Car scams in Ireland

bodzio69

Hello everyone,

I recently bought a beautiful Mercedes through donedeal.ie where I paid nearly €4000. I've been promised that car is superb condition and only a few little things has to be fixed. So I went to mechanic and spent over €700 to get fixed suspension, full service etc. I thought that it's ok as 10 years old car has always little problems. But then I realized that the engine is slightly rattling and looks like it's getting more rattling than when I purchased the car. Finally I went again to 3 independent mechanics and I have been told that this rattling is coming directly from the engine which definitely will be an expensive job (€1200 - €2000) as they think is something to do with the camshaft. As you probably noticed reading this post I'm not an Irish but my question is how come people can sell you a ****ty car and don't handle any consequences. In my country I would call police and they would force seller to give me a full refund or pay for hidden faults. Is it any organization that could help me to get money back for this car? This is second time happened to me in 10 years period and I can't get any help while these guys laughing from me (stupid buyer).

ibstar

not to be bad OP, but if this is the second time this happened to you, I think you should bring a friend who's a mechanic with you to a buy a car next time.
Irish or not, you're here 10 years, and should know the consumer law regarding second hand goods by now, especially after the first time this happened to you.
I'm guessing this is just a rant, more so than a query.

PS: I wasn't born in Ireland and live here 15 odd years

Rackstar

Caveat emptor. If you want a warranty or any come back you'll have to buy from a dealer.

Moneymaker

Caveat emptor.

blinding

Buyer beware.

You cannot trust anybody that is trying to make money out of you especially the government (This should have been the first commandment but the politicians didn't like the truth so we all get fooked)

bazz26

Unfortunately private buyers here are not covered by consumer laws. There is a saying "caveat emptor" which means "let the buyer beware". So it is really up to the person buying the car privately (not from a registered motor dealer) to have the car checked out by a mechanic before you agree to pay over any money. Never take anything for granted especially from someone you don't know.

CiniO

bodzio69 wrote: »

In my country I would call police and they would force seller to give me a full refund or pay for hidden faults.

Out of curiousity, where would that be?

corks finest

bodzio69 wrote: »

Hello everyone,

I recently bought a beautiful Mercedes through donedeal.ie where I paid nearly €4000. I've been promised that car is superb condition and only a few little things has to be fixed. So I went to mechanic and spent over €700 to get fixed suspension, full service etc. I thought that it's ok as 10 years old car has always little problems. But then I realized that the engine is slightly rattling and looks like it's getting more rattling than when I purchased the car. Finally I went again to 3 independent mechanics and I have been told that this rattling is coming directly from the engine which definitely will be an expensive job (€1200 - €2000) as they think is something to do with the camshaft. As you probably noticed reading this post I'm not an Irish but my question is how come people can sell you a ****ty car and don't handle any consequences. In my country I would call police and they would force seller to give me a full refund or pay for hidden faults. Is it any organization that could help me to get money back for this car? This is second time happened to me in 10 years period and I can't get any help while these guys laughing from me (stupid buyer).

Bad luck,welcome to our country, where the government, banks,taxes, taxis,hotels,shops etc,will,repeat will always rip u off,so will greedy,selfish,private sellers,hard lesson you are learning,,,, go to a garage,to get a warranty when buying,,as for the law here helping,,,,not a chance

hurleronditch

CiniO wrote: »

Out of curiousity, where would that be?

I'd also like to know. What country would have a police force that chases up ordinary people who happened to sell a second hand car that had an unknown fault? I accept a widespread scammer should be pursued in any society, but I cant imagine any democratic state where it would be even remotely possible to chase up every joe who sold a car that had something go wrong a month later.

"Yes officer, I know it's a 12 year old Citroen, but I bought it 6 weeks ago and now the back window wiper has stopped working and the radio only picks up Spin FM"

BGozIE

corks finest wrote: »

Bad luck,welcome to our country, where the government, banks,taxes, taxis,hotels,shops etc,will,repeat will always rip u off,so will greedy,selfish,private sellers,hard lesson you are learning,,,, go to a garage,to get a warranty when buying,,as for the law here helping,,,,not a chance

Ye...go to a garage, they definetly won't rip you off...

Pay over the odds in a garage to get a warranty that may not cover much at all. In saying that you do have some come back with a garage so it's probably best to go to a garage if you can afford it. The most important thing, as others have said, is to make sure any car you buy is mechanically checked out.

deandean

All cars, especially older cars, cost money to keep them on the road.

The older the car, on average, the more it will cost to keep it going. And especially a more complex car such as a Merc or a BMW.

I drive an old car and it's like a box of chocolates. Every time I go to start it I don't know what I'm going to get.

I think private buyers of older cars need to manage their expectations. The best insurance/warranty you can have is a couple of grand in the bank to pay for unexpected/unforeseeable problems.

Deagol

OP is Polish (he has his CV on his website which he has links to on another post).

And strangely when I put 'Polish car buying law' into google I got this site

http://www.polishforums.com/law-14/buying-used-car-poland-personal-experiences-traps-48550/ :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

hernie

hurleronditch wrote: »

"Yes officer, I know it's a 12 year old Citroen, but I bought it 6 weeks ago and now the back window wiper has stopped working and the radio only picks up Spin FM"

Spin FM - I think that would justify getting the army out in full force!

CiniO

Deagol wrote: »

OP is Polish (he has his CV on his website which he has links to on another post).

And strangely when I put 'Polish car buying law' into google I got this site

http://www.polishforums.com/law-14/buying-used-car-poland-personal-experiences-traps-48550/ :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Just looking at OP's username I was fairly sure he's Polish and when he wrote this:

In my country I would call police and they would force seller to give me a full refund or pay for hidden faults.

I knew he was taking the pi$$.