2nd Hand car from garage and query on number of owners.

I recently purchased a 2nd hand car from a garage with a 3 month gearbox and engine warranty. On Wednesday night the wipers failed and due to the rain being so bad I had to call the AA after crashing into a ditch (my first time ever to have to call them and they were fantastic) who in due course checked what was wrong with the wipers, the mechanic found that the wipers were held together with cable ties instead of proper wiper linkages and they had to tow me home. The garage say they did'nt do it and the wipers were working when I drove out of the garage, so tough. My problem is that it was such a serious incident and really could have been more serious and I feel the car was sold in an unfit state due to this, the car did pass the nct but they just check the wipers are working. Also the car was advertised as having 2 previous owners and when I received the log book it informed me there were 7 pevious owners, so I'm just looking for some help and what rights I may have on either issue. Thanks in advance.

Re: 2nd Hand car from garage

As far as i know, the goods you buy have to be fit for the purpose for which they are bought. I would be of the opinion that a seriuos wiper fault would indicate that this was not so in your case.

There is also a seperate issue in relation to the way the car was advertised, 2 previous owners versus 7. Should i find myself in a similar situation, I would strongly argue that the garage take back the vehicle and arrange a swift refund. Should they prove unwilling, it may be worth checking to see if they are registered with SIMI and taking up a complaint there.

On a contractual basis, there is the possiblity that a contract could be declared void ab initio on the base that there was a fundamental mistake made - i.e. you thought you were buying a car with 2 owners when in fact it had seven. I would think it fully possible to argue that 5 extra owners made the car you actually bought materially different to the one for which you contracted.

I would not take this as 100% concrete legal advice (it has been a few years since my direct legal experience has been practiced) but i would be pushing strongly - sometimes a well drafted letter outlining your expectations and warning of your next course of action will do the trick.

Good luck

Re: 2nd Hand car from garage

Reading this previous thread would lead one to believe that if the previous owners were based in the UK that the garage do not have to make you aware of the full list of owners. You may be able to fight the case and get a successful outcome as in moneygrower's case.

With 7 previous owners I assume the car is old enough and being second hand you are buying it as you see it warts and all! The garage may be able to argue this point if you got a good price for the car!

Have a look around the NCA's website - www.consumerconnect.ie - they should be able to help you out.