Possibly been screwed over buying a Berlingo - legal advice?

[oilyrag]

As said above, it's very important to allow the seller to make amends prior to any threat of court action and you only need to make one reasonable request. Any written communication should be by recorded delivery. A small claim can be made 'on line' and the costs involved become part of your claim, and if you don't get a result your costs are limited to the fee for the claim, not the other party's costs.
However, if you do win it only means that a judgement has been made in your favour, not that you will actually get your money.
If the seller doesn't mind a CCJ against them, then they won't pay and you then have to resort to using Court bailiffs - their costs will be added to the seller's bill, if he then pays up. The bailiffs can, if not paid, also seize goods that can be sold to cover the costs, but only things that actually belong to the seller. If the man has bu**er all then you won't get anything and will also have to pay the bailiff (about £125 ish) and your own costs.
So, if you can 'negotiate' the return of the vehicle without threatening court action all well and good, . A lot of stress just to buy a Berlingo!

[Hora]

Can you look through their post history Incase they asked advice etc previously? Also use Google and their username in a Google search with keywords Berlingo. Then cache (Incase they went back and deleted previous posts). Also contact the admins Incase anything was deleted/recoverable. What's the issue? Worth ringing round the sellers nearest garages to see if they knew of the vehicle? caveat emptor.

[stuartgrobinson84]

Can you look through their post history Incase they asked advice etc previously? Also use Google and their username in a Google search with keywords Berlingo. Then cache (Incase they went back and deleted previous posts). Also contact the admins Incase anything was deleted/recoverable. What's the issue? Worth ringing round the sellers nearest garages to see if they knew of the vehicle? caveat emptor.

Thanks Hora, I've done most of your suggestions - I've also just taken the caches of the pages off google too which is a good bit of evidence. I may contact the admins too. It does seem their user account was set up just for this purpose and has now also been deleted.
The issue is its getting through oil at an insane rate. about 2 litres in 300 miles. various things have been tried, turbo, pcv valve, etc. (i only know this from finding his posts) 
I know the garage they've used and I've got a list of the work that's been done.

I may post it all up here in due course to get some advice about the problem too if it doesn't get resolved satisfactorily.

Thanks for the advice...

[stuartgrobinson84]

Thanks everyone for the advice and help. Current status:

I have made contact with the seller who confirmed that she sold the car as in good working order and claimed to know nothing about any problems - it seems she didn't drive it much in 4 months of ownership.

Her friend was apparently driving it most of the time and 'gave it a service' which also seemed to involve buying and getting a turbo fitted as well as various other mechanical checks and expenses. He apparently didn't mention this to the owner and paid for it all himself. - Who doesnt mention spending hundreds of pounds on a friends car?
Advice he got from forums included that it could be dangerous because of the danger of the diesel running away and advice on how to stop this, but didnt mention this either.

Basically there's lots of evidence that the main driver (the friend) of the car knew about a severe problem and posted about deciding to sell it instead. The Owner apparently knew nothing as was told nothing (not overly believable).

I have had a phone conversation with her and she seems adamant she knew nothing but has asked us to get a quote for the work needed which she said she'll pay for as she cant afford to give us the whole cost back.

car is at the garage today - Garage seems to think a repair wont be worth it so i'm going to demand the full refund then chase it up in the small claims court if she refuses.

On a differnet note i'll be after a new berlingo or partner soon. Does anyone have advice on what engines etc to go for or any warning signs to look for? I may not be as competent at buying used cars as i had thought...

[RevManiac]

Thanks everyone for the advice and help. Current status:

I have made contact with the seller who confirmed that she sold the car as in good working order and claimed to know nothing about any problems - it seems she didn't drive it much in 4 months of ownership.

Her friend was apparently driving it most of the time and 'gave it a service' which also seemed to involve buying and getting a turbo fitted as well as various other mechanical checks and expenses. He apparently didn't mention this to the owner and paid for it all himself. - Who doesnt mention spending hundreds of pounds on a friends car?
Advice he got from forums included that it could be dangerous because of the danger of the diesel running away and advice on how to stop this, but didnt mention this either.

Basically there's lots of evidence that the main driver (the friend) of the car knew about a severe problem and posted about deciding to sell it instead. The Owner apparently knew nothing as was told nothing (not overly believable).

I have had a phone conversation with her and she seems adamant she knew nothing but has asked us to get a quote for the work needed which she said she'll pay for as she cant afford to give us the whole cost back.

car is at the garage today - Garage seems to think a repair wont be worth it so i'm going to demand the full refund then chase it up in the small claims court if she refuses.

