The Samba's been to the garage. The brakes were soft because ... the calipers were siezed and the hoses broken.
Plus a few other things like CV boots needing replacing, washer pump inop and front suspension legs corroded.
I was right to be concerned that the seller was also the MOT tester, but there's probably very little I can do about it now.
On the upside, the engine's fine and hood's almost as new, although the bodywork is starting to go at the edges - I can get this done easily.
David :-(
The inspectorate will still be interested where rot, i.e: something that doesn't happen overnight, is very apparent.
Use this as a wedge when you contact the seller and inform him you're unhappy with the cars condition in this respect, and that you will be contacting VOSA unless he either rectifies all the faults concerned, or compensates you for the additional expenses you're incurring as a result of getting said faults rectified.
I had a similar situation with a scumbag trader up in Manchester that I bought one of the last 216 GTi Twin Cams off of - bought the car off eBay with a full years MOT (conveniently issued at their own test station), and then found loads of faults that added up to an MOT fail.
The guy coughed up very quickly once I made it known I'd had the car inspected by another garage and therefore had evidence to pass to them regarding the vehicles defects.
Aye... it's called a box of matches and a can of petrol. ;-)
-- JackH
There is...report them to VOSA.
4 weeks is the limit for mechanical stuff, 3 months for corrosion.
John
I did check - if the suspension's corroded then I'm OK. The mechanical side is now 10 weeks so too long.
David
Thanks - I've contacted him and I'll wait and see what happens. I've requested either he contributes or takes the car back. My guess is that he'll give me some abuse, but I've included the VOSA stuff plus the time limits.
David
The first thing to do if you haven't got a clue about cars is to get someone to check it out for you! You could even pay the AA/RAC. It's better than ending up with a death-trap, being ripped off, buying a stolen vehicle or insurance rightoff. Most of the items mentioned could have easily been spotted by the average buyer with little knowledge. Never buy or agree to buy before inspecting and test driving. If the car has an MOT then don't get confused about what the MOT covers. Check the items and you might get a shock. If it appears to have passed when you think it shouldn't then report the testing station. Although how you would say it couldn't pass when you couldn't see what was so obvious might be another matter! From experience nothing will happen to the seller or MOT station. I have a whole list of MOT centres that have issued test certificates for cars that could never pass. Also a list of garages and car dealerships that use friends garages to make sure a car passes! Most of them including a main Vauxhall dealer were investigated and VOSA didn't take action when presented with the evidence. The MOT is a joke anyway. It only guarantees a car was in a certain condition when examined.
Please post the seller's details so we can avoid him. There should be no legal problem if you have proof of what you claim.
Oh, do f*ck off, will you.
Anyone posting here knows enough about buying cheap old s**te to make a fairly good judgement.
However, ebay is a game of chance at times and the Samba appears to have faults that wouldn't really be evident when giving a car a quick check.
Inspections really don't apply in this case, as they can add 50% to the value of the car.....
Go and spout your shit somewhere people might listen - a forum for Which? readers would be a good start.
Not necessarily. I've done 300 miles+ and couldn't have inspected brake hoses on the car - the engine bay's too small.
Bought off eBay. Done it before and it's been OK.
Have done - I'm not stupid
Tester was also seller.
Have done already:
Get one of those and you're as dead as if you buy a Volvo 440 and a range of matching cardigans with leather patches.
Bodywork's basically OK apart from a bit on the edges of the wheelarches and a couple of other minor areas where it's just starting to rust. No welding needed.
It's mechanically that it appears to be needing a bit more work than I thought - engine's fine, but the brakes and bits of the suspension aren't. The front of the exhaust is blowing, but the middle and back are almost new. All the electrics work, which surprised me a bit.
So it's not that bad.
The Zafira is OK, but trying to explain to her that a 1.6 Zafira isn't the same as a 1.6 Picasso when they're the same price (2001, 2.5k, 51k miles) seems to be falling on deaf ears.
Ah well, on Saturday I'm taking penalties against Bruce Grobbelaar and if I win (out of the 10 taking part) I'll get a new car anyway. Plus I'll be on Calendar/Look North, so subsequent embarrassment will follow. Now, all I've got to do is learn how to take penalties!
David
Precisely. Just 'cos it's £2.5k and a 2001 51 reg model doesn't mean I'm ready to be pensioned off just yet.
She's afraid I'll go and buy myself a red Porsche just to prove I'm not getting old.
David
Mate who's got one rather likes it - and he used to be a mad keen 205 1.9 GTI bod. I think he likes the space for carrying shit (no kiddies, just weekends away) and its attitude to fuel (HDi, so it doesn't drink any).
cheers, clive
What's stopping you? Other than SWMBO that is.
Easily sorted - brown paper bag stuffed with tenners will make his knees go wobbly on demand.
I used to have a 440... made a tidy profit on it too, having used it for a few weeks.
And I've got a cardigan I bought recently... no leather patches though.
Can I ask for two pairs of cords to be taken into consideration, yer 'onour?
-- JackH
Bloody hell, it's a woodwork teacher.
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