Brought an old car, 49 yrs old, it was to far away for me to look at, but rang up and was happy with my replies to alot of questions, but on receiving car was really disappointed, car was sold with rego and wof, but on driving it from the wharf as it came from south island, to my place some 100klm, in the dark, the car wouldnt run right below 50klm, no dash board lights, so couldnt see what speed i was doing, and when home there was a big pool of oil underneath car, in the auction on trademe, was told its all original, no rust, in good mechanical condition, used regularly, on further inspection, i see someone has touched it up with a spray can , over rust, what looks like bog underneath, wet carpets inside, boot wet etc, i paid good money because i was told it was good, photos looked good on trademe, anyway what chance do i have of getting money back, as its not how its described, i looked at the consumer guarantees act, it doesnt cover private sales, only goods brought of dealer or over the counter, or intrade.I havnt let them know iam unhappy yet, i just got car tonight, and need some advice? i wanted an old classic car for me and my partner as a town run about, not a big project, i dont mind fixing up some small stuff as they happen, but wasnt expecting to have to rip out motor and gearbox, as all the seals need replacing etc, and have to cut out rust and repaint whole car! i got impression it was all good, used daily i was told,what can i do?
phillip.weston,
Jun 17, 11:20am
you can take the seller to the disputes tribunal, however I can't help but feel you didn't take any steps or precautions to try and avoid this. Why did you not arrange a pre purchase inspection before agreeing to buy the vehicle sight unseen and completely going on the sellers word?
frytime,
Jun 17, 1:02pm
Have you got answers to your questions in writing?
gammelvind,
Jun 17, 1:11pm
This pretty much says it all. You haven't said what the old car was but a contact to that marques club would have pointed out the common failures so you could have asked the right questions.
stevo2,
Jun 17, 1:58pm
Or more importantly, the value of the car. I would expect a $20k vehicle to be in far better cond than an $800 mini. Of course it all comes down to whatever you have from the seller in writing describing its condition. I would struggle to buy a 50 year old car sight unseen and no pre purchase inspection.
ntalke,
Jun 17, 2:22pm
Sounds like a MG
whqqsh,
Jun 17, 2:38pm
for the dash lights try turning the knob, Ive found this even on an old 1958 german car I had recently, pull knob out for headlights, twist to adjust dashlights
tgray,
Jun 17, 3:42pm
What make and model car is it and how many miles?
kazbanz,
Jun 17, 3:52pm
Send it back-Not as described Money back.
robotnik,
Jun 17, 3:56pm
Car not running right could be that the carby needs adjustment, ie. a 'tune up'. If you're at high altitude and the car was tuned for sea level or the reverse then there could be issues., but this should be easy to fix.
sr2,
Jun 17, 5:08pm
+1; the North Island is much higher up than the South Island!
franc123,
Jun 17, 5:16pm
There is no substitute for getting cars checked properly before buying by someone who knows the model, this applies whether its old or new or cheap or expensive, some people have little idea of the true condition of these things and have even less idea of the costs of getting them to the point where daily use is feasible, buyers of such vehicles need to understand that operating a car that old is not the same as a 2000's model. Even cars that have been fully restored or claimed to be as such need thorough examining of receipts and structural/mechanical checks to verify what you are being told. If polite requests to refund get rejected its probably going to mean a DT visit if its clearly been misrepresented.
bjmh,
Jun 17, 5:59pm
caveat emptor comes to mind !
gman35,
Jun 17, 6:13pm
So presumably you paid after winning auction, but before leaving, and looked over the car once arrived there, said "hmmm, things are not really as explained are they ?". Where did your conversation with them go from there ? Anyway , a vehicle would have to have some of the most components, and varying opinions of condition, than almost any other item you could sell on trademe I would think, so at the very least I would be firstly contacting the buyer before auction closing and arranging that it would be ok to "win auction" BUT pay by bank cheque upon inspection/collection. A genuine seller *by item description* would surely be happy for a buyer to do that.
peja,
Jun 17, 6:40pm
You bought a 49 year old car with no pre purchase inspection? Unless you were spending under a grand there's no way I would do that. The rough running, the oil leak and the dash lights not going are probably not too major to fix, but the wet carpets inside and in boot are bad news, and something any inspection would have picked up.
