Car not as listed

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ashlep
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2018 11:33 pm

Car not as listed

Post by ashlep »

Does anyone have any advice in regards to a private seller selling us a car not as listed? The very next morning after we bought a car, it would not start (it was fine when we test drove it). We got a hold of the owner once who said he'd help us, but he has since dodged our phone calls and ignored all of our messages.

He claimed in the post and in person that the car was in good condition and that the battery, engine and everything was working fine, but of course that was a lie. He also said the road tax was paid until 2020, but he only paid until this June.

Do we have any rights or are we totally out of luck? We have his phone number and address. We've reported him on Facebook and Bazeraki. We're wondering if it's pointless to report him to the police. Any information is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.


P. S. Don't buy a car from a Facebook poster called Marvo Matt (he goes by Andreas and posts in many Facebook groups).
ashlep
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Re: Car not as listed

Post by ashlep »

Thanks for the response. We did all of the paperwork with the seller, but as they were speaking in Greek and all docs are in Greek, we didn't catch that he hadn't paid road tax all the way until 2020 as promised. The road tax is the least of our worries though, since it's very affordable. The main issue we have is that the listing stated that car is in perfect working condition, but was kaput in less than a day.

We have the registration form, the road tax and receipt (once we translated the Greek, we called him on the error and he said he'd pay up until 2020 as promised in the listing, but hasn't). We also have the MOT until 2020, a stamped document from the mukhtar and another stamped document regarding the transfer of ownership. So I think we did everything appropriately, but the car completely stopped working the very next morning. We had only had it in our possession for maybe 15 hours and the seller has completely ignored us since. We know that in some countries, if an item is faulty, not as listed or fraudulent, the buyer has some legal rights and can report it to police (if within 72 hours of purchase, even from a private seller), but I have a strong feeling that's not going to work here...we seem to only be having bad luck since arriving. :(
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Dominic
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Re: Car not as listed

Post by Dominic »

Our directory has a number of car dealers listed.

https://www.paphoslife.com/directory/ca ... car_dealer

Personally, we recommend MS Auto Trade, as we have used them twice and received great service with, and this is important as you are finding out, a decent warranty.

However, people also speak highly of Deals on Wheels and some of the other places. They may be more expensive than going privately, but you get a lot more peace of mind.
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Uncle D
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Re: Car not as listed

Post by Uncle D »

This could happen in the UK, if you do not know much about cars its always best to take someone who does to check it over before you part with your money.
There are many cars sold by expats, some who are returning to the UK etc, you are less likely to be ripped off by them especially if you view the car at their home, never view anywhere else like a car park or at the side of the road.
I thought that changing ownership had to be done at the ministry of transport or at a citizens centre, where both the buyer and the seller need to attend produce ID, and insurance and you get a new registration document handed to you in your name.
Get a mechanic to check it for you hopefully it may not be too big a problem.
David
ashlep
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Re: Car not as listed

Post by ashlep »

Thanks. Unfortunately, we definitely cannot buy another car right now. With that money gone, another car is not an option for us at the moment.

We both know about cars and my husband test drove it and checked the engine and everything was running fine. We parked it at our house, woke up and it wouldn't start.

At the moment, we only want advice on what to do (if we have any rights or if it's worth reporting him to the police). We are not looking for auto dealers or information on what we should have done instead, as it's too late to change anything now. We only want advice on our rights (if any).

We've already changed the ownership of the car (only we needed to attend and produce ID, and show insurance to get the new registration document in our names). The seller did not need to attend, we only needed his documents. We have the man's address, phone number and ID number.

Otherwise (if there is nothing we can do) if anyone knows of an affordable mechanic either near Tombs of Kings Ave. (near Lidl) or a mechanic who can make a house call, that would be great.

Thank you in advance
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Dominic
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Re: Car not as listed

Post by Dominic »

Uncle D wrote: Wed Mar 27, 2019 8:38 am
There are many cars sold by expats, some who are returning to the UK etc, you are less likely to be ripped off by them especially if you view the car at their home, never view anywhere else like a car park or at the side of the road.
Sorry, but that isn't true. Let's face it, buying something from somebody who is leaving the country can be much more risky than buying something from somebody still in the country.
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PhotoLady
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Re: Car not as listed

Post by PhotoLady »

Basically, I would say it's "sold as seen".
On the day you saw it and purchased it the car was fully operational. Unless the seller gave you a written guarantee for a certain length of time for any problems, you don't really have a leg to stand on for recompense.
You could ask at the Citizens Office, to double check your options?
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Uncle D
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Re: Car not as listed

Post by Uncle D »

This is a mobile mechanics number, well at least it used to be, his name is Ady (Adrian) 99643483
David
ashlep
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Re: Car not as listed

Post by ashlep »

Yes, the listing said in "great working condition" and that the battery was good, including road tax until 2020. But all of those things were lies. The listing didn't say buy "as is." It was operational, but not so in less than a day because he obviously lied about the condition of the car. The good news is that at least he's been blacklisted from Bazeraki (just got a phone call from them).

In some countries, there are conditions and rights for buyers (even from private sellers) where you have a 72 hour period to either return an item or report the seller to police if you buy something and it turns out to be faulty or not to the standard as listed in the sale (France and US for example). I'm just curious if this in the case in Cyprus or not. It's doubtful, but I'm just wondering.
ashlep
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Re: Car not as listed

Post by ashlep »

Uncle D wrote: Wed Mar 27, 2019 12:55 pm This is a mobile mechanics number, well at least it used to be, his name is Ady (Adrian) 99643483
Thanks!!
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