i have a bit of a dilemma...

[jimmy]

hey people,

i have a bit of a dilemma with the car i just bought. i wont mention exactly what the car is as i know a lot of people from that forum (which i also wont mention)come here too. i just wanna get some peoples opinion on this situation...

i've been overseas, then im planning to return back here so i spot a car on carsales that i think looks good, i get my brother to check it out, and he says it ok, a few little problems but nothing huge. so i send him a deposit, so that i can pick up the car as soon as i get back in the country, as its really important for me to be able to get around asap. rather than mention the exact car, ill give a comparison. say the car is advertised as a genuine sileighty, valued at the princely sum of 6000(for example). however i am not able to check before hand that it really is genuine, other than from photos. so i pick the car up, as i need to use it for a couple of weeks i havent had the chance to actually check it over. when i do get the chance, i actually realize that it is not genuine, but actually just a homejob silvia fronted 180, valued at only 4000(again for example).

so this is my problem, and i want to know what you guys would do with this situation.

either i

1. Sell the car to try and recoup as close as possible to the original outlay. i know i could get almost the same amount back.

2. Negotiate with the guy about it, and see if he is willing to admit the false advertising and reimburse some of the money.

3. Take it to small claims court to get the difference back.

4. write it off as stupidity.

the thing i regret that i didnt do is check the VIN before i bought it, although i really didnt have the oppurtunity to. the other thing is that he could just claim that he is ignorant about the whole thing and he never knew that it was indeed fake.

please no stupid replies or anything, this is all dead serious. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Ruffels]

hey just like to ask, why are you so adimate on getting a genuine sileighty, isnt an aftermarket job just as good?

I personally think you should drop it, coz i dont think you have alot to stand on, these are the risks you take when purchasing a car you havent inspected yourself, and unless he showed you fraudulent papers stating it is something that it is not inorder to sell it, i really dont think you have a case sorry.

But if people think otherwise it would be interesting to see how you go!

sorry i cant really help you much more, just get advice from asmany people as possible, and if need be contact a lawyer or solicitor.

-Ruffels

[jimmy]

its not a sileighty, i was just using that as an example. but one reason why genuine makes a difference is the value. i paid the value according to the genuine, when the value of a fake is half. you understand what im getting at??

but yeah im trying to get as much advice/info as i can before i ask a solicitor, they too much money to even botherr in the end. i realize now that i should have checked those things first but i really have a lot going on right now and i just needed the car asap with no hassle. i dont think i have much to stand on either, other than the fact that he was advertising it as genuine.

cheers for the reply mate

[paulr33]

well i guess its buyer beware, if you go back to the guy he is just gonna say you had someone come out and check the car before you brought it, if they didnt check it or realise it then its kinda bad luck. sorry to be the bearer of bad news, i doubt small claims would say much as you had it preinspected and you visually saw it

[KILL HSV]

its not a sileighty, i was just using that as an example.  but one reason why genuine makes a difference is the value.  i paid the value according to the genuine, when the value of a fake is half.  you understand what im getting at??  

if you say its worth half the price, i would crack the shits if someone sold me a gtr and it turned out it was a gtst

but if its not like that, umm.. im trying to think of what it would be,

but yeh it depends on how much its worth, if the genuine one was only worth 10 grand and the one you got went just as well i wouldn't bother, but if its a 100grand r34 gtr then thats different

[jimmy]

im thinking i may as well just keep it for now, write the whole thing off as umm... experience,lol. but yeah it just pisses me off. i should be able to get almost the same value again when i sell it. just wanted to get some other peoples ideas on the situation.

cheers for the replies fellas.

[JH32]

what was the car that you bought ?

[Boof]

I'd take option 4 and leave it alone

[2fardown]

I would personally confront the guy about it. Don't ask him about it on the phone or anything.

Ultimately you aren't happy with the vehicle not being genuine so I would offload it.

[Jordan]

Maybe it was a GTS with a turbo conversion?

Or probably since its from a different forum, I'd say a Silvia that was origionally a CA18 Auto which has had a Manual SR20 conversion

[nmcmahon83]

from legal studies at uni, i learnt that a lot of the NSW (and australian) legislation regarding consumer protection has been changed to support the buyer in siuations like this, however i think it is only if they trade in that business (ie. a caryard) not really for private sales.

[(B1) MR_fanny]

id say go and have a talk with the guy asap before he "spent the money already". work out some middle ground to get a grand or so back. if he's an asshole, remember you know where he lives:D:D

[Abo Bob]

Ok, this your situation.

Can you prove he advertised it as genuine? If so that is called false and misleading conduct (or something close to that) which is illegal according to the Trade Practices Act.

In this case you are legally allowed to be put in the position you were in before the transaction.

To do this:

1. write a letter of demand to the guy and make sure he gets it. (ie hand deliver or registered mail with signature) This says you want your money back within say 21 days and he can have his car back. Also that you hold him responsible for the costs incurred such as stamp duty.

Like the dodgy ****er he probably is he will ignore you or tell you where to go.

Next step court HOWEVER ; you must make sure that you mitigate your loss as best as possible or you wont get what you want. You can't sell the car to the next punter who comes along for $200 and claim the difference. If he wont buy it back then you can sell it but make sure you hold out for a similar price to what you paid for it.

Once you've done this you go to the Small Claims Tribunal and claim the difference plus costs incurred.

OR; you could keep the car, collect a great big pile of evidence including statements from people who have sold or bought one or either car recently saying how much they got for it or paid for it (whichever is relevant).

Then you go to the small claims tribunal.

BUT; if the money involved is small don't bother.

If the money is big, say $10k (and I can't remember the jurisdictional limit of the small claims tribunal sorry. It used to be $5k but I think it's gone up to 10 now) then he may get a lawyer to defend himself so be prepared.

Best bet is if you can run the case yourself.

So how much money is involved? What's the diference?

[jimmy]

i guess ill take the not bother option in the end, its too much hassle. ALTHOUGH i am gonna ask for some of the amount back since its not what he was advertising. cheers for the help guys. btw, small claims limit is 6000.

[JH32]

what was the car that you bought ?

:confused:

[WazR32GTSt]

i guess ill take the not bother option in the end, its too much hassle. ALTHOUGH i am gonna ask for some of the amount back since its not what he was advertising.  cheers for the help guys.  btw, small claims limit is 6000.

so are you going to devulge the situation? ie what car, what you got ripped off for?

i'd be great to make sure it doesn't happen to somebody else and that they know what to look out for...

[midnight]

dude tell us what car it was already....

[IOWNU]

from legal studies at uni, i learnt that a lot of the NSW (and australian) legislation regarding consumer protection has been changed to support the buyer in siuations like this, however i think it is only if they trade in that business (ie. a caryard) not really for private sales.

Yeah that's right!

Depends though whether the TPA/FTA apply, i'm not sure, does this constitute trade or commerce?

The car:

LoL..is it a Onevia that isn't a genuine onevia?

Or im guessing a CA18/SR20 conversion thing.

[The_Paladin]

if it is what it's discribed as. then what can you do? you cant change your mind.

however. say if i bought a car advertised as a GTR and it turned out to be a GTST with a twin turbo mod and a badge on the back i'd be taking that to court as a last option. depends how different it is. is it a different car? or just the same car with a transmission change etc?

[noise]

why not just tell us the real circumstances? What do you gain by being secretive?