Issue buying specialist car - trade

  • BREMBO's Avatar
    Good morning

    Going to have watch who and what I mention here so apologies if a little vague.

    I recently bought a specialist car being a Lotus. It is an older model at almost 20 years of age. I bought the vehicle just before lockdown and have done very little mileage since. My intention was to get the car into a specialist garage who deal in these cars for a service and general check over. I have not been able to do this until last week due them being up and running again.

    The inspection was carried out and a number of issues have been raised which have given me concern. I have listed these below -

    The car was loosing coolant, this has now been sorted with a now coolant tank, the old one as cracking and coolant was escaping when at temperature. I have now paid for this.

    The brake fluid is contaminated and appears to have not been changed for some five years + this in turn can damage the cylinders and require replacement. The brake pipes are also highly corroded and worth changing at the same time.

    The car has different sets of shock absorbers. Rear mismatch the front.

    The rear tow links are seized and require changing.

    Number of items also picked up but are more 'wear and tear' and are advisory.

    The chap at the garage has been brilliant we went through all of this and I think he could see my heart sinking. He didn't ask until the end when I bought the car and how. He was surprised that a 'specialist' garage could let a car leave in such a way and believes the selling garage should have carried out a pre inspection and these issues should have been picked up and rectified.

    I bought the car in mid May, it was MOT'd in April with no advisories.

    I have since contacted the garage I bought it from but at this time they deny any liability and feel a car of this age will have these issues so it should be expected and that a MOT was carried out prior to sale which would have flagged these issues. Not entirely sure this is true?

    I'm feeling a little lost with it all. If it was a few hundred pounds to sort I could live with it but I'm looking at a potential bill of £2k, maybe more. This just for the main points I have raised. I also paid a fair chunk of money for what is an 'old' car. I did expect some spending but nothing like this and particularly so soon.

    I would welcome any thoughts on the above and perhaps any advice.

    Thanks.

  • 7 Replies

  • Santa's Avatar
    [SIZE=14px]I find stories like this more than a little sad. Basically, a naive buyer gets ripped off by an unscrupulous dealer.

    It would be really nice if we could rely on dealers but, since time immemorial, secondhand dealers have been ripping buyers off. You may have heard the expression "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"., a phrase that dates back thousands of years and comes from the need for the buyer of a horse to check its age by examining its teeth. Clearly, dealers in secondhand horses were just as unprincipled as their modern counterparts.

    If you buy a fairly new car from a reputable dealer, you can be excused for relying on their reputation as some guarantee of good faith, but anyone without expertise, buying a twenty-year-old
    [/SIZE]h̶o̶r̶s̶e̶[SIZE=14px] car should really employ someone who has the right skill and knowledge.[/SIZE]
  • wagolynn's Avatar
    Guest
    Go to your local trading standards, the car has a 6months warranty by law though rusty brake pipes (if they will pass an MOT) will not be claimable because they work , and they are safe.
    Trading standards should help you along the way.
  • Motman's Avatar
    "The brake fluid is contaminated and appears to have not been changed for some five years + this in turn can damage the cylinders and require replacement. The brake pipes are also highly corroded and worth changing at the same time.

    The car has different sets of shock absorbers. Rear mismatch the front.

    The rear tow links are seized and require changing".

    Contaminated brake fluid is not a failure unless you have a perfectly clear see-through reservoir - we are not allowed to remove the cap to inspect it. Brake pipes can be rusty but still pass the test. They must have reduced in thickness by about 30%. Sometimes it’s hard to determine, especially if they run underneath covers etc. If we are not 100% sure they are badly corroded, we must give the benefit of doubt to the customer.

    Mismatched shock absorbers are not a reason for rejection. (Fail)

    I'm not sure what rear tow links are.

    Did you take it to a specialist garage? There is always the possibility that the garage you took it to is looking for work and over exaggerating the repairs needed. You may be able to get some things repaired buy the dealer that sold you the car if they are actually broken or not working but you can’t buy a 20 year old car and expect it to be in mint condition, especially a Lotus. There is a saying that LOTUS stands for Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious. I have a friend who works in a Lotus specialists and he often comments that they are thrown together. As said, you should have taken someone with a bit of knowledge with you and being an old, specialist car, expect this to be an annual event unless you are carrying out maintenance yourself throughout the year. There are two joys with buying an old, specialist car. The day you buy it and the day you sell it. Sorry.
  • BREMBO's Avatar
    Appreciate all feedback and I was perhaps a little naïve in my purchase. I disagree that the garage is trying to make a quick buck, he has been incredibly helpful. I have a bigger list of things as I mentioned but can put this down to as expected of a car of this age. The garage I took it to is a specialist but it is a specialist car so seems relevant in doing this. I would never have thought in going back to the garage which I bought it from until he brought it up and he seems he does have some points. That a garage which sells performance cars would allow a car to leave in such a way. So although I don't expect it to be mint I do expect the car to be safe and he has highlighted three items which are dangerous.

    What has been pointed out to me is that an MOT is a bare minimum safety standard? and if a pre inspection of the vehicle was carried out this should have been brought to the attention of the selling garage and should have been rectified before sale?

    I feel like I am being unfair at times but at the same time don't feel I should buy a car which then needs £2k+ on essential repairs.
  • BREMBO's Avatar
    Just to bring this to an end the car was returned today. Sadly. Now having a nightmare getting my money back from paying the road tax in full. The seller for some reason never put it in my name.
  • Motman's Avatar
    Originally Posted by BREMBO;n198265
    Just to bring this to an end the car was returned today. Sadly. Now having a nightmare getting my money back from paying the road tax in full. The seller for some reason never put it in my name.
    That is a criminal offence I believe.
  • BREMBO's Avatar
    Originally Posted by Motman;n198269
    That is a criminal offence I believe.

    I have had to write a letter to the DVLA explaining what has happened. Be a good number of weeks before I hear anything which is really annoying but I guess understandable. Seller/trader isn't that interested. He said he did put it in my name but did not ask for an email confirmation which I find a little odd and DVLA have confirmed they have not received any online change.