Bought a cheap car from a dealer, what are my rights?

I'm after some advice!

I recently bought a car from a dealer. It appeared in the auto-trader as a trade in, and against every good judgement, it appeared such a bargain (£500 for an R-reg car with >>>>>>

LOL. This is a wind-up, right?

Yes, this is the very same poster who started the thread: "started my engine while oil was draining now car doesn't start!"

Sad really.

just a thought the kids are off for Easter, prolly got a pc instead of an easter egg !

Correct.

Nope. The only times you have any comeback is if he describes something as being there or working that isn't, such as having working aircon that doesn't or there is a fault which makes the car dangerous, such as no brakes. HOWEVER a loose back light isn't dangerous even though it is illegal and if you don't ask about something and he doesn't offer the information, that's your tough luck.

There's this thing called Caveat Emptor.

Nope. Just look at the number of cars bought on Ebay unseen.

The message from "The Enforcer" contains these words:

April 1st was a few days ago, but who can tell.

There's all sorts of rules about dodgy goods these days, but even the most stringent make allowances for the item being of appropriate quality for the price. If you buy an R-reg car for £500 you should expect it to be fairly dire.

The message from "reg" contains these words:

Not till Friday round here.

But - isn't there some requirement that dealers (as distinct from private sellers) have to sell roadworthy vehicles?

Total Rubbish.

When buying from a trader, the vehicle is covered by the sale of goods act and must be fit for the intended purpose.

That's also why the story sounds implausible. Which dealer would advertise a car for only £500? Where is the money in that, considering all the hassle? And who in their right mind would buy such a car over the phone? And BTW how do you do that? By Credit Card? - Nah. Hence it follows that he would have had an opportunity to inspect the car when handing over the dosh. Nah, somehow this story doesn't ring true.

Sigh, sadly I'm serious.

I'd been looking for a bargain for two weeks, and this car was newly added to the autotrader listing and really looked like a bargain. So I called the dealer and asked what was wrong with it. He described just two faults which were acceptable to me.

I paid over the phone using switch, because I was convinced it was that much of a bargain that by the time I'd get to see it, it'd be sold (in fact, when I picked it up, two other people turned up at the dealership asking about it).

If anyone needs convincing that this isn't a wind up, feel free to e-mail me and I'll take some digital photos of the things that are wrong with.

Thanks to the people that have taken me seriously, anyway. :/

Tony ( snipped-for-privacy@cooldark.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

That's right - he sends the rest to DVLA. That's his legal responsibility.

Johannes ( snipped-for-privacy@stop-spam-sizefitter.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Plenty.

There could be several hundred quid margin in it - he's obviously done f*ck-all prep, so it's clear profit.

There would be no harm in giving us the issue no and date of the autotrader, together with the specific location of the listing in this issue. By definition, this is in the public domain anyway...

But not a dealer as an official auto 'Trader' with commercial premises?

Heh, I saw that thread too. But even I'm not that stupid. ;)

But no, I'm not that poster. I'm not quite sure how you jumped to that conclusion.

Currently reading up on my consumer rights. One website states:

------ When buying from a dealer, the law says a car must be:

• Of satisfactory quality. It must meet the standard a reasonable person would regard as acceptable, bearing in mind the way it was described, how much it cost and any other relevant circumstances. Amongst other things, this covers the appearance and finish of the car, its safety and its durability. The car must be free from defects, except when they were pointed out to you by the seller.

------

But then, what car is ever 100% "free from defects"?

Yes. Plenty of smaller dealers will take in older cars on trade-ins then sell them as a 'part-exchange bargain on trade terms' - makes a lot of sense, they'll often have effectively paid nothing for it, but will get a better price selling on trade terms than sending it to auction.

I've bought several cars this way, including my current one (it was £800, rather than £500, though)

Johannes ( snipped-for-privacy@stop-spam-sizefitter.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Even including "bombsite-and-bunting" traders, that's a small proportion of the motor trade.

Where in the OP are the trader's premises described? Who grants traders this "official" status?

And what sort of £500 R-reg

I reckon it's some sort of Ford. They're the only ones I can think of that would be rotten at that age ;-)