Bought a second hand van

Dmtiling

Ok here is the story - sorry if its a bit long but i'll try my best to keep it as short as possible.

Recently bought a second hand van (AS IS) without waranty. When I was in the garage the van had trouble starting and they had a mechanic look at it. After this It was said that it was just a loose wire or something. The van started and I drove it away thinking that the problem had been solved. I only got two days driving out of the van before it would not start for me. Because I bought it without waranty and I thought it was only a small problem I got it towed to a main dealer of the van. It was not the same Dealer which I bought the van off as they don't deal in this sort of van as new. I have now discovered that van will cost me nearlly 1700 Euro to get back on the road again. I am considering taking the garage to court to claim for that amount since I was told that the van was in working order when I bought it.

Here are some legall facts and consumer rights I have found on the subject.

Responsibility on the seller:

A motor vehicle must be in
roadworthy condition when sold to a
consumer. This means that it must be
safe for the user, and for other road
users. It is an offence under the Sale
of Goods & Supply of Services Act,
1980 to sell a car to a consumer which
is not roadworthy. It is also an offence
under Road Traffic legislation which is
enforced by the Gardaí.

Sale of Goods Act:

The Sale of Goods Act also requires
that all goods sold should be:
✽ Of merchantable quality
(reasonable, acceptable quality
given what was said about them
and taking into account the age
and history of the vehicle).
✽ Fit for the purpose they are
intended to be used for.
✽ As described.


Do you think I would have a case against the garage on this. All thoughts on the subject would be appreciated.

The only downfalls I could see are.

I brought the vehicle to another garage to be looked at.

The fact that I bought the van AS IS dosn't seem to me like a valid point for the garage to use. Since I was told that van was in working order when I bought it. Even though I bought it AS IS I still expected to get more than two days driving from it.

Oryx

I always assumed that buying a vehicle 'sold as seen' puts the onus (and risk) on the buyer. I would have thought it would remove your normal statutory rights. But hopefully someone will shed a clearer legal light on this.

Sonnenblumen

IMO you're in a tight spot. Doubt if you have any comeback. Buying anything 'as seen' is fraught with risk, and in the case of a secondhand van, not a good idea, unless you are able to tackle any problems/faults that will arise.

mcaul

Basically it was not fit for the purpose it was sold for - simple as.

A garage warranty is in ADDITION to the normal terms of the sale of goods act.

Doesn't matter if its second hand or new, it must be fit for purpose - e'g' driving!

311

If it was driven from the garage ,does this not mean it was deal done ?

antoinolachtnai

To my mind, the OP was not dealing as a consumer, and so the sale of goods acts may not fully apply and his rights may be fairly limited.

But this is definitely something that would need advice from the ODCA or a solicitor.

miju

if it was bought from a garage then the consumer act applies. wheter a car was bought new or second hand it must be in decent mechanical order unless otherwise stated to the OP beforehand.

antoinolachtnai

The problem is not that the garage isn't a garage, the problem is that the OP doesn't appear to be a consumer in the ordinary sense.

cgarvey

Dmtiling wrote:

The only downfalls I could see are.

I brought the vehicle to another garage to be looked at.

Doesn't matter. If anything it adds weight to your argument (i.e. it was qualified opinion).

Dmtiling wrote:

The fact that I bought the van AS IS dosn't seem to me like a valid point for the garage to use. Since I was told that van was in working order when I bought it. Even though I bought it AS IS I still expected to get more than two days driving from it.

See this is the tricky one. It's all down to what is reasonable. I'd argue it's reasonable to expect more than 2 days driving from a van I bought. However, I'd also argue that it's not reasonable to buy a van without a qualified opinion (that of a mechanical inspector, for e.g.), and you're somewhere in the middle! Is it the same problem that happened on the day you left the garage (failing to start?). If so, I'd argue (as a reasonable man ) that you are in a weaker position.

antoinolachtnai wrote:

But this is definitely something that would need advice from the ODCA or a solicitor.

Mizacly!