recorded everything said via email and text, i also have proven that he has tried to mislead me about the car several times i.e. "its last owner said it was fine!, I've run it for a year and there was nothing wrong with it" last MOT was in 2011 and last year he tried to sell it needing welding and an engine! etc etc
Do i have a leg to stand on here?

Asked on 21 July 2014 by fuzz2k7

Answered by Honest John

The car is 44 years old and had you bought it at a classic car auction there would have been no comeback. But here, the vendor appears to have somehow obtained an MoT when a proper MoT test would not have passed the car, as confirmed by VOSA. That means that it was not only sold in a dangerous condition, a breach of contract occurred because the true condition of the car was falsified. So, despite the car being 44 years old, I think that a small claims judge would rule in your favour: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

Tags: dangerous mot classic cars

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