What is it and how much? Crucial details people will need if they going to be able to help you
richardmayes,
Jun 17, 6:49pm
It wasn't a white Austin Maxi by any chance?
noswalg,
Jun 17, 7:13pm
Yes your right, always cost's more to travel north (uphill) than to travel south (downhill) Few people realize that!
vtecnet,
Jun 17, 8:20pm
Surely he's just having us on and this is a joke?
obus,
Jun 17, 8:26pm
Here we go, its a 1966 mg, 3 owners, shed find, been revinned, only needed 4 new tyres for wof, said the people i brought it off, they ran around in it for a year, did lots of things to it, they said there son in law was a foreman mechanic, he took it to work and did lots of things, the add said rust free, mechanically good. I rang them, had a good yarn, was told he the owner the husband was dying, cancer, and they were just quitting it, i beleived them and brought it, couldnt see it before as i was in n/island, any way drove car to a garage today, its been up on a hoist, all the gear box bolts were loose, oil leaking out profusely everywhere, behind belt pulley, tappet cover, sump cover, and universal shaft to motor, told its a motor out job to fix, $500-to 600 to fix, while under neath, i could see the rust in bottom of door sills, boot etc, hardly rust free. Ive restored heaps of motorbikes, and have done well, but i took this person word that it was a good car,$ paid 2800, for it, i would struggle to get $500, as it sits, mechanic said it shouldnt have got wof with all the leaks as it was excesssive. I normally do look at vehicles before buying, but didnt know anyone in picton, and the lady on the ph was awfully nice and i felt for her husband, so brought it! , i have made contact after the sale, she said get lost.
vtecnet,
Jun 17, 8:28pm
$2800 is too cheap for a 60's MG to be any good imo, try 8-10k for a good one, you might be able to part it out?
sifty,
Jun 17, 8:49pm
Sounds like $2800 is a fair price for an old mg that needs some work. If it was all that was promised it would have been a tremendous bargain.
Sorry but it appears you took the gamble that buying sight unseen was worth the risk. I would have sympathy if you'd paid $6-8000 for it, but in that case a trip to view it would have been worth it.
tgray,
Jun 17, 9:11pm
If you really wanted your money back, the only thing on your side is the fact the ad said rust free and it isn't. But seriously, $2800 is not a lot to pay for an MG and you said you are facing a $500 - 600 repair bill to fix the oil leaks. Still seems you got a pretty good deal. This is a private sale and you bought a near 50 year old classic sight unseen. Did you really expect a 'no problem' MG for $2800? A bit of research on your behalf would show these cars are never rust free. You now think you would struggle to get $500 for it? Really? lol. Come on, your a car/motorcycle guy and you should know better. I'm sorry, but you only have yourself to blame.
peja,
Jun 17, 10:31pm
$2800 for a running reg'd and WOF'd 66 MG? Even with the rust and other issues that is a reasonably good deal. Be prepared to spend a fair bit to repair the rust - but you will have a car worth 8-10K at the end of it.
Without having arranged a prepurchase inspection of any sort (the AA do these) you dont have a hope in hell of getting your money back at this point.
kazbanz,
Jun 17, 10:34pm
obus- My suggestion to you is to look very carefully at what 1966 mg's in good condition are selling for. Compare that to what you paid for this car and then do an add up what getting your one to that condition will be. THEN you can see what kind of deal you got on your car. I can't see even one 1960-1970 MG of any type for sale cheaper than 7k
peja,
Jun 17, 10:42pm
I was just going to say that - most are up around 11K and up. If the rust is restorable and the rest of the car is not too bad this is potentially a profitable project depending on how much of the work the OP can do themselves
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