What chance would I have to get some money back.?

Question

I had an 'N' reg Micra (a great little car) but without power assist steering. I did a straight swop with a dealer (albeit a family member) for a Ford Fiesta with power assisted steering because I was diagnosed with Rhumatoid Arthritis in my left arm and was finding it very painful to drive the Micra. I know that the Micra was snapped up for £500 within a couple of days. However, my Ford Fiesta 'died' after just two months! Apart from the Micra, I also paid the remainder of the tax in cash, of £50.00 on the Fiesta.

I feel really cheated because the Fiesta was towed away Sunday and I got £60 for scrap. Anything I can do?

Answer 1

If the car you traded had died two months later, would you have paid the owner a refund?  No?  I didn't think so.

Doubt you have any grounds for recovery.  Might be better to avoid family deals in the future.

Answer 2

Sorry Robin but i really do not think that you have much of a case for any refund after two months. The trouble with either selling or buying a car is that - and i know this sounds obvious, but think about it - is that they are working OK until they pack up!  Think of a Light Bulb in your kitchen. It is working perfectly. If anyone said to you what is that Light Bulb like, you would say fine, no troubles at all. Then suddenly, pop, it goes dead.  Same thing happens with cars.

18mths ago I gave my son a N reg Astra with the sought after Isuzu Diesel engine. It had performed faultlessly for me over 95k. Three weeks after he got it, bang, the crankshaft snapped wrecking the engine!  You note i gave it to him so there were no hard feelings. Had i sold it to him he would have felt much like you do. I had NO indication of any pending problem. I was confident that i was giving him a reliable little runner that would probably last years more.

Personally i would not buy from, or sell to, a family member just because of the possibility of something going wrong. Remember, your great little micra could suddenly pack up as well.

Answer 3

you need to work with your family member to help you get into another car... you really really need to find out if he knew the car that he traded was a lemon then you deal with that.. if it was an honest mistake then you lost out and nothing you can do... a family member is a great way to get good deals on stuff but you do have the sense of getting screwed if it goes bad.