Hmm, what to do..

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.

Yes Rog hes joined the forum and first chance i get ill be going round to look over it with him, I agree though its a bloody nice looking car and hopefully as you say the problems should be minor.
It think the tickover problem is something to do with a sensor cos it cuts out when idling from cold, if you keep the revs up until it gets warmer itll tick over happily but the holding back when driving i dont know.... start with a service i think

What are the problems exactly ? cant really see them posted.

Its a great looking car. Engine has perfect oil pressure too (or did have).

Gianni always used Millers CFS 10w60 or selenia racing oil, far superior than most oils.

The problems as described to me are:
1.The car was holding back, spluttering, misfirng and backfiring on the drive home with no performance.
2.Its steaming up very bad inside
3.it starts, runs for 10 secs then wont tick over from cold unless the revs are kept up
4.The gearbox is very stiff

Blimey, i feel like im a bad guy now. I dont feel i misled anyone and have been totally honest and i can only apologise to matt for the problems hes having. I made sure the garage that did the Mot checked the car over before it was tested, which they did and told me nothing apart from a corroded brake line needed replacing or looking at.

I havnt driven the car for around 2 months now so obviously havnt been able to pick up on certain problems, i just figured if it started fine all the time and ran fine, had a check over at the garage who said it was all in good condition, and passed its Mot with no advisorys at all, Then it should be ready and fit to be passed on to someone who will use it more than me.

I couldnt think of anything more i could do to make sure it was fit to sell.

Sugerbear - yes it was on ebay and sold for around £1500.

Mattcoupe - Yes in april i did post saying the coupe had been steaming up but after changing the pollen filter and having a good look around the car i found the boot and passenger door seals were loose so i corrected that and the steaming up was apparently solved.

The cutting out and missfiring that was mentioned has stumped me as when matt came to look at the car he started it up from cold, and it sat idling for 20 minutes or so with no problems at all and every week when id started it up i ran it up to temperature with no problems. the mot garage i took it to is a 20 mile round trip and i got there and back with no running problems.

The gearbox was a little stiff when i had it but i didnt pay much attention to it as it didnt feel much different to my old coupe, but yes it does seem to have stiffened up a bit while its been sitting.

Rog20VT - the oil has been changed twice in the 9 months ive owned it and ive always used Millers 10W60, just as Gianni had said he used. It had an oil change at the beggining of july, and its done about 1000 miles since then. The oil pressure has never dropped below 2 bar, even on very hot idle sitting in traffic at Le mans in 30C heat.

1.The car was holding back, spluttering, misfiring and backfiring on the drive home with no performance - this never happened to me. As i say its been warmed up once a week and driven around with no problems so i honestly dont know what this would be but i would NEVER have sold it if i knew the car was running badly for exactly this reason.

2.Its steaming up very bad inside - Did have a problem but i thought i had sorted it, have spoken to matt about this aswel.

3.it starts, runs for 10 secs then wont tick over from cold unless the revs are kept up - again, when matt viewed the car it started up no problems and ran fine from stone cold and without starting it for a week.

4.The gearbox is very stiff - most likely because its been sitting, although i have heard that the centering spring for the gear lever can tire or stiffen up over time.

Ive apologised for any problems and im more than willing to help. The car has had over £1500 spent on it in my ownership, replacing brakes, the clutch and every common service item.

imo if the truth is being told, and we have no reason to suppose otherwise, it's bad luck for the new owner but it doesn't sound like much to put right - the old owner did what he could and nothing to suggest anything was wrong was discovered on inspection/collection.

IF it was me as the old owner, i'd offer to pay for a health check at one of the specialists for an objective report - be something around £25 - £50 quid. i'd decide from what he found what course of action to take. bottom line is, caveat emptor i'm afraid....

that sounds like a reasonable solution to me Proccy but unfortunately there are only two people in this tangle that can talk this out..... i only came in to show that there are 2 sides to every story

A health check is exactly what i paid for before it was sold, cost me £75 and just turned up a corroded brake line.

Im happy to help matt out, i just havnt got the money at the minute to pay for another check.

The money i got for the car has gone on paying off the rest of a loan i had and im well into my overdraft at the minute.

Definatly be going to a different garage from now on.

Thanks guys for all your comments to myself and Joe, There is no point in worrying about this anymore, as they say its just money, not that I like chucking it away. Saturday will be the firt time I get the opportunity to get a good look over the car, and try and sort some of the problems myself, hopefully this will reduce any costs. The car is indeed a good looker, but at present no to reliable, but I am sure with a little more TLC, I will get it sorted. I will be looking through thefeeds for as much advice as is available, and thank all of you again for your suggestions. I will keep you all informed, and hope to see some of soon.
Thanks Matt
P.S MattCoupe a propper mate chears!!

I sometimes used to see this car (as R3 COU) early evening joining the M3 near where I live, and was aware that djjd05 had not owned it very long, and was aware that it was sold again recently. I hope the new owner perseveres as it seemed to be a nice car.

As for problem 1, check all the hoses around the air intake system, especially the one that goes to the plastic pipe alongside the battery, as well as the hoses to the dump valve (under the plastic pipe)

And I assumed that although the new owner didn't take a test drive due to no tax, he must have taxed it to drive it home after buying it?

Hi, any suggestions as to the best place for spare parts. Couple of bist I would like to replace, just to get her smarteded up.
O/S Visor,
N/S Hand grab,
Rear Wiper Motor Blade Arm etc
O/S seat cable to drop backrest
Spose there will be other bits after saturdays inspection.
Thanks Matt

Joe at countrycruising on here or italian spares at loscoe or ebay or buying on here...... theres loads of places mate ive bought plenty of bits all over the place!

I can sort all and any parts, pm me a list or give me a call

01885 400740

MattCoupe, have you got a web address, phone number for italian spares at loscoe. I could pop down over weekend.

the number for salvogroup is 01773 530581, but you know how random on prices they can be!!
Anything you cant get, give joe (countrycruising) a call and we could even get up to Donnington for the meet to collect parts off him?!?