garage sold crashed car

gunner099

Sent car in for NCT the weekend and it failed on damaged chassis legs.We bought the car off a dealer 18 months ago and it had NCT at the time.We done the motorcheck at the time and all checked out ok.Dealer said car was never crashed when we asked him so all appeared good. Now it looks as the car is not roadworthy and will need to be jigged to go through test.
Am i screwed or what can I do??

Henry Ford III

You are unlucky, as it seems you took reasonable precautions.

I'd suggest you write to the dealer, outlining the issue, and giving him a reasonable chance to respond.

Reserve your right to take it further if he doesn't come good.

Mar4ix

seems to be any used car what after , even from dealer, need to be brought over to independent garage for full check, probably it is the best action, and no trust at all to dealers and other chancers.... even recent m3 problem in other thread would be avoided, if it would be brought to garage for checks regardless what seller says or motorchecks.

Outkast_IRE

Mar4ix wrote: »

seems to be any used car what after , even from dealer, need to be brought over to independent garage for full check, probably it is the best action, and no trust at all to dealers and other chancers.... even recent m3 problem in other thread would be avoided, if it would be brought to garage for checks regardless what seller says or motorchecks.

Exactly a lot of dealers have cosy connections where it matters ,
Independent checks are the only way to go.

MAVERICK2012

I'd bring the car to an independant garage and he a full report done, then contact citizen's advise they should be able to advise what legal actions you can take against the garage, if its a main dealership you probably have a better chance of either getting a replacement vechile of similar value or your car chasis repaired

mothoin

Contact the national consumer agency, they'll help you with everything, they are currently helping me deal a clocked car!

TPM

Unfortunately with the time frame its going to be hard to prove it was sold like that, the dealer could say it was fine when it was sold.

one option for getting an independent report is the AA I have heard their reports are held in good standing

mickdw

TPM wrote: »

Unfortunately with the time frame its going to be hard to prove it was sold like that, the dealer could say it was fine when it was sold.

Yes, I figure the OP would have to get all the details of the previous accident. If they can show that there is an accident recorded prior to their ownership and that the accident was to the area of the car that is now in dangerous condition, then I think that this would be enough to show that on balance of probabilities,the accident happened before the car was bought and it would be the dealers problem.
getting the detailed history can be the hard bit though.

corktina

i wonder was it an import?

Atlantic Dawn

corktina wrote: »

i wonder was it an import?

I'd say an Irish car from new, easier to sell on as no official crash records kept. The motorcheck would have flagged it as import so OP would have checkef UK history.

gunner099

gunner099 wrote: »

Sent car in for NCT the weekend and it failed on damaged chassis legs.................. .

Now it looks as the car is not roadworthy and will need to be jigged to go through test.
.........................

Has this been diagnosed by someone other than NCT folk?

garhjw

RoverJames wrote: »

Has this been diagnosed by someone other than NCT folk?

totally agree here, i think you need ot get it checked out independently and have a full report compiled

pcardin

mickdw wrote: »

Yes, I figure the OP would have to get all the details of the previous accident. If they can show that there is an accident recorded prior to their ownership and that the accident was to the area of the car that is now in dangerous condition, then I think that this would be enough to show that on balance of probabilities,the accident happened before the car was bought and it would be the dealers problem.
getting the detailed history can be the hard bit though.

Only if dealer knew himself about this problem before selling a car.

gunner099

Thanks all for the replies/advice.I got in touch with the dealer this morning
and he wants his mechanic to look at the car tomorrow. He didnt commit to
anything but I wouldnt expect him to at this stage.
So far it is just the NCT that looked at it but I have planned an inspection tomorrow from another garage before his mechanic takes a look.
I hope he stands over it even after all this time!

slimjimmc

pcardin wrote: »

Only if dealer knew himself about this problem before selling a car.

Sect 13 of the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services makes it illegal for a dealer to sell a dangerously defective vehicle without a written agreement that the car is not to be used. There's no requirement for the dealer to have prior knowledge of the defect for it to be illegal, therefore the dealer could be in trouble anyway even if he was clueless to any defects. As a dealer, the onus is on him to ensure every car he sells to a consumer is safe if it is to be driven.

gunner099

gunner099 wrote: »

...............
So far it is just the NCT that looked at it but I have planned an inspection tomorrow from another garage before his mechanic takes a look.
I hope he stands over it even after all this time!

Not being smart but did it fail on the alignment test as well as the testers observations?

TPM

gunner099 wrote: »

Thanks all for the replies/advice.I got in touch with the dealer this morning
and he wants his mechanic to look at the car tomorrow. He didnt commit to
anything but I wouldnt expect him to at this stage.
So far it is just the NCT that looked at it but I have planned an inspection tomorrow from another garage before his mechanic takes a look.
I hope he stands over it even after all this time!

Good to hear that is going to have a look at it anyway, wishing you all the best and a good result from him

dr.fuzzenstein

For me one reason to never fully rely on a car check is, if the previous owner crashed the car on a country lane with no one else involved and then fixed it up with his mate at home, there would be no record of the crash, no matter how good/bad the car check system is.
No could have known that way (except the seller), but the dealer should have checked the car better.
No system is totally foolproof.