Dodgy car salesman?

[rowdy]

My wife saw a car she wanted to buy so I agreed to let her part exchange mine so she could get her car as I didn't really use it as I ride my bike to work. My car had a couple of faults the air bag light was on and the engine control light was on but as I had been to the garage to get the ecl looked at ,told that it needed a new cat so replaced the cat but didn't get the light switched off , the car dealer said that my wife would have to sign a disclaimer saying that she would cover the cost. After much deliberating and the verbal agreement with the car dealer that he contact us if it was going to cost a fortune before going ahead with any repairs, as he was giving us next to sod all for the car(1500 and he later sold the car for 3500) and the agreement that we could find the 1500 and have the car back rather than pay for expensive repairs(considering we were offered 2000 by a friend of the wifes the day we were exchanging cars) my wife signed. That was 2 weeks shy of 6 months ago and guess what landed through the post today. Yep a bill for 423.92. the actual bill was for 847.85 but the car dealer explained in a letter that as a customer of theirs they would pay halve the bill. They said that the cat that I had fitted had run out of warranty but they got a new one this July, we part exed the car in february and the cat was still under warranty then. Also the car has done 1100 miles since it was part exed. Just wondering if anyone on the org knows whether the garage is trying it on or whether we are liable after such a long period and a verbal agreement that seems to mean nothing to the car salesman and also whether I should phone the warranty company that the dealer uses and check whether these faults have been claimed for or not.

Originally Posted by rowdy

stuff...

Personally, I'd be tempted just to tell him to stick it.

(It may well be worth getting legal advice however)

[rowdy]

Personally i'd tell him to do a lot more than that but the wifes already phoned him up the verbal agreement seems to be worthless. To add insult to injury the airbag warning light has come on in the new car this morning so my wife suggested it be taken to the subaru dealers and they can foot the bill.

[fizzwheel]

So did you actually sign anything to say you'd foot the bill for it ? Also 6 months seems along time to wait before sending you the bill and also the cars done 1100 miles since you had it during which time the Cat could have failed and it wasnt in your ownership when it did so.

Personally I cant see how you are liable for the repairs. But as Dan said go and get legal advice and then put something in writing to that effect.

Legal advice ain't cheap. OK I have some inside knowledge on these things... but if I were you I'd tell the garage to foxtrot oscar and see if they sue you. If they do, you have huge scope for a defence, and the amounts involved sound a bit flaky too. Having said that, I don't understand what verbal agreement you reached. Make a DETAILED note of your phone convo today, cos they appear to have accepted that there WAS a verbal agreement. Whether it's worthless is for the judge to decide, not them.

If they do sue you, it's small claims so even if they win they won't get any lawyer costs back (neither will you if you win), they'd get back the issue fee and their witness expenses only.

Worth fighting, I'd say.

[rowdy]

The wife signed yes but they agreed they wouldn't do anything that costed lots till they had spoken to us and that we could definately come and take the car back if we gave them the money for the deposit instead.he said it'll be done in a couple of weeks at the most. He had the car up on his website the following day for 2000 more than he give us for it(250 quid less than I paid for it 3 years ago).

[rowdy]

Originally Posted by Ed

Legal advice ain't cheap. OK I have some inside knowledge on these things... but if I were you I'd tell the garage to foxtrot oscar and see if they sue you. If they do, you have huge scope for a defence, and the amounts involved sound a bit flaky too. Having said that, I don't understand what verbal agreement you reached. Make a DETAILED note of your phone convo today, cos they appear to have accepted that there WAS a verbal agreement. Whether it's worthless is for the judge to decide, not them.

If they do sue you, it's small claims so even if they win they won't get any lawyer costs back (neither will you if you win), they'd get back the issue fee and their witness expenses only.

Worth fighting, I'd say.

The salesman answered the phone to my wife earlier but quickly tried passing her on to his boss even though my wife told him she wanted to speak to him he just gave the phone to someone else which suggests a sign of guilt on his behalf.

[tonyk]

err you sold the car to a dealer.
he fixed it and sent you the bill.
there is a law saying sold as seen
and
there is a law saying
buyer be aware.
they cannot get you to foot any repaire bill after you have sold the car to them..

or have i got all wrong.

[rowdy]

Originally Posted by tonyk

err you sold the car to a dealer.
he fixed it and sent you the bill.
there is a law saying sold as seen
and
there is a law saying
buyer be aware.
they cannot get you to foot any repaire bill after you have sold the car to them..

or have i got all wrong.

Don't know all boils down to the bit of paper that was signed. Anyone think it would be out of order to check with the warranty company that he sold the car with if he's made a claim for the repairs or am I within my rights to check?

[Paul the 6th]

i'd get onto your local trading standards office and see what they say since this all sounds very dodgy on the part of the garage. Once they've given you solid advice on whether the guy at the garage is breaking any rules, give him a call and tell him what trading standards have advised you - he *should* shat his pants but hey ho...

also, did you take your new car on any finance or with a warranty etc? Could be worth getting onto the Financial services authority and make a complaint that he might have miss sold you a policy or warranty & is generally a twunt...