BoozyDave,

 

Thanks for your thoughts.

You have more of a criminal mind than the bloke who sold us the car :D :D :D  That's a great idea though ( :o lol) but knowing our luck the AA would have already seen this thread. ;)

 

Sadly, it looks as though we're going to have to sell it at a huge loss, as we just cant afford to fix it right now.

 

Best regards,

 

Rik.

I've just had a look on scoobynet, there's a 2.5 wrx engine that was rebuilt by scoobyclinic 16k ago, only £1,500 http://www.scoobynet.com/full-cars-breaking-for-spares-449/1017183-hawkeye-wrx-breaking-black.html

 

if you sell as is, you will be lucky to get £3k for it, whoever buys it knows they will have to spend £3k + to get it running again.

A standard engine for £1k

http://www.scoobynet.com/full-cars-breaking-for-spares-449/1016413-breaking-hawkeye-wrx-shell-engine-gearbox-shafts-diff-plus-more.html

problem is still the crap standard engine though

BoozyDave,

Many thanks for keeping me in mind and for showing me both those links, the engine is probably well worth that but tbh, I just don't have that sort of money to lash out right now and in my case would take a hell of a lot of saving up for.

 

My son blew his life savings on the car, so no chance for him to sort it any time soon.

Unless he sells it for peanuts, it will just rot on the drive.

Best regards,
Rik.

 

Shame your not closer to me and own somewhere dry to work on it Rik , as If you could afford a second hand engine I'd have helped you fit it .

Just to see a happier end to this disaster story [emoji53]

All the best ,clive

Maybe best take it as a life lesson and cut your losses

Savage bulldogs,

 

Thank you so much for that.

Thats a fantastic gesture and one of extreme kindness, especially as I know what a hard and difficult day job you have to contend with.

You may well not believe me, but if I were healthy and fit, of which I'm not, I would do just the same for anyone else who found themselves in this awful situation.

 

As an aside:- Only ten minutes ago I sent a very long, carefully written letter / e-mail to the seller, explaining exactly as to how I feel but I very much doubt he'll even read it!

 

Thanks again for that very kind offer.

Kind and best regards,

Rik.

Matt,

 

The way in which you write here tells me you are a very 'straight to the point guy' and in all honesty I really respect that.

You have a very valid point, but one which will be extremely hard for my son to swallow, especially at this moment in time, as he's just suffered something far more serious / worse than just losing hard cash or a car. But I'll keep that between him and I.

 

Best regards,

Rik.

Yeah unless he could ask the bank nicely ? Local good garage should be able to do the gaskets

Matt,

 

No chance with the bank mate.

Finding a local Good garage where I live is nigh on impossible.

I know all of them and I've whittled them down to just one and even they struggle when it comes to anything that's a bit specialized as Scoobies are.

 

Regards,

 

Rik.

how much did you pay? how much do you think you can get as is?

 

if you are going to sell and lose £3k, why not just do an engine swap for £1k, then sell on for what you paid for it. you would only be £1k down then, not 3

Where abouts are u

BoozyDave,

 

Sending you a PM.

 

PM sent

 

Regards,

Rik.

Matt,

 

PM sent.

 

Regards,

Rik.

PM replied

Hi All,

I cannot believe how many views this thread has had on this forum since I started it...amazing.

 

Sadly, I have to report that I've continued to try to get help legally with this issue and it seems that if you buy privately from someone who intentionally rips you off, then the law seems to be on the side of the rip-off merchant.

So it's a case of buyer beware, but the law needs to be rescinded, to allow those who are purposefully ripped off in a private deal to get recompense. without fear of being criminalised. The criminal is the rip-off merchant, not the gullible innocent buyer.

If you think you'll get help from Trading Standards Departments with these private sales issues, then think again...you'll be wasting your time.

 

Regards,

Rik.

Sorry to hear it rik, the law is the law end of the day

That's why there are people out there offer warranty and inspection services , for about 300 quid they go over it with a toothcomb and give you a report on the car

Put the shoe on the other foot tho , say I purchased the car from your son ragged the **** out of it on the way home and blew the engine up .... Then come knocking on the door wanting a refund ?

Matt,

 

I agree with you wholeheartedly.

 

Your last paragraph sums things up perfectly.

I actually had a similar occurence happen to me many years back. I sold my 3 year old car to a local couple who came back several days later asking for their money back and telling me that the car had a juddering fault.

I'd owned the car from new and kept it in pristine condition mechanically and bodily and never had a problem with it.

I refunded them in full without any argument and was happy to do so, as I thought perhaps the car had developed a fault within a couple of days of the sale, but when I checked, it turned out that the carb was at fault.

On close inspection I could see that the nuts holding the carb to manifold had been rounded off and the gasket was partially to one side of the manifold. I knew at  this point that the car had been tampered with, so I did the obvious and

stripped it down. It appeared to me that the man had been tampering with jet sizes and had damaged threads and the float bowl innards.

I repaired the damage and then sold it again without any comeback or problems.

 

We live and learn.

 

Regards,

Rik.

Sorry to hear Rik mate. And sorry for your son too. In fairness to the Subaru community well the genuine enthusiasts you're only the 2nd person I've seen it happen too. Well from this forum anyway. And sound like a **** who sold you the car. So I wouldn't let it put you off having another one or buying privately. :(

What's your options now ?

Gambit,

 

I dare say we're certainly not the first and won't be the last people to have this happen to them.

 

Most private sellers are good down to earth honest people and had you have spoken to this bloke who sold us his Scooby you would have thought all was well,hence my son parted with the dosh for what he thought would be his pride and joy.

But as I've previously mentioned, my son is not as clued up as his old man, at least when it comes to checking vehicle mechanics and safety factors.

I've taken the time to write polite but factual and courteous letter's to the seller but he refuses to answer me.

I too have had some very good deals from private sellers, so It doesn't tend to put me off buying from them.

You just have to carry out all the relevant and thorough checks before agreeing to buy, it's that simple really.

It's a pity my son didn't but he's learned a very expensive lesson now.

 

Regards,

Rik.

Matt,

 

The car sits on my drive and will do for a very considerable time, as neither I, or my lad have the dosh to fix it.

He's being made redundant at the end of this month, so the chances of getting it sorted are rather remote

unfortunately.

Looking on the bright side, there are many folk a hell of a lot worse off than we ... you see them on the news most days

and I'm darned glad we're not one of them. So I count us as amongst the very lucky ones.

 

Obviously, if we do sort it, I will let you all know.

 

Thanks and best regards,

 

Rik.

Hi

 

I have only just read the thread

 

While i feel for your lad

 

You say the header tank was mucky or some thing similar, why didnt your lad see this or any other issues.

If he isnt mechanically minded why didnt he take someone with him.

 

I appreciate this doesnt help now but im just curious.

 

If it was my lad,s car i would tell him to cut his losses and sell as is.

At least he will be 3k up and not looking at his ***** up every day of the week and making him feel like s*it.

 

I may seem harsh but i am also a straight talking kind of bloke, deal with the cr*p and move on its the only way.

 

Hope you sort something soon

 

Rich

I agree with rich , tho these cars you need deep pockets you can't run them on a shoe string budget if your not prepared for the costs then stick to a fiesta etc

If you can't raise finance with the bank to fix then just sell , get a classic much easier to deal with