This just goes to show that you should inspect your potential purchase, and watch it being driven to the auction hall.
This all seems a bit OTT for a fault that is easily and relatively cheap to repair in an hour or so.If the rest of the van was ok it could have been a bargain.
It may not be anyones fault that the compensater valve was disconnected, it may have fallen off, shock horror. An MOT clearly states that the vehicle is in a roadworthy condition on the date it was inspected.
So another campaign because someone can't take responsibility for their actions. The guy bought the van but because it has a fault that he didn't see, it's the industry that should pay, increasing the costs to the industry andthen passeddown to the consumer.
He should have spent more cash so he would have got a trial.
This just goes to show that you should inspect your potential purchase, and watch it being driven to the auction hall.
This all seems a bit OTT for a fault that is easily and relatively cheap to repair in an hour or so.If the rest of the van was ok it could have been a bargain.
It may not be anyones fault that the compensater valve was disconnected, it may have fallen off, shock horror. An MOT clearly states that the vehicle is in a roadworthy condition on the date it was inspected.
So another campaign because someone can't take responsibility for their actions. The guy bought the van but because it has a fault that he didn't see, it's the industry that should pay, increasing the costs to the industry andthen passeddown to the consumer.
He should have spent more cash so he would have got a trial.
Stop the public from buying the sold as seens and that would be a job well done , if you cant see the benefit to mankind doing this then are you a trader ?
Stop the public from buying the sold as seens and that would be a job well done , if you cant see the benefit to mankind doing this then are you a trader ?
No I'm not a trader.
I don't believe in taking the choice from people, an auction is just that you gets what is in front of you, and take the chance that it is in perfect condition without a single fault. Before you ask, yes I have bought and sold at auction.
I recently bought a van at auction (ebay), and yes I have found a couple of faults that were not mentioned, one fault being a seized brake load compensator, but that was the risk I took and am able to accept that.
You can get warranty cover independantly if you are not a confident buyer.
If someone is not confident or willing to accept that a vehicle may have faults when bought at auction they should not buy at auction. Simples.
Stop the public from buying the sold as seens and that would be a job well done , if you cant see the benefit to mankind doing this then are you a trader ?
No I'm not a trader.
I don't believe in taking the choice from people, an auction is just that you gets what is in front of you, and take the chance that it is in perfect condition without a single fault. Before you ask, yes I have bought and sold at auction.
I recently bought a van at auction (ebay), and yes I have found a couple of faults that were not mentioned, one fault being a seized brake load compensator, but that was the risk I took and am able to accept that.
You can get warranty cover independantly if you are not a confident buyer.
If someone is not confident or willing to accept that a vehicle may have faults when bought at auction they should not buy at auction. Simples.
And some people take a chance and will simply take the vehicles onto the road , now thats fine if no one is hurt but the element of risk to other road users is there so it needs to stop , it wouldnt cost too much to do a 30 mins safety check on ALL of the motors coming in and would be a nice earner for someone ( probably the auction robbers )
And some people take a chance and will simply take the vehicles onto the road , now thats fine if no one is hurt but the element of risk to other road users is there so it needs to stop , it wouldnt cost too much to do a 30 mins safety check on ALL of the motors coming in and would be a nice earner for someone ( probably the auction robbers )
And then the cost gets passed down to the buyer. Given that auctions are primarily for the trade, who then do their own checks and repairs before selling on, how happy will they be to cover off these new "nanny state" checks? After all these costs will be passed on to the end user anyway, so do you want another cost adding to your vehicles.
From someone who is so vocal about government waste and the nanny state, you sure do change your mind easily when it affects you (or a mate) directly.
It is ALWAYS upto the driver of a vehicle to ensure that it is of a roadworthy condition before taking it out on a road, and NO ONE else. There have been one or two cases where a company vehicle owner has been in trouble, but not many.
I do sympethise with the guy, as i dont like to see anyone get ripped off, but he has to accept responsibilities for his own actions.
I do however agree that if a vehicle is sold as not being in a 'driver away' condition, then this should be stated (and the reasons why it isnt, should be stated by the sellers). Yes, they may state that all of the vehicles sold arent in a 'drive away' condition, but at least you will be more likely to check it over if it does state this, and have an idea what you are looking for. A driver should be warned before removing it from an auction if there is a KNOWN fault (in an ideal world).
