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Sold a Disco 3 28-12 which has had a Lambda sensor failure 10 days later. I offered to pay for the sensor and 60% labour costs (apparantly the gearbox has to be dropped). He happily agrees... I just got this email. Hi Simon We spoke on the phone this Monday following a fault on the discovery I purchased from you. At the time you kindly offered to pay for the parts required and 60% of the labour costs as a “goodwill gesture”. Since then on the advice of our local garage we have taken advice on the procedures in circumstances such as these. Firstly, we are not doubting your integrity here. The vehicle was purchased for over £5000 in good faith on the understanding that it was in good working order. Unfortunately, it was unable to get us from A to B on two occasions less than two weeks from purchase, due to a fault, not wear and tear. Under these circumstances we have been advised that you should cover the full costs of the repairs and that it should not be a negotiable issue. Simon, we would never buy a used vehicle privately which is why we came to you. We hate awkward situations such as these and hope that you will agree to these terms. I look forward to hearing from you in due course. Please let me know if you require an estimate from our local garage. Regards My Response Hi James, I am afraid the garage have given you bad information. Having carried out appropriate and recorded pre-sale checks, including an independent PDI check, I am completely confident the vehicle was of satisfactory quality at the point of sale and thus in full conformity to the statute and contract. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is designed to protect buyers and sellers equally. The CRA specifically does not cover maintenance nor faults which would be expected due to the age / mileage & subsequent appropriate wear n tear. You purchased an 11 year old vehicle, which was 8 years past the period of which the Manufacturer was prepared to warrant the condition. A sensor failing on an 11 year old vehicle is quite simply wear n tear. Out of goodwill and to be completely gentlemanly, I offered to pay for a new sensor and 60% of labour costs. I am a very reasonable and fair man, my offer still stands. Regards

Well done chap interesting fix.

I brought this up a while back.

Agreed. Call me a cynical old bastard but this is always my first thought. We come pretty close to refusing to sell cars to people over an hours travel away these days. It's always the distance sales that cause grief IMO and aren't worth the hassle anymore. Bad customers because they're either buying purely on price, your vehicle being the cheapest, and therefore can't actually afford to run and maintain it and will be seeking any kind of claim to save a few quid. Or the car is a rare bit and they're travelling because they have high standards and want the best one on the market which is all well and good until they get a bit of buyers remorse two weeks later realising it hasn't changed their sex life, their mates aren't actually that impressed and they suddenly realise it's just an eight year old lump of metal so they start trying to pick fault. Apologies guys...i'm not loving punters lately.

when it gets as petty as that I just tell them to give me the car back minus an amount for valet, fair use based on time and mileage they've had it, can't be arsed with the hassle

Stalker. At the end of the day, if the garage need to drop the gearbox to replaced the sensor it simply has to be done. Because I do not offer a warranty, each year I save £200 per car for repairs. It pays for our two family holidays abroad each year and the static at Newquay..... When I get a warranty / CRA issue as above, I don't have the time nor the inclination to mess about. Life is too short.

Thanks No Margin, I’ve just downloaded the app, it’s really simple and easy to use

Never actually knew there was such a site, but have you tried to download the 'timing belt genie' app, try it and see, may be similar.

Can charge an admin fee for a customer you are happy to waive if they do a bank transfer can't you

I watched this too, interesting, they claimed that around half the notes that should be in circulation actually aren't. How they are trying to move to a cashless society and some businesses actually now don't accept cash, a cafe in Manchester area was on there with the owner stating that it was only the older generation that don't want to pay by cards etc. Thinking about it, every time I even go to a bar etc I always see people paying for rounds using their cards........ It's something I've never done so wouldn't really start now either.