A couple of issues have come up recently, which, while not terribly costly (in the scheme of things!), don't seem very ethical for a trade sale.
I agreed a price eventually which was presented as is with a couple of known minor faults. The email with the invoice contained the language "All current and future electrical issues will be at your cost. The 3 month warranty offered covers major mechanical issues only (it does not cover wear and tear, including the suspension system, brakes or electrical issues etc).".
I could have had an inspection, but with it being trade and coming with the major parts warranty, I opted to spend the money instead on the known issues and take the car in what looked like good condition.
These are the two issues I reported back after a post-sale inspection:
1) The O/S front tyre, when examined on a ramp, had a clear and significant perishment crack extending over half of the inner circumference of the tyre. Not just an outright MOT failure (recently carried out in August), but a significant safety issue requiring immediate replacement – a blowout waiting to happen. The rim was also cracked.
2) When examining with MB Star diagnostics, it was apparent that someone had for some reason manually “un-configured” the air suspension as an option to hide it from the display unit. When turned back on as a feature, a potential reason became clear – an immediate fault displayed across the dash every time you inserted the key urging you to return to a service centre (diagnosed as an air suspension valve block).
I don’t believe a car should be sold by a business if it is unfit for road use (unless sold as such which this clearly wasn’t) and it would also seem a reasonable leap to insinuate that someone (in the not too distant past considering its service history) has deliberately hidden a fault through an engineering diagnostic re-configuration.
Is this just tough luck for taking the gamble or is it actually wrong for a trade sale?
I agreed a price eventually which was presented as is with a couple of known minor faults. The email with the invoice contained the language "All current and future electrical issues will be at your cost. The 3 month warranty offered covers major mechanical issues only (it does not cover wear and tear, including the suspension system, brakes or electrical issues etc).".
I could have had an inspection, but with it being trade and coming with the major parts warranty, I opted to spend the money instead on the known issues and take the car in what looked like good condition.
These are the two issues I reported back after a post-sale inspection:
1) The O/S front tyre, when examined on a ramp, had a clear and significant perishment crack extending over half of the inner circumference of the tyre. Not just an outright MOT failure (recently carried out in August), but a significant safety issue requiring immediate replacement – a blowout waiting to happen. The rim was also cracked.
2) When examining with MB Star diagnostics, it was apparent that someone had for some reason manually “un-configured” the air suspension as an option to hide it from the display unit. When turned back on as a feature, a potential reason became clear – an immediate fault displayed across the dash every time you inserted the key urging you to return to a service centre (diagnosed as an air suspension valve block).
I don’t believe a car should be sold by a business if it is unfit for road use (unless sold as such which this clearly wasn’t) and it would also seem a reasonable leap to insinuate that someone (in the not too distant past considering its service history) has deliberately hidden a fault through an engineering diagnostic re-configuration.
Is this just tough luck for taking the gamble or is it actually wrong for a trade sale?