Do I have any comeback on secondhand car thats broken down

As per the title I purchased a second hand car off Donedeal from someone advertised as a trader, paid just under 10k. I have it just over 2 months and it broke down on the motorway recently. It had to be taken to the nearest garage and it's now been repaired with a bill of almost €800.

The mechanic has said he would recommend I return the car to the trader because he said there are a few issues with it. Il admit I did not get the car checked by a mechanic when I bought it because they all wanted me to bring it to their garage to be checked as they were too busy to go check it.

Do I have any rights when it comes to this, (ive read Consumer protection but it specifies garages and private individual sales) does him being advertised as a trader give me comeback or am I just wasting my time. I know it's not massive money but it was my budget and can't really afford ongoing costs like this. Does the fact that I've got the car repaired this time have any effect on my comeback if any? Thanks in advance.

Did they give a 3/6 or 1 year warranty for parts and or labour and is it written on the receipt?

Give them a call and see what they say.

Unfortunately nothing like that in the paperwork Persia

No harm in ringing him and seeing where it goes but if there's nothing in writing then it's a hard ask.
Did warranty come up at all during the preamble to purchase?

No being honest I didn't deal with it all very well, I was really stuck for a car, it was a good price, got a receipt but neither of us mentioned warranty, I only thought of it a few days later. Car had been a dream for the first 2 months

Most of the lessons I've learned have been the hard way (sadly) but you never repeat them.
You've nothing to lose by calling him but I expect he will be surprised to hear from you....but don't ask don't get.
I'm not able to advise on your consumer rights here perhaps someone else will come to the rescue but doesn't sound promising.

Was the receipt from a garage?

@Polly 123 some possibly good news. If you have allowed a 3rd-party to repair the car, that may all go out the window.


Your rights buying a 2nd-hand car

"If you buy a used car from a trader (a garage, car dealer, or a business selling on an online marketplace), you have similar consumer rights as when buying a new car."

This is a hard lesson, and a life lesson in not obtaining a written warranty.

You don't say what the issue is, be it mechanical failure, or, if you inadvertently damaged it whilst driving, I've seen Clutches burnt out within weeks of driving.

Here what I would do on Mechanical failure.

Present the bill to the dealer, if not honored, small claims court it would be.

Thanks all for your replies, I think it's a hard lesson learned, I had to get it repaired as it was taken to the closest garage by my breakdown assist and almost 150km from where I bought it. The mechanic said it would be classed as an engine issue if I had a warranty but wasn't sure where I stood because I'd nothing in writing. Will give him a ring and hope he answers and work from there, thanks everyone

You do not need a written warranty here. Any warranty can only extend or enhance the protections you have based on consumer legislation.

Follow @LS400 advice on going back to the dealer, ideally armed with a report from your mechanic outlining all the issues along with their opinion on whether the car should have been sold as it was.

Can you explain what has broken?

I bought an E30 and within 20 minutes of driving the fan belt snapped and I had her on a flatbed.
Cars are machines, the break, generally at the worst time.

Hard to know if you have been hard done by until we know what exactly has gone wrong.
You sell a car via the private marker with full service history, nct and a bit of car tax but if a mechanical component has decided it's had enough then that's not really the sellers fault.

Its usually very difficult to get a small car dealer to honour a warranty never mind consumer rights without a warranty.

Being in the right and getting someone to honour it are two very different things.

If you force the issue they've a habit of disappearing and reappearing as a different name. Apparently.

Having it repaired by a third party before having the seller an opportunity to fix makes it difficult.

"If you force the issue they've a habit of disappearing and reappearing as a different name. Apparently."

Have you any examples of this?
My understanding is that for decades now, this no longer works as a means of evading legal obligations arising from the running of a business.