Car broke down a few hours after it was sold

colbully

My brother just sold a car to a guy . The car was running perfect. Taxed,nct'd , serviced etc ... When the buyer came to see it he spent an hour going over it an took it for a good long test drive an gave it the beans an all that an was more than happy with it.. So handed over the cash , logbook signed . An driver went on his way . My brother gets a call 3 hours later saying the car had broke down an was stuck on side of road near the new drivers home . My brother has posted logbook away an all an banked the money .. Just wondering where he stands in this whole scenario of a private car sale ?

Tiradon

As far as I'm aware, with a private sale, the buyer is buying "as is" so unless it can be proved that your brother intentionally deceived the buyer, which seems unlikely given what you've said (test drive etc.), or sold a car that wasn't roadworthy, the buyer doesn't really have a comeback.

Some info here about buying a used car:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affairs/motoring/advice_on_buying_a_used_car_in_ireland.html

miller50841

What type of car, year and mileage?

It may be something simple hopefully and as a good will gesture your brother may be better to help out a small bit but does not need to.

colbully

It was a 00 Subaru with 80k miles on it an 7 months nct left .. It was actually a very nice car .. An even the buyer complimented it by saying it was the best one of them he had driven .. My bro now feels very guilty an wants to help out with the fixing of the car .. I told him not to get ahead of himself an see what the outcome is ... The guy lives 4 hours away an the car ran perfect for my bro

miller50841

Did he get a mechanic to check it over before he bought?

It is a old car but as you said sounds in good shape.

Procrastastudy

colbully wrote: »

It was a 00 Subaru with 80k miles on it an 7 months nct left .. It was actually a very nice car .. An even the buyer complimented it by saying it was the best one of them he had driven .. My bro now feels very guilty an wants to help out with the fixing of the car .. I told him not to get ahead of himself an see what the outcome is ... The guy lives 4 hours away an the car ran perfect for my bro

Very good advice.

Ken.

colbully wrote: »

My brother just sold a car to a guy . The car was running perfect. Taxed,nct'd , serviced etc ... When the buyer came to see it he spent an hour going over it an took it for a good long test drive an gave it the beans an all that an was more than happy with it.. So handed over the cash , logbook signed . An driver went on his way . My brother gets a call 3 hours later saying the car had broke down an was stuck on side of road near the new drivers home . My brother has posted logbook away an all an banked the money .. Just wondering where he stands in this whole scenario of a private car sale ?

So he drove the stones out of it in a test drive and then went on a 4 hour journey home and now its broken. I can imagine how he drove it home and its probably the cause of what's wrong with it now.

colbully

miller50841 wrote: »

Did he get a mechanic to check it over before he bought?

It is a old car but as you said sounds in good shape.

No only himself an a friend looked over it very throughly .. They checked paper work an all an seemed very pleased.. My brother even gave them 50 euro towards petrol ... He's worried now this may go down the court route

Procrastastudy

colbully wrote: »

No only himself an a friend looked over it very throughly .. They checked paper work an all an seemed very pleased.. My brother even gave them 50 euro towards petrol ... He's worried now this may go down the court route

You should buy a lottery ticket - most unlucky mas alive this week. Caveat emptor with used cars so I wouldn't worry. As always seek legal advice, don't rely on randomers from the interweb.

Max Power1

colbully wrote: »

No only himself an a friend looked over it very throughly .. They checked paper work an all an seemed very pleased.. My brother even gave them 50 euro towards petrol ... He's worried now this may go down the court route

the buyer will be laughed out of court

Caveat Emptor!

Fuh Q

This may be a scam to get the seller to refund part of the money, ignor all contact from the buyer.
I had the same thing happen to me two years ago, I told the buyer I was on the way to tow it back to my house and he quickly changed his mind, he said he wanted the car but wanted me to pay for repairs, I told him I wanted to inspect the car and he never rang me back..

colbully

Fuh Q wrote: »

This may be a scam to get the seller to refund part of the money, ignor all contact from the buyer.
I had the same thing happen to me two years ago, I told the buyer I was on the way to tow it back to my house and he quickly changed his mind, he said he wanted the car but wanted me to pay for repairs, I told him I wanted to inspect the car and he never rang me back..

He has contacted my brother within the last hour explaining the massive bill that's required to put the car right as a mechanic has just inspected it .. He also asked would my brother take it back an refund the money . So my brother would have to get the car transported from 150miles away, back home , then refund the money , then pay for a mechanic to fix this damage . I told my brother not to answer another call from him an leave it at that

johnty56

As others have said, its buyer beware. For all you know he did something stupid on the way home and damaged the car. When push comes to shove there is nothing he can do, and if the car was running ok, low miles, serviced etc then he probably did do something to it himself! There are some odd folks out there.. maybe he changed his mind and did deliberate damage... who knows.

