I feel for you.
Brought my landy and had engine terminally blow up 1hr from sellers hse.
Wish i only had the issue you have right now.

Yeah but will know the new engine is to be trusted :D every cloud and all that.

Helen....good luck. Have a good browse. Hopefully you live near a member with knowledge
 
Good luck form me too.

Find out why it was converted - the reasons you quoted in the original post are garbage.

I have driven 2WD and no way is it better handling etc. You get wheelspin, especially in the wet and loads of understeer (tends to run wide on corners)

Any saving of rear treadwear is lost through extra wear on the fronts.

Ask where are the original parts - VCU and the 2 prop-shafts - even if the VCU is duff - it's an exchange item and will cost you more to get a new one if you haven't the old one to return.

If the car is really looking good otherwise I would go for a partial refund to cover the cost of returning it to 4X4.

Let us know how you get on.

We support you.

Singvogel.
 
I just went on to the site I found the freelander on, and found the seller advertising viscous couplings and the prop shaft mounts which he states were meant to go on his freelander but it turned put to be the ird so he turned it into a 2 wd, what does this mean? He clearly didn't think about me going back on to have a look! Should I be asking for these or is it actually pointless now? The are told me it was for handling Tyre wear and diesel consumption reasons so he has been fraudulent has he not? I'm fizzing!
 
Copy all of his posts before deletes them. Then ask him for the rest of the vehicle that you bought, then slate him of on the site after yu got the bits ( or not).

And contact the cab
 
it means he feels like he has got away with selling you a pile of sh*t. so he can sell the parts that he has removed from yours because he doesnt think you will be back. if it was me i would be on my way there now to get it sorted!
 
Yes - copy everything immediately.

He has admitted that the car has a faulty IRD - possibly caused by mis-matched tyres.

I would say that you are entitled to a full refund - or as a last resort - the costs of repairs.

The IRD can be replaced / exchanged - at a cost of £600 + labour

The VCU can be exchanged at a cost of £200 + labour.

Just so you have an idea of what to ask for.

I'd be asking for at least £1000 plus the missing parts.

Go in hard as you now have evidence of deceit.

Go for it.

Singvogel.
 
You do have a contract, but it has not necessarily been breached. The fitness for purpose term is only implied into sales from a trader operating in the course of business, not to private sales. They cannot exclude it (even if they try to). If you have a written contract (or bill of sale) is there anything in it which suggests that the car is in "good mechanical condition" or "as per an advert"?

Otherwise, you may have a claim in misrepresentation if the vendor made statements to induce you to buy the car - "good working order" or the like. The statement that the 4x4 has been removed to "increase fuel economy" is a common lie and one which the Court may well see through.

As always, it is harder to prove the above if you don't have anything in writing, but it isn't fatal - oral contracts still bind most transactions (except land, and various other things which I won't bore you with)

How much did you pay? Is it worth getting a solicitor involved?

PS Trading Standards have no jurisdiction over private sales. Hope this helps a little.

DISCLAIMER (Sorry but I need to): Please don't rely on anything above. I am not acting in the course of business, simply offering free guidance. You should take professional, paid advice on any of the above.

Sorry not bull****e, you have no contract with a private sale only with a trader.
You can try going to the County Court (used to be called small claims) but the chance of getting any money back is virtually nil and you also have the expense of taking out the court case in the first place. Trading Standards have no interest in a private sale only with a trader.

Originally Posted by redhand
Bull****e. At the very least the seller is in breach of contract. or has sold an item that is not fit for purpose..
 
Fraud is notoriously difficult to prove and is a criminal offence, rather than a civil cause of action. You want to get him on misrepresentation or breach of contract. As per above, get a solicitor involved if the value of the car warrants it. Please see disclaimer above.

I just went on to the site I found the freelander on, and found the seller advertising viscous couplings and the prop shaft mounts which he states were meant to go on his freelander but it turned put to be the ird so he turned it into a 2 wd, what does this mean? He clearly didn't think about me going back on to have a look! Should I be asking for these or is it actually pointless now? The are told me it was for handling Tyre wear and diesel consumption reasons so he has been fraudulent has he not? I'm fizzing!
 
