Ford Territory Purchased Privately - Later Found Floor Was Rusted out

jodie1980 on 21/08/2018 - 14:01
Last edited 21/08/2018 - 14:16 by 1 other user

My hubby and I purchased a 2010 Ford Territory as a private sale. The person who listed the car said it was perfect condition inside and out.

Two weeks after purchasing it we had it serviced and they told us there is some rust under the car that will need to be fixed. We took it to our local crash repairer and when they lifted the car, so we could see underneath, the whole bottom of the car had rusted away. In some places it was showing the carpet. The seller had spray painted all the bottom of the car silver so we were unable to see the rust.

So to cut a long story short, the wrecker had to purchase a whole new body and cut the floor out and replace it. The inside of the car has been gutted and it is costing a fortune.

I’m just after some advice should I try and sue the person who sold me the car?
Do I have a case if I was to take him to court?

I’m looking for some positive responses I know we were in the wrong for purchasing the car this way. And we’re out of pocket $1,000’s of dollars. I’d really love it if anyone was a lawyer and would let me know if anything could be done.

Automotive

Comments

    • BangkokBreakfast on 22/08/2018 - 18:47
      +2

      Yeah, ridiculous

    • Tuftsdude on 22/08/2018 - 20:53

      Very, it'll never sell at that price.

    • TailsK on 23/08/2018 - 07:18
      +3

      Maybe it's in perfect condition.

      • Rhubarb Jones on 23/08/2018 - 07:59
        +7

        Only used on weekends, to take boat to boat ramp.

        • bdl on 24/08/2018 - 09:05

          "Has inbuilt feet air conditioning"

        • HighAndDry on 24/08/2018 - 13:17

          Proven capability as a water-craft.

      • h4zey on 24/08/2018 - 15:05

        definitely no rust on that one

    • SupeNintendoChalmers on 23/08/2018 - 13:10

      Depends on model I suppose, if its a Ghia probably close to 10K, but more likely 8K

  • ravonda on 22/08/2018 - 17:40

    The most obvious solution - bikies.

    • Neptunesblood on 23/08/2018 - 15:04
      +1

      Hilarious, did you come up with this yourself.

      • ravonda on 24/08/2018 - 00:52
        +1

        No, I didn't. Did you?

  • Ken1977 on 22/08/2018 - 19:20
    +2

    Territory's aren't as bad as everyone is saying. They are as common as bums, so parts are cheap, They're petty reliable. All mechanics have fixed every problem with them before so there's no surprises and can even quote you over the phone. Not great on fuel, I average 13.5 lt/100km, but very practical and very comfortable. Also make a great tow car.

    • brendanm on 22/08/2018 - 19:29
      +9

      They are great if you love replacing ball joints, suspensions bushes, suspension rose joints and diff bushes. Also power steering hoses. Oh and transmissions when they get water in the. And the window switches and regulators. And the interiors that fall apart when you look at them. Apart from that they are great.

    • Randxyz123 on 23/08/2018 - 11:00
      +1

      I drove my mates and it was sluggish and uncomfortable to drive.

      They are terrible cars. I don’t know why people recommended them. Yeah they’re cheap but there’s no point saving $5000 on a car when it needs $7000 worth of repairs.

  • [Deactivated] on 22/08/2018 - 19:45
    -1

    gg ez

  • DiscoJango on 22/08/2018 - 21:44

    im interested to know how a car thats not that old, could get so badly rusted

    unless it spent its life driving around salt water beaches

  • bmerigan on 22/08/2018 - 21:49
    -1

    A car needs to pass a roadworthy inspection to be sold. Rust like that would not pass.
    You must have bought it without rego and roadworthy check then? I think this is your own problem.

    To add to this, if it DID come with a roadworthy then it is dodgy and you shoild have a word with the tester, I expect they could lose their license.

    • GregMonarch on 22/08/2018 - 23:46
      -1

      In NSW the only inspection is at yearly rego time.

  • FittyFitty on 22/08/2018 - 22:55

    Rule of thumb, do not buy used cars from QLD…

  • redslert on 22/08/2018 - 23:05
    +4

    LifeProTips.
    Never buy a car from someone who tows a boat.

  • w3b3d1g1 on 22/08/2018 - 23:23

    Should've used PayPal ;)

  • Dr Techno on 23/08/2018 - 03:37
    +2

    Better call Saul!

  • Geryatric on 23/08/2018 - 06:41
    +1

    You bought a used car and discovered it had been used?

  • pformag on 23/08/2018 - 10:38
    -5

    respray the rust, and sell it to another person ;)

  • sputnik on 23/08/2018 - 11:16
    +1

    If you asked if there were any issues with the car and specifically rust, which they answered in the negating, you could have a case. IF (emphasis) you could prove they knew about it themselves.

    Buyer beware.

  • Lexan on 23/08/2018 - 13:20

    I once bought a civic from a middle East owner. A week later I found out there was a problem when driving on freeway. Steering wheel kept vibrating. Then I found out the problem through car history. The owner had an accident which he lied to me. I went to his house and he happened to be washing his new Cr-v. He kept ignoring me when I was talking to him. I went to his nearby RWC mechanic, he ignored me too. I realised they could be friends. They knew they were doing something dodgy.
    I ended up fixing the wheel with my own cost. This was 10years ago.
    These days law should be more tougher on rwc mechanic or else they will put every new owner at risk.

