Paid deposit on car but want to walk away

Nickers

I wish I had consulted here before proceeding, but basically put a 500 deposit on a car but my gut is telling me that something isn’t right. Found out after, that the dealer isn’t registered, and I see the car is also for sale as a private seller online. Did an online check on the car and it appears there are more owners than advertised. Also, the sales rep did not mention nor did the ad state that the car was previously a taxi. And there appears to be three owners since March of this year alone. All red flags...I don’t feel comfortable proceeding now and the deposit of 500 is non refundable. I know now this car is possibly a lemon with high mileage. Just wondering what my rights are here? Could I get my ‘non refundable’ deposit back? I feel stupid for not researching beforehand.

Car99

Nickers wrote: »

I wish I had consulted here before proceeding, but basically put a 500 deposit on a car but my gut is telling me that something isn’t right. Found out after, that the dealer isn’t registered, and I see the car is also for sale as a private seller online. Did an online check on the car and it appears there are more owners than advertised. Also, the sales rep did not mention nor did the ad state that the car was previously a taxi. And there appears to be three owners since March of this year alone. All red flags...I don’t feel comfortable proceeding now and the deposit of 500 is non refundable. I know now this car is possibly a lemon with high mileage. Just wondering what my rights are here? Could I get my ‘non refundable’ deposit back? I feel stupid for not researching beforehand.

Did the seller tell you it was a taxi before , no. Ask for your deposit back if no joy take it to small claims court.

Dia_Anseo

If you paid by debit oe credit card you can also open a chargeback dispute

3rdDegree

If, as you say, "there are more owners than advertised", then surly the dealer misled you and the contract is void? If so, demand your deposit back.

Tefral

You entered into a contract on the basis of information advertised. That contract was misleading and now is void.

If he doesnt refund the money, tell him you will plaster the information all over social media. It wont be worth his while.

If this is a private sale, you haven’t a lot of rights. Though you can speculate about its condition, you haven’t said there is anything actually wrong with it.

When you say more owners than advertised, the the seller actually state on the ad how may owners there were?

emeldc

Tefral wrote: »

You entered into a contract on the basis of information advertised. That contract was misleading and now is void.

If he doesnt refund the money, tell him you will plaster the information all over social media. It wont be worth his while.

I'd be giving that advice some thought depending on who the dealer is.

Dia_Anseo

emeldc wrote: »

I'd be giving that advice some thought depending on who the dealer is.

Do we know?

TheShow

If the car was previously a taxi and this was not disclosed to you, then you should in theory be able to walk away with your full deposit back as this is material information that should have been disclosed in the terms of the sale.
Depends on who the dealer is also.

Henry Ford III

Contact the seller. Arrange to meet him/her. Present the evidence, and tell them that you want your deposit back now.

Do not get involved in texts or emails.

the_pen_turner

I think it comes down to wording

Do you legally have to say if it was a taxi. There are cars out there that do 50k a year plus and taxis that do 10k or less a year

TheShow

TheShow wrote: »

If the car was previously a taxi and this was not disclosed to you, then you should in theory be able to walk away with your full deposit back as this is material information that should have been disclosed in the terms of the sale.
Depends on who the dealer is also.

Where are you getting this from? If the sale is a private one, the seller may not know if it was previously a taxi and as far as I can see, has no obligation to disclose that.

This is a link to your rights op.

https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/cars/dealer-or-private-seller/

https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/cars/your-rights-if-things-go-wrong/

https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/cars/car-checks/

The copc has a few pages on private car sales, be careful of the advice you get on the internet from randomers, you need to do your own factual research before you contact the seller. The important considerations will be, is it a private sale and is there actually anything wrong with the car. If it is a private sale, you have few consumer rights and at the moment, it seems like a case of buyers remorse unless the car is unroadworthy.

Nickers

Thanks for your replies. I got the deposit back. The dealer (who I won’t be naming) was really decent. I’ve nothing bad to say about them as a business and they have some lovely motors. I will be more conscientious going forward though and will do my homework. Cheers!

Dia_Anseo

Nickers wrote: »

Thanks for your replies. I got the deposit back. The dealer (who I won’t be naming) was really decent. I’ve nothing bad to say about them as a business and they have some lovely motors. I will be more conscientious going forward though and will do my homework. Cheers!

That's great.


I'll volunteer to collect the 20% commission for our advice, 500 x .2 = 100.

.......Jokes!

TheShow

Dav010 wrote: »

Where are you getting this from? If the sale is a private one, the seller may not know if it was previously a taxi and as far as I can see, has no obligation to disclose that.

This is a link to your rights op.

https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/cars/dealer-or-private-seller/

https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/cars/your-rights-if-things-go-wrong/

https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/cars/car-checks/

The copc has a few pages on private car sales, be careful of the advice you get on the internet from randomers, you need to do your own factual research before you contact the seller. The important considerations will be, is it a private sale and is there actually anything wrong with the car. If it is a private sale, you have few consumer rights and at the moment, it seems like a case of buyers remorse unless the car is unroadworthy.

Its not a private sale, It clearly states that in the OP, perhaps you should pay attention to the details before you make silly comments.

TheShow

TheShow wrote: »

Its not a private sale, It clearly states that in the OP, perhaps you should pay attention to the details before you make silly comments.

Actually it doesn’t. The op said the car was for sale online advertised by a private seller.

Nickers wrote: »

Found out after, that the dealer isn’t registered, and I see the car is also for sale as a private seller online. .

The “silly comments” come from the ccpc website, the links are right there for you to read.

The ccpc say it is important to establish whether the seller’s main business is the sale of cars, or whether it is a private individual who does it as a sideline but does not claim to be a business.

Going back to what you posted earlier, why would the buyer be entitled to a refund if the car was previously a taxi?

TheShow

It doesn't say that at all. You are reading what you want to read.

OP paid a deport to a car dealer, and he also saw the same car for sale, presumably on done deal or somewhere similar where the seller was listed as a private seller. Its not an uncommon practice for car dealers to do this.

In any event, he went back to the CAR DEALER and got his deposit back.

Going back to my earlier post, I did not claim that he is entitled to a refund.
The actual reading of the posts doesn't appear to be your strong point, does it? I've reiterated it below for your convenience:

"If the car was previously a taxi and this was not disclosed to you, then you should in theory be able to walk away with your full deposit back as this is material information that should have been disclosed in the terms of the sale.
Depends on who the dealer is also."

It's a material fact on the history of the car that I would expect a car dealer to disclose to me if I was viewing a car for sale and had gone to the trouble of handing over a deposit.
Much in the same way if you buy a car from a dealer and he does not disclose material facts such as it was involved in a crash etc, or is that too much to expect?