Cat D trade in

robbiem11

I'm looking for a bit of advice, I bought a car through private sale in the U.K, got it registered in Ireland, drove it for a while, wife popped out another baby so I traded it in for a bigger car! Now 1 year later the garage have sent me a letter stating they only found out last month the car is a cat d in the uk and want €3000 from me or a trip to court because I signed a legal document with them it's my fault!!! I knew nothing about the car being a write off, it was immaculate when I got it. Any advice.

colm_mcm

Did you sign a a SIMI order form or what?

Henry Ford III

Tell them the truth - you didn't know. After that it's their issue I'd imagine.

colm_mcm

They probably sold it too and are now in hot water

bazz26

This is my opinion only and not fact as I am not a legal expert in any way or fashion.

Imo they are bluffing and hoping that with the thread of court that you will be frightened into paying up the €3k quickly. I could not see a court ruling in their favour to be honest. The dealer would surely have to prove that you knowingly sold the car to them aware that it was a Cat D repair previously. Since the dealer obviously only found out it was a Cat D repair themselves recently then I cannot see how a court would expect an ordinary member of the public with no expertise in these matters, would be expected to know whether it was a Cat D repair or not. Actually imo I would say a judge would expect a car dealer who buys and sells cars for a living to be more of an expert in identifying a damage/repaired car over an ordinary member of the public.

So my advice really would be to either pay a visit to one of those free legal advice sessions that the Citizens Advice Bureaux rule regularly where you can speak to one of their solicitors or talk to your own solicitor and ask them where you stand.

robbiem11

colm_mcm wrote: »

Did you sign a a SIMI order form or what?

I did but I did not know the car had been a cat d so I signed it 100% . Also the dealer had my reg and vin for 2 weeks as I was waiting on a loan approval for the new car. Surely they should have ran a history check on the car, they must took the car not knowing if it was stolen, finance still on it or damaged!

robbiem11

bazz26 wrote: »

This is my opinion only and not fact as I am not a legal expert in any way or fashion.

Imo they are bluffing and hoping that with the thread of court that you will be frightened into paying up the €3k quickly. I could not see a court ruling in their favour to be honest. The dealer would surely have to prove that you knowingly sold the car to them aware that it was a Cat D repair previously. Since the dealer obviously only found out it was a Cat D repair themselves recently then I cannot see how a court would expect an ordinary member of the public with no expertise in these matters, would be expected to know whether it was a Cat D repair or not. Actually imo I would say a judge would expect a car dealer who buys and sells cars for a living to be more of an expert in identifying a damage/repaired car over an ordinary member of the public.

So my advice really would be to either pay a visit to one of those free legal advice sessions that the Citizens Advice Bureaux rule regularly where you can speak to one of their solicitors or talk to your own solicitor and ask them where you stand.

Thanks for that

robbiem11

colm_mcm wrote: »

They probably sold it too and are now in hot water

They have just rang me to tell me they had a buyer for the car and it was the buyer who ran a history check, what kind of a garage does not check the cars they px or sell to the public?

colm_mcm

robbiem11 wrote: »

They have just rang me to tell me they had a buyer for the car and it was the buyer who ran a history check, what kind of a garage does not check the cars they px or sell to the public?

Your car was in stock a year before they sold it?
Sounds like they're losing money either way

glic71rods46t0

OP tell the garage in the most forcible terms to fcuk off. The law is on your side - garage is presumed to have the expertise to spot a repaired car so it was their own fault in not spotting it. They are just trying to scare you in the hope that u are an idiot.

corktina

Caveat Emptor applies. You sold it to them in good faith, you didn't know it was Cat D any more than they did. Unless you guaranteed that it wasn't a cat d in writing , they haven't a leg to stand on.

mgbgt1978

Op, look at this way. You bought it without doing a history check. Now that you are aware it was a Cat D are you running to the guy you bought it from and demanding compensation ?
Of course you are not....because you wouldn't get anything.
Same goes for the garage where you traded it in.

Also Cat D is the least serious write-off category. It could even be the fact that a part would have to be imported from Japan, for example.
That, and the cost of car hire while waiting could make it uneconomical to pay for the repairs.
Therefore the actual damage to the car in this case could be very minor.

Tell the garage to get lost.

Moneymaker

They don't have a leg to stand on.

Tell them to piss off and do their job properly next time.

Xpro

Don't be losing any sleep over it! Even if you signed the SIMI form where it ask if the car was ever damaged,insurance write off,etc. while in YOUR POSSESION!
It is a second hand car, you didn't know,didn't happened to you, end of story. No more obligations on your part.
Do you think garages declare to customers what happened on a second hand car that they didn't know? NO.
It is up to garage to do their own checks, and therefore its their own responsibility!

Tell the garage where to go, and don't let them bully you, they can do sweet fcuk all;)

djimi

A €30 online check would have told the garage all that they needed to know. Tell them to f**k off, thats it not your responsibility to do their job for them.

mullingar

What car is it op?

3k is a lot of compensation they are looking for if it's a basic car

mgbgt1978

...ah but they'll probably settle for €2k .
Some Dealers are sound that way.

robbiem11

mullingar wrote: »

What car is it op?

3k is a lot of compensation they are looking for if it's a basic car

It's a 09 citroen c4