    • Dr Techno on 24/08/2018 - 12:08

      apparently ppl middle east type ppl are well connected in the industry to get dodgy cheap work done. I inspected a repaired write off, didn't realise it until drill down on a few questions. Then owner kept on mentioning cash only, our kind of ppl only deal with cash. Owner from middle east.

    • [Deactivated] on 24/08/2018 - 14:55

      Must've been a fully sick car.

  • misterpotatomato on 23/08/2018 - 14:32

    Hang on a second, cars being sold second hand should be sold with a RWC (road worthy certificate). Who did the roadie? Wouldn't that business be liable?

    I bought a car through private sale about 6 years ago now, seller advised it was perfect with brand new tyres. I bought it without RWC (dumb! dumb dumb) and then tried to get a RWC and they told me the tyres were bald on the inside. Told seller and they went halfs with me on new tyres.

    It was a good outcome - have you tried asking the seller about it? Maybe you will get lucky.

  • UFO on 23/08/2018 - 14:36

    Sue them for what?

    It's a private car sale. They could tell you it has magical wings that lift the car over peak hour traffic automatically so you never get stuck in traffic ever again… and even then, you can't sue them!

    It is 100% up to any buyer to complete due diligence before purchasing a used car. You can't rely on anything a private seller says and its "as is" with no warranties.

    With a private sale, it's BUYER BEWARE. Always. You've learned an expensive lesson, and there is not a court in the land that will allow your argument.

    • unqualified89 on 23/08/2018 - 14:51
      -4

      Yeah that's not true. A sale requires a RWC which assesses and reports on the condition of car. The OP's description would not pass a genuine RWC, and therefore grounds for recourse are legitimate.

      As an aside, if it is formally advertised (ie in writing) with blatant lies then I'd be going to VCAT. That assumes of course that these things would not reasonably be expected to be checked prior to the purchase eg 'the car has wings' or the car has a really good cd player when you would easily see by sitting in the car that it did not have a cd player etc. A floor of rust wouldn't reasonably be expected to be checked by OP, because they were given an RWC saying that the condition of the floor was good.

      • UFO on 23/08/2018 - 18:22
        +1

        You're assuming OP is in Victoria.

        In other states, a RWC is NOT required for sale. On transfer of registration yes… but its not a condition of sale.

        I'm not sure what VCAT would do for you either?
        Otherwise every single ad on Gumtree would end up in court… which isn't the case.

        A RETAILER can't blatantly lie. A private seller can describe a car any way they like, and its up to the buyer to satisfy themselves of those claims.

        There are no warranties or avenues of restitution on private sales like this.

  • unqualified89 on 23/08/2018 - 14:41

    What state are you in? Vic updated the RWC process a few years ago to require checklists and photos of the items which reduces a lot of the dodgyness. I'd be going straight to the mechanic who did the roadworthy

  • gstfree on 23/08/2018 - 20:05

    Usually private sale is "as is". We should check carefully before purchase. My terms are:

    1. RWC at seller's cost at my nominated service central.

    2. Pay additional $70 to lift up the car and get it inspected.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/08/2018 - 21:04

    Perfect rust condition.

  • Hardlyworkin on 23/08/2018 - 23:16

    I think you have 2 chances of seeing any money…..

    But on the bright side your post is popular so you are helping us all not make the same mistakes. I'll send you a cheque in the mail as a thank you.

  • TheMindsetTraveller on 24/08/2018 - 11:00
    +1

    Caveator Emptor

  • theclearout on 24/08/2018 - 11:20
    +2

    Hi jodie1980, whilst a lot of comments are quoting caveat emptor it is not always that black and white. You may well have a case against the vendor if they took deliberate action to hide or camouflage defects in such a way that they would not be seen by a purchaser, whilst at the same time suggesting that the item was in perfect/excellent condition. As this is a car though, someone, at some stage would have needed to sign-off a RWC before the car could be registered. If the vendor provided the RWC then you are probably better off chasing the company/mechanic that provided the RWC; if you purchased the car without a RWC and you arranged one yourself then it should have been picked up at that point.
    Cases against vendors deliberately covering up defects are becoming more common, however I suspect you will need to weigh up the potential cost of suing the vendor and the actual chance of recovering compensation should you be successful vs repairing or disposing of the Territory and moving on (please don't read 'moving on' as harsh).

    • brendanm on 24/08/2018 - 15:29

      How do you propose that she prove it was the previous owner who painted it? Perhaps it was the one before. Or the one before that. Or the one before that.

  • Wardaddy on 24/08/2018 - 14:46

    Caveat Emptor.

  • hawkeye on 24/08/2018 - 15:07
    +1

    Pull down the sun blinder you might find a fish from the boat ramp incident.

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 24/08/2018 - 15:28

    You brought a car private sale without doing a roadworthy check!?

    I mean fair enough if you purchased it off a dealership you might have some sort of warranty with it but from a private sale and with no checks i hate to say it but there isnt anything you can do but learn a lesson that being too tight can cost you.

  • TheOneWhoKnocks on 24/08/2018 - 20:49
    +3

    Only one reply from the OP. At least update the situation?

    EDIT: Looking at a previous forum post the OP fails to update anyone

  • [Deactivated] on 25/08/2018 - 06:52

    Forget about it op and learn from this experience. Lessons are 1) if you buy second hand, you 'may' also buying trouble as many cars run into problems and owners want to get rid of them 2) if you have to buy second hand then you have to do through inspection+test drive for more than 30 min (until the car gets hot)

    You'll forget about the whole thing after a while and probably would appreciate the freedom that you bought by not going after that guy (court cases are loooong, stressful, uncertain, and can be expensive).

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join