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CONNED BY A VAN DEALER


Karsty

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Just a word of warning folks...

I am a gardener by trade, and recently bought a newer second hand van from a Dealer.

You have a lot more protection if your are a 100% private consumer buying for private use, but there are areas of possible exemption when you are buying for (or primarily for) your business.

In the Terms and Conditions on the invoice the Dealer may state exemptions from certain Sales Acts, and this is apparently (unbelievably) allowed in law. I, embarrassingly, did not check this. I just trusted this guy that everything was good. And the Terms and Conditions on the invoice were only a short passage of writing, which I could easily have read. (Not surprisingly, as you will see, he also did not point them out to me).

It turns out this van came with a host of issues, and the MOT he produced for me was not even valid, the vehicle was officially unroadworthy. I am now seeking a full refund on it, plus consequential losses.

 The bottom line here is, if you buy a vehicle from certain high-end Dealers you may be safe, but, even if you think the person you are buying from seems trustworthy, read the terms and conditions, and get the vehicle checked independently by a trusted mechanic, it could save you a world of bother or expense. I know for example that the RAC do this.

Karsty.

Edited by Karsty
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  • 5 weeks later...

It's a funny thing, second hand vans. What sort of money did you pay for the van and how much will it cost to put it right ?

I used to buy my vans from a dealer who was quite cheap but the vans were sold as seen. Years ago, I bought a van from this dealer for 3500 pounds. in three months I had spent another 3500 pounds on faults to repair it. I tend to buy lower milage vans from a dealer now that sells newer vans. Of course, the problem with this is that the vans cost me more money but it is worth it in the end. 

We have all bought a pup at some time. It is very often said that people only sell vehicles on when there is something wrong with them.

Advisories are not an MOT failure, but other things may be more worrying. 

I am a sameday courier by trade and I need reliable vans. Sometimes, when you buy a crap van, you just have to get on with it.

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Hi David,

Things have changed again.

I had an informal MOT type check done on the van by someone who actually does MOTs. I was somewhat perplexed when he told me the van would only fail on something like a missing bulb. He had also been a mechanic for many years, and he said the van wasn't too bad for a 10 year old van.

face-palm_1f926.png

I don't care what happens about this, I just want it to be right. I was compelled to listen to this person (This week I should also have a friend take a look at it who used to be vehicle inspector for the police).

So in the end I accepted the van. But I am going to see if I can claim from the dealer for some repairs I had to have done, and for wasted time that resulted from his complete unhelpfulness and lack of after sales service.

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It doesn't sound quite as bad as it did in the first place. It does sound that you are in the market for older vans though.

Just try not to get a van that has been couriered, unless it is cheap and you are prepared to put a new engine in.

My van has been in the garage this week, it is going to cost me nearly 2000 pounds in parts and labour. You will have to pay for something sooner or later when you run a van. Of course, things help if it is right when you buy it.

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It doesn't sound quite as bad as it did in the first place. It does sound that you are in the market for older vans though.

Just try not to get a van that has been couriered, unless it is cheap and you are prepared to put a new engine in.

My van has been in the garage this week, it is going to cost me nearly 2000 pounds in parts and labour. You will have to pay for something sooner or later when you run a van. Of course, things help if it is right when you buy it.

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