After selling my car recently the new buyer has contacted me saying hes not happy with it.

As far as im concerned the car was advertised honestly and correctly and i did not lie about anything.

Im aware that the new buyer has very little rights after buying it EXCEPT: hes given me the money, i wrote a recipt for him (foolishly not one for myself) which we both signed, hes taken the car. But i dont know if the V5 has been sent off. I had to post it to him for various reasons.

Ive signed my part of the V5. but if hes not sent it off, the car is obviously not registered to him yet. So can he just turn up and request a refund? Or is the fact that weve exchanged money and keys and him having a reciept enough?

Thanks

its a sticky situation mate, I had a sale go bad on me once, I was the new buyer of the car and it spun its shells on the way home

I did seek legal advice, I was told I could take it to the small claim's court but it would not be a easy one to win, and truth be told it probably was not worth the time, money or effort. I just ended up sucking it up and paying the bill

With out jumping in on any side as I have no idea what the story is, I recommend you both try and come to a amicable arrangement before it gets messy

As the seller, you should have sent the V5 yourself no?

Caveat emptor in a private sale, don't think he has any come back

Vickster - I should have sent it myself but the car needed taxing, which he couldnt do without the V5 as the car was S.O.R.N so he took the v5 to tax it. (i still had all keys and deposit) Probably the wrong thing to do i know.

Im just worried that, if he hasnt filled in or sent the V5, what his rights might be then?

Just done 3 hours researching but cant seem to find anything on it!

He could of taxed the car with the small green slip, he didn't need the whole log book.

Why wasn't he happy with the car anyway?

so the v5 was in your name? is it legal for him to tax it then? i'd see what emjay or stan have to say, but i'm pretty sure that legally you're on safe ground. i assume there are witnesses to the sale and purchase to verify it wasn't a trial or anything?

sad situation, but i'd stick it out for now despite feeling bad about it

Don't confuse the registered KEEPER of the vehicle with the OWNER. Having your name on the log book, AFAIK, has nothing to do with title. A company car will have the users name on the V5 even though the company owns it.

Yeah my parents were around to see the sale. Im quite upset about this really. ive always been as honest as i can when selling cars.

He came to view the car and saw it running and start up absolutly fine and it sat there idling perfectly for 20 minutes while we talked about it. I dont see how the next day it suddenly wont start and misfires as he claims. Ive NEVER had any problems with that.

He also says it steams up really badly inside, which most coops do tbh but i felt i had it under control after changing several seals and the pollen filter recently. Every time ive driven it (hundereds!) its never steamed up much, only when its been raining, and always cleared in 2 - 3 minutes.

Hmmmmm, tell him to do some research about the steaming up!

How long ago did you sell it?

And are all his beefs that it steams up and idles badly?

Haha, well i sent a very polite and helpful email back and pointed out that the faults he noticed were very common and easy to sort out and that i, having owned 2 now, had just grown used to it!

if the problems were not there when the car was sold, and to the best of your knowledge it was not sold with any underlying conditions then there is little to feel guilty about.

here is the law as best as I can see it explained
Linky to "private sales rights"

At the end of the day there are expectations with everything, some higher and some lower than they should be. The steaming up issue is just what they do, All 5 of mine have done it.

The tick over issue could be any number of reasons, weak/broken coil pack, connection, plugs. Thats the really sticky point...but that depends on what kind of person you are.

If you have been honest, the best thing you can do is be as helpful as possible, pass him to the forum and in the direction of the information he/she needs. Most likely its all relativity silly odds and sods

At the end of the day, its down to you to decide what's right and fair

Exactly what i thought Sam. Ive directed him to the forum and told him everything i know.

Im not sure what he means about the missfire and it cutting out as i wouldnt have sold it if that was happening when i had it. its always started first time every time and always been absolutly fine. Ive only had it 9 months but did around 11-12k in that time and it never missed a beat.

It has been sitting for 2 months now as i can no longer afford to run it but i still started it once a week, got it up to temperature and drove it round a bit.

Then a week before i sold it i had it mot'd. Told the garage to sort all problems about before mot'ing it. All they needed to replace was a corroded brake line. There were no advisorys and the garage said its in good condition.

If the car is in good condition, and he is going to be troublesome, it might be better for you to take it back and refund his money. I don't think you are under the slightest obligation to do so, but sometimes, unfortunately, we are wise to waive our rights for the sake of peace and tranquility.

The steaming up issue is most likely an old pollen filter. The misfire/problem starting could be the yellow block connector being burnt out.

He has no comeback, he should have taken it out, stopped/started the car etc.

it doesnt sound like anything serious, why doesnt the new owner get it looked at?