Ok lets step into the real world ( just for a moment )
Joe is a bit ignorant ( public) about laws / motors , but joe likes a bargain , joe comes in all shapes and sizes , joe doesnt care about rules ( we dont need no steenking rules ) but in the case of dangerous vehicles then we really do need them to be SAFE
As i see it as an easy fix that if joe public buys a vehicle then just dont let joe take it out on the road untli the obligitory safety check has been done , no trader would have their pockets hurt in this undertaking
IT WILL SAVE LIVES<---------- . how could anyone be against such an undertaking
This only really seems to happen at motor auctions.
You look on ebay, and 'mostly' genuine people will list faults, and if they dont then the buyer can have a come back through ebay and paypal.
Normal auctions are similar. They state if something is in working condition or not.
Yet motor auctions (or traders in motor auctions) are under no obligation to state if there is something wrong.
If they are mainly designed for the trade who are gonna take the vehicles away on a trailer then they should be behind closed doors and not allow the public in, only allowing those in with a registered trade card. If they do allow public auctions then they should presume that the public is gonna use a vehicle on a road and state known faults. However they DO let the public in so they can make more money, and dont give a damn about the consequences of any defects.
Imagine if Ebay and ebay users had the same policy as motor auctions. They wouldnt be half as popular, items would sell for a fraction of the prices they do, and it would be (even more so) known for selling dodgy items, and would be avoided like the plague by you and me.
The problem with checking vehicles at auctions is that someone has to pay for it, and you can rest assured it will be the buyer. So, this will have to be done prior to the auction (as after is too late). They will have to add the price on to the final bill (say £50 checking fee, similar to MOT). However, lots of people will be unwilling to pay this fee (especially traders). Not only that, but the auctions have hundreds of vehicles going through them each week (making checking them all almost impossible). They will have to have the facilities to check the vehicles too, including ramps/lifts/pit, qualified mechanics, tools, health and safety equipment, the list goes on (and on). Its really not practicle.
I Can see a very very big market here for the aa / rac to offer their services free as a trial , just for the public ( private buyers ) then publish what they found say over a 2 month period , it may well be a loss leader ending in people joining the ranks of the above organisations
I for one would trust the aa / rac to check over a vehicle before the auction house , this could be forced onto the auction houses and imho it should be
As i said, the problems you will have are the facilities to check the vehicles over, not to mention the insurance that the AA/RAC will have to take out 'just in case' they get it wrong and pass a car as fit, that isnt.
They may also need additional training. They are very good at what they do, but are not MOT testers.
Its not quite as straight forward as what you may think.
I'm amazed. I thought everybody KNEW that auctions are the way to get rid of vehicles the seller doesn't want to take responsibility for. That's why they aren't being sold "privately" through small ads etc.
So....there's quite likely a reason for them being there. And that's why they're cheap. And that's why the buyers are there. And that's why your mate was there. And that's why he bought the van - he thought he'd got a bargain - in other words, a van that would have cost him MORE somewhere else.
I have bought and sold cars at auctions - always cheap ones - I'm careful what I buy, and if I don't like it, I expect to sell it on in next weeks auction. You mustn't confuse "cheap" with good. Get real.
Ok , then can one of you with good eyesight go look on manheim auction site for their get out clauses
The brake bias bar could have been changed after the mot thus negating the mot and making the owner or whoever took it off responsible ? is that a good analogy
Quote me for gedge as i may be on ignore
As others have said, auctions are pretty much a law unto themselves..In my experience they only ever sell vehicles described as roadworthy if they are offering some sort of inspection scheme, therwise it is safe and wise to assume the vehicle will have defects..
Its not illegal to sell an unroadworthy vehicle this way, but it is to go on and drive it on the road...
Auctions are dangerous places for the unwary and your mate has learnt an expensive lesson, but somehow I doubt that things will change anytime soon..
How much would it have been to just fix the van anyway? Can't have been that expensive whenyou consider he was losing out on £300 by walking away anyway??
Stop the public from buying the sold as seens and that would be a job well done , if you cant see the benefit to mankind doing this then are you a trader ?
Is there any aspect of life that you don’t want to regulate through government legislation? I suppose you will be campaigning for licenses to shite next?
I see so many rules and regs in place for daft things yet when it comes down to real life dangerous stuff , nothing ?
If there was a licence needed to shite most on here would have been banned for spouting so much of it
he went to the auction, he should have read the terms and conditions-you can't expect to go to an auction and expect the same rights you get when you buy from a dealer-he was foolish and if it's cost him £300 he'll hopefully learn the lesson!
shouldnt a van be sold as "fit for the puropse it is designed for" if its not fit for the purpose then surley there should be some recourse for the consumer,even if it is sold as seen?if it was a private deal then fair enough but this is from an auction...or am i pissing in the wind?
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. An MOT clearly states that the vehicle is in a roadworthy condition on the date it was inspected. 
