Have i bought a dodgy car

[mioba]

Hi there, first thanks to this board its helped me loads in the last few months in buying a new car.

After months of thinking i decided to buy a used s320 cdi, on an 04 (due to the well documented problems with earlier models such as electrical problems i had to go for an 04 plate)
so i purchased my vehicile from stealer in wakefiled (before buying i asked if there was any work done under the warranty of the car - he said none at all)
after a few days at home of just looking at the car i started her up and had a ESP error "take car to workshop" so i took it in, the dealers found nothing wrong on the diagnostics and the error message had disapperared - ahh well i thought. Again this morning i have got the same error.
Because i have a good relationship with my dealer i asked them to check if any work had been done under the cars warranty - guess what there was a list as long as your arm. boy was I angry

Anyway yesterday i was looking at the command and its its a cd based Dx system (well i was certain they were all changed to dvd in 2003), this made me more concerned.
so i done vin check on (removed due virus infected link) the vin is WDB2200252A332004.

now what really got me is this car was made in 2002, but its model changed to 2004..........

I am really stressed now and dont know what to do, any suggestions please

 

[television]

You can back the car on the sales man statement alone, DVLA or C cant remember which one should help you with details of why and how year changed, for as far as I know that's one thing that cant be changed. If your invoice states 04 you can back it for that, you would have no problem in a county court.

Malcolm

 

[jberks]

They may be on dodgy ground due as they lied to a very specific question.
As far as lots of warranty work iss concerned, this could be a double edged sword. It could be that its a dodgy motor, or else it could be that the first owner was fussy. In my experience many owners blindly put up with all sorts of faults so you end up with a crap car because nothing has ben put right yet.
You should have the details of the previous owner on the log book - try giving them a call. If its a dodgy one they will probably be more than happy to tell you.

Not sure about the year business.
Mine was first registered 28/10/04 but according to the vin

Delivery date 25.06.04
805 Change of year of model, last figure shows new model year

As the change of year is built into the vin code I am guessing it left the factory as an "05 model spec" , just built early and not intended for delivery before 05 (or at late 04). I suspect this is perfectly normal.

 

[mioba]

regarding the year details, just been to my local dealer to moan like hell,
he tells me the car is an import

he is pouring fuel on the fire

 

[television]

regarding the year details, just been to my local dealer to moan like hell,
he tells me the car is an import

he is pouring fuel on the fire

That would account for the year discretion. DVLC can give no info on an Import, niether can HPI. You have been had and you will have no problem in getting your money back, you were led to believe that you were buying an 04 and they sold you an 02, they also withheld information that was relavant to the sale. it is also impossible to say how many owners it had outdide of the UK that also refers to accident damage.

Malcolm

 

[DC_insider]

If your invoice states 04 you can back it for that, you would have no problem in a county court.

Hold on a minute, the registration number refers to when the car was registered not when it was made. The dealer would not be doing anything wrong to have described and sold the car as an 04 registration.

 

[DC_insider]

You have been had and you will have no problem in getting your money back, you were led to believe that you were buying an 04 and they sold you an 02

Perhaps you are confusing this with a new sale in which there may be a case for the new car not actually being 'new' but Mioba purchased a second hand car.

It would appear that the car was described and sold by the dealership as an 04 registration in which case (unless the registration number is not genuine) they have done nothing wrong.

 

[littlebrooklyn]

regarding the year details, just been to my local dealer to moan like hell,
he tells me the car is an import

he is pouring fuel on the fire

I saw on the VIN that it was was import from the Netherlands, I thought you realised that

The dealer should have told you it was an import. You are definately entitled to go back and demand your money back under the 1979 Sale of Goods Act and the 1982 Supply of Goods and Services Act. Phone your local Trading Standards if you have any problems and they will help you.

 

[television]

Hold on a minute, the registration number refers to when the car was registered not when it was made. The dealer would not be doing anything wrong to have described and sold the car as an 04 registration.

I think you will find that this comes under what is called "small print" it is also illegal to descibe the car as a 04 when it is not. It does not matter if the dealer says that they did not know, it is their business to know. it is also not what you say, its also what you do not say ie; withholding information that was very relavent to this car.There is also the value, more than £10k difference in what the car was worth.
If this was allowable, I could export my 99 car, bring it back, re register as a2001 and make a few bucks.

Malcolm

 

[DC_insider]

it is also illegal to descibe the car as a 04 when it is not.

The dealer described the car as a 04 registration. The car has an 04 registration. There is nothing false or illegal about that.

 

[DC_insider]

If this was allowable, I could export my 99 car, bring it back, re register as a2001 and make a few bucks.

A registration plate would be issued for the date the car was first imported into the UK. You could export and import as many times as you like but it will always be given a registration plate based on the date it was first brought into the UK.

 

[television]

Someone has also pulled a fast one somewhere down the line I can tell you it is very hard to get a number newer than the vehicle 's build date -been there before. Only someone from MB could do that. Sorry its fraud, like it or not

Malcolm

 

[littlebrooklyn]

The dealer described the car as a 04 registration. The car has an 04 registration. There is nothing false or illegal about that.

I am assuming that as it was sold as an 04 it was also sold with the remainder of the manufacturers warranty, but being an import the warranty won't be for 3yrs, it will only be 1yr or 2yrs, least that is my understanding.

 

[DC_insider]

I am assuming that as it was sold as an 04 it was also sold with the remainder of the manufacturers warranty, but being an import the warranty won't be for 3yrs, it will only be 1yr or 2yrs, least that is my understanding.

Unfortunately we don't know what was said about the warranty so we can't jump to conclusions.

 

[television]

A registration plate would be issued for the date the car was first imported into the UK. You could export and import as many times as you like but it will always be given a registration plate based on the date it was first brought into the UK.

Not true, this is Why DVLC keep back numbers,They are red hot on this subject, they issue a number appropriate for the year of build to stop fraud, They will only eccept documentation from a car manufacture to do otherwise, I have taken enough cars in and out of the UK to know that. I aslo have documentation from DVLC

Malcolm

 

[DC_insider]

Someone has also pulled a fast one somewhere down the line I can tell you it is very hard to get a number newer than the vehicle 's build date -been there before. Only someone from MB could do that. Sorry its fraud, like it or not

Malcolm

Not true, a car can be registered as new providing it has not been previously registered as new in another country.

 

[littlebrooklyn]

Unfortunately we don't know what was said about the warranty so we can't jump to conclusions.

Surely though anyone buying a car under 3yrs old would ask if it was still under manufacturers warranty.

 

[DC_insider]

Surely though anyone buying a car under 3yrs old would ask if it was still under manufacturers warranty.

As I am not the person that bought the car I cannot answer that.

 

[JonWill]

Have other people looked at their cars on this database? I'vr just checked mine (which I've had for three weeks) and it has a delivery date of 19/2/97, but on my registration documents it is first registered 19/7/99 (which is how I bought it). Is it possible there is an error in the data, or that a car can hang around for 2 years without being registered? Mine hasn't been imported ...

J

 

[SLinKyjoe]

how accurate is the database?