PJMG

Bought a 03 Almera Van by private sale in early November. Donedeal bla bla bla. Paid 1300 for it and the guy that sold it from a garage told me he'd give me a 3 month warranty with it. 2 days after I got it home the car would not start, and when it did start it was sluggish and was bucking forwards and stopping.

Rang the guy that sold me the car and he told me that he'd take care of whatever was wrong with the car. Dropped the car back up to him (Enniscorthy, I'm outside Dungarvan) on the 8th of December and thats the last time i've seen the car. The guy refuses to answer my calls and the odd time I manage to get a hold of him from another number he is full of excuses(fuel pump,timing chain,electronics etc etc) Not to forget that family members have been sick and died during this time!

Anyone have any advice on what course of action if any to take?

I fully understand the buyer beware aspect but if anyone has anything different to add that might help it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

johnty56

PJMG wrote: »

Bought a 03 Almera Van by private sale in early November. Donedeal bla bla bla. Paid 1300 for it and the guy that sold it from a garage told me he'd give me a 3 month warranty with it. 2 days after I got it home the car would not start, and when it did start it was sluggish and was bucking forwards and stopping.

Rang the guy that sold me the car and he told me that he'd take care of whatever was wrong with the car. Dropped the car back up to him (Enniscorthy, I'm outside Dungarvan) on the 8th of December and thats the last time i've seen the car. The guy refuses to answer my calls and the odd time I manage to get a hold of him from another number he is full of excuses(fuel pump,timing chain,electronics etc etc) Not to forget that family members have been sick and died during this time!

Anyone have any advice on what course of action if any to take?



I fully understand the buyer beware aspect but if anyone has anything different to add that might help it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

I would imagine that as he told you there was a warranty, and as he took the car back agreeing to repair it then you have right on your side. I would text him and tell him that if you don't get a satisfactory reply, ie repair or refund, within say a week you will take it further.. just what I would do!

colbully

So should my brother ignore this guy an tell him it's not his issue anymore or offer some money to
Help with repair ? I honestly think
The buyer was genuine . I was there with my brother an the lad seemed genuine to me . But I think he was in the wrong to ask my brother to take the car back after the damage had been done . I think if it was the other way round , my bro wouldn't be as brazen to ask for his mOney back if it had been him buying the car . My brother is possibly the most genuine person u could meet an loves his cars to a degree that he would keep them immaculate an service them on time an spend any money required on parts and bills ...

Del2005

PJMG wrote: »

Bought a 03 Almera Van by private sale in early November. Donedeal bla bla bla. Paid 1300 for it and the guy that sold it from a garage told me he'd give me a 3 month warranty with it. 2 days after I got it home the car would not start, and when it did start it was sluggish and was bucking forwards and stopping.

Rang the guy that sold me the car and he told me that he'd take care of whatever was wrong with the car. Dropped the car back up to him (Enniscorthy, I'm outside Dungarvan) on the 8th of December and thats the last time i've seen the car. The guy refuses to answer my calls and the odd time I manage to get a hold of him from another number he is full of excuses(fuel pump,timing chain,electronics etc etc) Not to forget that family members have been sick and died during this time!

Anyone have any advice on what course of action if any to take?

I fully understand the buyer beware aspect but if anyone has anything different to add that might help it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

If the van was sold from a garage with a warranty it's not a private sale. Write a letter to the seller asking for your car back, fixed, or else you'll take them the to Small Claims Court

colbully wrote: »

So should my brother ignore this guy an tell him it's not his issue anymore or offer some money to
Help with repair ? I honestly think
The buyer was genuine . I was there with my brother an the lad seemed genuine to me . But I think he was in the wrong to ask my brother to take the car back after the damage had been done . I think if it was the other way round , my bro wouldn't be as brazen to ask for his mOney back if it had been him buying the car . My brother is possibly the most genuine person u could meet an loves his cars to a degree that he would keep them immaculate an service them on time an spend any money required on parts and bills ...

Tell your brother to ignore him. The only comeback the other person has is if the car was dangerous, even then it's hard to prove, when it just breaks it's the new buyers tough luck. Tell your brother not to enter into any more correspondence with them, they'll just keep hounding him with issues.

coylemj

Del2005 wrote: »

Tell your brother to ignore him. The only comeback the other person has is if the car was dangerous, even then it's hard to prove, when it just breaks it's the new buyers tough luck. Tell your brother not to enter into any more correspondence with them, they'll just keep hounding him with issues.

+1 Your brother sounds like a nice guy but in this case he could be his own worst enemy because any offer by him to help out with the 'damage' could be construed as an admission on his part that he is at least partly liable for fixing the fault. If it then ends up in the hands of the other guy's solicitor, your brother will discover that a friendly 'gesture' made in good faith can rebound badly.

Don't hand over a cent, it's caveat emptor all the way in a private sale and the other guy doesn't have a (legal) leg to stand on.