Advice on recent purchase please

[Alan1983]

Hello all,

From a dealer, I recently purchased a 2003, 3.2 S porsche boxster for a little under £8k. The car was advertised as having 2 previous owners and 86k miles on the clock, but did in fact have 6 previous owners and 89k miles.

Doing some research as to my possible routes to take, I could ask for a full refund and return the car (I like it though, so not keen) or request a return of an amount of money and keep the car.

Could anyone advise me as to what a reasonable sum of money to request back would be or on any other options I may have.

Many thanks.

 

[geoffw]

First point of call should be to your local Trading Standards. They will advise you on options that shouldn't invalidate any future action you might want to take against the dealer. Good luck

 

[EWallbank]

I would suggest you take it back to the dealer and get your money back. Yes, it's a great car, but this sounds like a (potentially) bad example. At that age you should really be looking for a good ownership and service history. If the dealer misled you on mileage and owners, then you can't trust anything they said....or anything they say in the future.

 

[Terry]

I think the important thing is whether it is a good car or not. 3k difference on the mileage is not going to have any material effect on the car or its value. You will have to take a view on the number of owners but the average length of ownership for a Porsche is about 18 months so 6 owners is not unreasonable.

As I said at the outset, the important question is whether it is a good car and you are happy with it. If you are then why not keep it and any small concession you can get form the dealer will be useful.

Terry

 

[rob.kellock]

I am not sure that you automatically have a remedy.

How did you buy the car? What was discussed beforehand?

Distance selling rules can be very harsh on traders but if you saw the car first then you may be in difficulties. If the correct mileage was on the dashboard but different to the advert you won't get anywhere if you saw the vehicle prior to purchase. Number of owners is there to see on the log book. The value of the car is more likely to be influenced by condition and recent history rather than number of owners so you may not have suffered any loss?

There is a degree of buyer beware when purchasing what, despite being a Porsche, is a 9 year old secondhand car.

Best of luck, how best to proceed may well depend on the attitude and response of the seller and their means.

 

[Glyn]

I agree with Terry, 3K is the difference on miles, OK so there were 6 owners not 2 but what the hell difference should that make if the car is good, it means that 6 people have all bought it because they wanted it and have spent money on it.
I dont see that you have any real legal case here unless the statement about two owners is in writing and the additional 4 owners significantly impact negatively on the condition of the car.

If the car is good stop worrying and just enjoy the car, 6 owners is not unreasonable and some vehicles of that age have had significantly more, more owners doesnt mean bad car.
Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware - perhaps you should have checked the service history and car details before you entered into the contract.

 

[jdpef356]

If you are happy with the car it may be wise to take the view 'Better the Devil you know' since if you complained and the dealer took the car back on your budget you could do a lot worse.

Once again the view of most would have been why did you not have a PPI - not an option but essential when buying unless you are a mechanic.

 

[spyderman]

ORIGINAL: Alan1983
The car was advertised as having 2 previous owners and 86k miles on the clock, but did in fact have 6 previous owners and 89k miles.

I'm with John on this - so long as the car's running OK, I wouldn't bother doing anything about it.

 

[tscaptain]

Misrepresentation Act 1967
http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/liability-for-misrepresentation-when-selling-a-vehicle.html

However, whether another 3k miles and 4 owners would constitute "detriment" is up for debate, I guess!

Mind you, I'm still a firm believer in caveat emptor!

 

[bdheng]

As said a few times in the forum, 3k extra mileage is not a problem, nor 6 previous owners (which mine has)

However, isn't it worth getting the car checked by a local indie - that could well determine your course of action.

 

[gazrawly]

I have found that more previous owners on a car is not always a bad thing, on the contrary in some cases. Typically, people will tend to let cars slip a little as length of ownership increases. A car that has a new owner every other year or so will more than likely have a thorough check over and niggling issues corrected. A classic example of this was a Lotus Elan that my other half and I went to look at which had 12 previous owners. Each owner in the service history was accounted for in partitions with massive amounts of service history including all previous tax discs. It was a superb example and better than most ultra low mileage Elans with 1 or 2 owners.

I wouldn't worry too much about 3,000 miles, it's hardly anything in the grand scheme of things although it does make you wonder if there are any hidden treasures or a history with the car. Maybe worth having a thorough inspection carried out on the car to see if anything comes up?

 

[jonnyp1]

might be worth having an independent check - more to put your mind at rest - and if anything major comes up get the supplying dealer to fix - there should be a 3 month warranty with the car anyway. If all ok, then just enjoy, they are great cars

Jon