Sold a Cat S Car without being told

D

Davey_C

Well-known member
Bought a fiesta just under a month ago from a garage (well a unit that is selling cars on fb marketplace)

It came with a full years MOT, i did notice the bumper had parking sensors but the car didnt (this should have been my 1st red flag)

just discovered last night the car is still untaxed and is a cat s write off

To say im not happy is an understatement.

With the price of used cars at the moment i had to go down the road of FB marketplace, but im guessing i havent really got a leg to stand on here as I havent even got the original advert that was on FB to use as evidence against the guy who has sold me it which my old boss says ive probably paid £7-800 too much for it now knowing it is a cat s
 
Last edited:
Ouch, that's a tough pill to swallow mate.😕

There's always the option of selling it for parts to claw money back of course, but that requires effort, time, patience and storage of course that are tricky to have all at once to say the least.
 
Sorry to hear about this.

Would think twice before buying cars off there, Gumtree or Shpock or similar.

Half of them are nicked or write offs like this.
 
Davey_C said:
Bought a fiesta just under a month ago from a garage (well a lockup that is selling cars on fb marketplace)

It came with a full years MOT, i did notice the bumper had parking sensors but the car didnt (this should have been my 1st red flag)

just discovered last night the car is still untaxed and is a cat s write off

To say im not happy is an understatement.

With the price of used cars at the moment i had to go down the road of FB marketplace, but im guessing i havent really got a leg to stand on here as I havent even got the original advert that was on FB to use as evidence against the guy who has sold me it which my old boss says ive probably paid £7-800 too much for it now knowing it is a cat s
Click to expand...

Man that's a bummer. The only thing I can think of trying to contact trading standards. I've copied and pasted this from somewhere else

I would recommend contacting the seller and politely but firmly telling them the car was not accurately described and you want your money back. If they refuse, tell them you will seek legal advice and report them to Trading Standards. For your legal rights, see: www.honestjohn.co.uk/how-to-reject-a-car-your-cons...s

Though you may no longer have evidence that they didn't say it was a cat s, the onus will be on them to provide evidence that they did advertise it as a Cat S, which they'll not be able to do.
 
Stand outside the garage with a big sign saying "Don't buy anything from here it's a scam", they'll cave in eventually when they don't get any customers.
 
If he sold you a Cat S without telling you, he is liable and you can sue him.

It's up to the seller to make it clear to the buyer that it is a Cat S. If he has sold it to you at normal market value of that car then he is committing fraud.

Don't mess about. Take the car back to him and demand your money back. If he can prove that the advert clearly said Cat S then that's another thing but the market doesn't lie.

Also in future use a service like Car Vertical where you can check a car's history. It might be worth doing with this one and see if it has maybe also had the mileage tampered with.
 
Here's the best bit they came and collected my exisiting fiesta gave me £300 for it to use for parts ... it now has a full 12 months MOT on it

They arent a breaker but said they would 'sort everything for me' i still have the v5

Im bricking it now as someone is probably picking up parking and speeding tickets in a car thats still registered to myself ... i really have fooked up here well and truly

Will my car insurance also be void?
 
I bought a car for the wife a few weeks ago. I havent bought a car for years.
Anyroad, we found a car that looked a bargain but when I looked at the details it said cat n. I had no idea what it was and had to look it up. This all reminds me of the old 'Q' plates.
With 'Q' plates you knew where you stood with them. Cat s and Cat n have to be approved by an MOT type inspection but it does make me wonder what would happen in an accident if the car was to take a good shunt?
In the end, I looked for 'AA Approved' and paid a bit of a premium for it.
 
Davey_C said:
Here's the best bit they came and collected my exisiting fiesta gave me £300 for it to use for parts ... it now has a full 12 months MOT on it

They arent a breaker but said they would 'sort everything for me' i still have the v5

Im bricking it now as someone is probably picking up parking and speeding tickets in a car thats still registered to myself ... i really have fooked up here well and truly

Will my car insurance also be void?
Click to expand...
You need to sort that asap as you will be the registered keeper and all that jazz.

Speak to trading standards asap and they will guide you but just because you bought non fb marketplace doesn't remove your consumer rights, everything still applies
 
Go back to the garage with proof of the cat s and demand you money back. They have broke the law by not advertising it such even if they didn’t know themselves.
 
Davey_C said:
Here's the best bit they came and collected my exisiting fiesta gave me £300 for it to use for parts ... it now has a full 12 months MOT on it

They arent a breaker but said they would 'sort everything for me' i still have the v5

Im bricking it now as someone is probably picking up parking and speeding tickets in a car thats still registered to myself ... i really have fooked up here well and truly

Will my car insurance also be void?
Click to expand...

If you have the V5 you can go on the DVLA website and change the name/address of the registered owner. You can also provide the date of transfer of ownership.

It’s instantaneous and generates a new V5 for the new owner.
 
Acklam_Lad said:
Go back to the garage with proof of the cat s and demand you money back. They have broke the law by not advertising it such even if they didn’t know themselves.
Click to expand...

Its not a proper garage as such its just someone doing up cars (or in my case repairing a write off) from an industrial unit and moving them on on marketplace. Know what they are doing i dont even have a contact number all the communication was through messenger
 
Davey_C said:
Its not a proper garage as such its just someone doing up cars (or in my case repairing a write off) from an industrial unit and moving them on on marketplace. Know what they are doing i dont even have a contact number all the communication was through messenger
Click to expand...
They're still required to follow the laws and your consumer rights aren't affected. Find a listing he has and ask for his number. Or even just get as many screenshots of his name, account, ads for sale etc
 
Unravel_Morrison said:
If he sold you a Cat S without telling you, he is liable and you can sue him.

It's up to the seller to make it clear to the buyer that it is a Cat S. If he has sold it to you at normal market value of that car then he is committing fraud.

Don't mess about. Take the car back to him and demand your money back. If he can prove that the advert clearly said Cat S then that's another thing but the market doesn't lie.

Also in future use a service like Car Vertical where you can check a car's history. It might be worth doing with this one and see if it has maybe also had the mileage tampered with.
Click to expand...
I only think you have to declare it if you are a trader not a private seller,
but its so easy to check on the internet anyway, my jag was written off as a cat s and I got the car back and put it back on the road, the only damage was a dented wing and plastic bumper, no structural damage whatso ever and it only cost £150 to repair with a second hand wing and I straightened the bumper !
 
locomansimon said:
I only think you have to declare it if you are a trader not a private seller,
but its so easy to check on the internet anyway, my jag was written off as a cat s and I got the car back and put it back on the road, the only damage was a dented wing and plastic bumper, no structural damage whatso ever and it only cost £150 to repair with a second hand wing and I straightened the bumper !
Click to expand...
If he's selling card on fb marketplace he will surely count as a trader as he will be above the £1k side hustle declaration limit
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top