I think you shouldn't give any any money back, problems can occur with used cars, and that is the buyers responsibility to ensure he is happy that the car is suitable via available checks.

Tell him to call a specialist and get some idea of what it could be.

Sorted that for you Rog

lol..yeah i was gonna write that!

Haha, well ive suggested he call a specialist and mentioned your garage Rog. Infact i believe you know the car quite well, Used to belong to a guy called Gianni - Portofino blue, Reg R474 WLA. Previously had a private plate on it which was R3 COU.

The car has been very well looked after and the things he mentioned are mainly very common coupe niggles that are very cheap to fix.

Il see if he replies to my email as he seems to be taking his time.

Gianni's car was nice, i almost bought it from him!

I cant see it being anything major personally.

he gave you money , you gave him keys . if he wants to give you the car back , then take it .Do not however give him back his money. Car bought as seen , thats why lots of people buy at over inflated prices from garages - so you do have some comeback. not in a private sale

I wish that we could all be as obliging with our advice as you have been for djjd05.
Indead the problems with the car may turn out to be minor, but having been stung on a previous private car purchase, I admit a little over-reaction, but I had hoped with all the research I had done before buying my second coupe, it would be one that would not imediately cost me money, but I supose thats second hand cars for you. Matt.

Well that is the problem with buying a 10+ year old Fiat. With a used car its buyer beware, if you have posted up on this forum before you bought someone might have offered to come along with you and you could have used the excellent buyers guide.

However you have come to the right place. Post up the problem in the technical help section and someone will come along and help you out. Might be something trivial.

You are very close to Motormech as well.

I have just bought a very nice coupe and it steamed up a lot as well, replace the pollen filter, problem has gone. And it broke down two days after getting it miles from home. Luckily because of what I have learnt on this forum I was able to fix it and carry on with my journey.

You have to expect niggling little problems from time to time with the coupe. Its not a Honda.

I remember selling mine for the first time, buyer came round, went on a test drive for 1 hour, sign the documents over, hand money over, less than 200 yards down the road, the clutch disintergrates!

I gave him his money back, my mates took the piss, but perhaps I'm too nice!

oooo another e.mids coupe! (assuming it's the swad near burton?)

welcome matey, get to the donongton meet on 29th and meet some other localish owners - tons and tons of advice and information on this site....

I think we've all had our problems when buying a car.

When i bought a nissan 300zx last year, i got home to find the waterpump had a large crach in it and just filled in with instant gasket and the driver side manifold had a crack that had been sealed with exhaust paste. whch obviously blew off as soon as i booted it as it was next to the turbo.

Cost me £1600 all in all to get it fixed, took some legal advice but found i hadnt got any grounds for any come back.

Although i felt the fiat i sold was in good condition and no problems had been flagged up at the garage so i sussed it was good to go.

djjd05 did he buy it off ebay from you. I assume that £1500 or thereabouts was the price he paid ?

I was going to stay out of this cos i could be seen as being bias, however this is definately not the case......
Matt (DMCOUPE) is a good friend of mine and before buying the car from djjd05 he came to look around mine and drive it for comparitive reasons. Now my Coupe is far from being perfect however in comparison to Matts new one it could be described as a dream....
Matt did a lot of research into this car and having already owned one perhaps his expectations were high, but the Coupe steaming up IS a problem as it smells of coolant and was a problem for Djjd05 in April this year apparantly it never got sorted, theres the first problem. Matt was unable to drive the car due to there being no road tax so had to trust answers from the seller. The gearbox is very stiff which may be due to it being of road for some time but even on the drive home the car was under performing. 2 pipes were loose which Matt thought may have fixed the problem but didnt.... and he rang me the day after to demonstrate the cutting out problem hes got with the car.
In conclusion i hope i have given an unbias review on this whole deal and i, and hopefully many of you will welcome Matt to the wonderful world of Coupe and offer advise as necessary with fixing the car and having it running the way it should be.
Matt

Has he joined the forum then?

When Gianni (Raven on here) owned this car it was very nice so these problems must have arisen since then.

It sounds like either a dodgy door seal letting water in, or the heater matrix leaking coolant into the cabin.

If the car had no tax and couldnt be tested, id have not bought it personally.

In any case, im sure Matt will find enough help to get these issues sorted.
Its a lot of car for circa £1500 even with these small problems.

Abso'flaming'lutely...

I am so sorry, and no offence to your friend, but never buy a car without driving it, you are opening yourself up to all sorts of problems there, as he has found out to his future expense!

But as Rog says, once sorted it will be a good car again.