BMW 1 Series 2010 116i

[Andy4444]

Would appreciate some advice please Gents

My eldest son bought the above car his week in a private sale. Full BMW service history form the wife of a Lawyer.

Day after he bought it an amber Engine Warning light came.

He spoke with the seller who admitted that they were aware of this but at the last service the BMW garage said that there was nothing to worry about. This information was not disclosed at the time of sale

Would appreciate a steer on how to handle this as my eldest is gutted. First car he has saved up for etc etc

Thanks in advance

 

[Burnerman]

The first step is to have the fault codes read (and cleared) by a garage with diagnostic equipment.....this doesn't have to be BMW! This will give you some idea of what is wrong.
If the performance is unaffected then its likely to be an exhaust issue - which may indeed cure itself if the car gets a longish run.
John

 

[motorbiking]

How was the car advertised? was it cheaper than usual? Were there any communications regarding reliability, faults, condition etc in the advert or otherwise.

First step is to reject the car as not meeting the description advertised - time is of the essence and you should not carry out repairs or diagnostics if you intend to do this.

You're not in an amazingly good position with a private sale, but the fact they knew about it gives you an angle, if they made any representation about its condition.

 

[Belle427]

It will prove very difficult to get anywhere, they could also change their story and say it was in perfect working order when sold.
I would try to contact them and remain polite asking for the problem to be resolved for you, it could be as simple as a £60 sensor but could also be a very expensive timing chain issue which they do suffer from.

 

[Mottie]

Get in touch with the BMW garage they used and get a printout of the service/repair history.

 

[DaveHerns]

Seller being the wife of a lawyer isn't encouraging !

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...-consumer-rights-buy-used-car-goes-wrong.html

 

[motorbiking]

there is an error in the above article
If you do go to the small claims court, you would have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the vendor knew about a fault, but withheld the information, before selling the car to you.

The test is the balance of probability.

 

[Andy4444]

The seller has admitted verbally and post sale that they were aware of the fault.

 

[motorbiking]

Can you answer the other questions regarding representation, price etc?

 

[Andy4444]

I did ask my son about the advert. It was on gumtree and has now been pulled (I guess following the sale).

I can confirm that it didn't mention the fault!