On a differnet note i'll be after a new berlingo or partner soon. Does anyone have advice on what engines etc to go for or any warning signs to look for? I may not be as competent at buying used cars as i had thought...

Sorry to hear all this Stuart but at least you seem to have enough evidence to win any legal battle. I don't know if it is worth having your garage write you a report on what the problem with the engine is? It may help if the previous owner tries to argue that you don't know what you are talking about. I'm not a legal expert so only guessing.

You never really know what you will get with a car until you own it and drive it and I don't think there are many who would have detected the problem you mentioned anyway, so don't beat yourself up. It's the seller's honesty that needs to be questioned here. I've just brought a Berlingo myself from a dealer and it came with three month warranty on engine and gearbox. I'm sure I would have paid a bit less for a private sale for that but it is kind of reassuring for the first months of ownership, especially for me who has always been in the 'french cars are unreliable' brigade, but I'm changing my perception gradually :
As for the next one to go for... I'm really impressed with my 07 1.6hdi lump. Economical yet quite punchier that i expected. Some bad stories to be found on the internet (as for any engine) but the guys here have reassured me that it's a great engine if maintained correctly.
By the way I wish i had a friend like that guy to secretly spend so much on my car... He must be a really good friend!
Stay strong brother!

Rev

[stuartgrobinson84]

I've had my garage look into it fully now. They are unfortunately certain it is now a knackered engine so definately going back - main fault being a broken piston ring with other issues too. £1700+vat for a recon engine and £300-£400 to fit. Not exactly worth it...
Shame though.. we had got quite attached.

[oilyrag]

Hi Stuart,
Be hard nosed about it and ignore all excuses and don't believe any stories - the offer to pay for repair is probably a ruse - if the cost of repairs exceed the value of the vehicle, then how could she afford the repair ? Once the engine is in bits you're stuffed, so just go for broke - write to the lady, recorded delivery, stating your case (you don't have to provide her with any evidence) and give her 7 days to pay in full, (especially as it is her lowest cost option).
If no money arrives then make a claim - you have to summarise your 'case' and she will then be contacted by the court to state her side of the story, in some detail. If she doesn't respond (14 days?) then judgement will be in your favour. If she does respond and doesn't tell the truth she will be in deep sh*t, but that's the point of the process.
If she does respond then it will go in front of a judge local to you where you can both appear, under oath, and then judgement made.
In the meantime don't use the car!

[Hora]

'Her friend' = partner? Although a tad naive to think you could try and third party away the blame..

As for not Having enough money- what has she spent it on?

[Gadgetman]

How the elf did they f**k up the engine so badly that itæs in danger of diesel runaway?
For that to happen it must pull engine oil up from the sump and into a cylinder, compress it and make it explode.
(Making it run on engine oil instead of diesel)
The only way to stop this is to quickly block the air inlet, but even that is pretty iffy.
Most mechanics prefers to keep their hands and will instead run for the extinguishers, and just wait for it to meltdown.
Driving a car in that state is pretty damn dangerous!
(It does NOT stop when you switch off the ignition, and it won't respond to the throttle, either.)

I would have gotten a statement from the DVLA listing the modifications, what they did to the engine and probable repercussions if you had kept on driving it.
With a Turbo, the power output is also increased. Does that impact any taxes?
(Here in Norway the car import tax is decided both by engine output and curb weight. And if you up the power afterwards, you're liable for the difference in import taxes.)
Yeah, there's potential for criminal liabilities and tax evasion issues.

[BERLINGO_CHRIS]

How the elf did they f**k up the engine so badly that itæs in danger of diesel runaway?
For that to happen it must pull engine oil up from the sump and into a cylinder, compress it and make it explode.
(Making it run on engine oil instead of diesel)
The only way to stop this is to quickly block the air inlet, but even that is pretty iffy.
Most mechanics prefers to keep their hands and will instead run for the extinguishers, and just wait for it to meltdown.
Driving a car in that state is pretty damn dangerous!  
(It does NOT stop when you switch off the ignition, and it won't respond to the throttle, either.)

I would have gotten a statement from the DVLA listing the modifications, what they did to the engine and probable repercussions if you had kept on driving it.
With a Turbo, the power output is also increased. Does that impact any taxes?
(Here in Norway the car import tax is decided both by engine output and curb weight. And if you up the power afterwards, you're liable for the difference in import taxes.)  
Yeah, there's potential for criminal liabilities and tax evasion issues.

If the car has a manual transmission you can stall it to stop the engine i.e. put it in 3rd and let the clutch out sharp with you foot on the brake!