If it was through eblag ;) then when you go through with posting there is a clause about honesty. Point to make to him.
 
sorry but you have no chance of getting any money back you bought a car private sale sold as seen you bought the car with parts missing . wasn't making noise when you bought the car 6 days after get you money out and get it fixed simple .why would you buy a car with all that missing must of been another freelander for sale within 5 miles from you .harsh but realistic
 
I bought it for £1100, and i bought it with those things missing as im not a mechanic and stupidly assumed that the person was being honest in his reasons for taking off the 4wd, it sounded entirely plausible. however i have learnt my lesson and wont be buying anything again without a huge pile of research beforehand. im on way to the garage in 5 to see whats needing done, i will keep you all posted :)
 
Helen,

If he's selling the props "because it turned out to be the IRD" and didn't mention anything like that for you then maybe you don't have a case against him - but it does prove to us that he's a total ****bag.

Hopefully your Freebie will turn out like Bill the pony - the Hobbits got him from a dishonest b*stard for way more than he was worth but after some love and attention he tunred out great. If you aren't a LOTR fan then that will have gone over your head, and I now look like a twit. But oh well.

Keep us posted, like others have said we're here to help.
 
Just a point. Did you buy a car?Because if so the seller has kept part of it. Looks like you have learned a hard lesson.
 
Oh by the way, perhaps someone can confirm this but one thing to do if your IRD is cooked woulkd be to get one from a scrappie or specialist 4x4 breakers. Much cheaper than a new or recon piece and should do the job. Same goes for the props if you can't get them from this guy.
 
if your IRD is cooked woulkd be to get one from a scrappie or specialist 4x4 breakers. Much cheaper than a new or recon piece and should do the job. Same goes for the props if you can't get them from this guy.

Not sure this would be any better unless it came from a low miler, or a trusted establishment. But yes, to see the OP through, it would be an option.
 
I`m assuming you bought your car in Scotland ? Scots law governs the sale, not English law. You need to make sure you have copies of the seller`s adverts ( for the car and the separate parts), and make sure you have copies of any emials or the like.Finally you should write down, with dates, what the seller said to you or your dad about the condition of the car - everything, it all goes to build a picture.
At the same time as going to see a garage to get an estimate of costs to fix you might want to think about some Scots legal advice, you could start with a CAB but if I were you I`d look for a litigation firm,ideally on a recommendation from someone else, some will do a free initial consultation. You need to make sure legal costs don`t run away with you so all you are after to start with is a quote for a realistic opinion on your legal position - fix a budget for that opinion and don`t exceed it. Next step would be a letter before action, again fix a budget (but for an £1100 car bear in mind that you can easily run up more in costs than you could recover in damages even if successful in Court so fix a sensible initial budget and make sure you can afford to lose it, and don`t get carried away in the process).
Do you have legal expenses cover as part of your motor insurance, will that respond ? Are you in a motoring organisation with access to legal advice, can they help ?
My gut feel is this would not be an "easy" legal case from what you have posted so far, its not obviously legally complex but it is likely to be evidentially more complicated than it looks, for either breach of contract or misrepresentation, but to be more certain you really need an informed opinion from someone who owes you a duty of care for the advice they give
 
I hate dishonest people, unfortunately though I think you'd end up being out of pocket if you went through courts etc when considering you only paid £1100 for it and it would probably take months and months. Also I'm not sure you have any rights in this situation unless his advert said "in good working order, no problems etc". IF the ad did say that and then he's put the prop shafts up for sale saying that the ird was on it's way out then there's your proof and you may be in with a chance.

Mind you, if the ird is on it's way out and it's no doubt down to VCU siezing then he's about to sell another useless part on to someone else!

Have you spoken to the gimp that sold it to you yet? I would approach him in a very calm and polite manner (hiding the fact you want to rip his head off) and say that you've seen his other ad; he has obviously sold you the car knowing it had a big fault and can you have your dosh back please.

Best of luck :)
 

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