:cry hi ppls, Well what can i say? i just bought a 1970 vw beetle with a sunroof,mags and all that but would you believe i got scammed? I bought this car from the gold coast (mermaid beach) paid $3800 for this car which was suppose to be in vgc with rwc and rego. The car turned up yesterday on the back of a truck which i paid $700 to get it to my door only to find that the car is very far from road wrthyness or beeing in very good condition. The interior is shot, no carpet on the floor, roof linning in dissary, can't open the sunroof fearing it might break, rust holes under the front drivers side gaurd and in floor, oil leaks everywhere, a thin layer of black paint over the old paint, it's a nightmare to say the very least. The rwc is invalid as it is 2 months old but the car shouldn't have passed in the first place. I have no more money left as we sold our old car to get this one, i can't work thanks to having a hurneia and i'm on a waiting list, my other half lost her job the day after we paid for the car. I don't know what to do!!!!!:cry Is there anyone out there that can help me out in my darkest hour? PLZ HELP!!!!!!!

ok rule #1 dont buy a car unless u are 100% sure of its condition, having said that all is not lost.

was any written agreement made with previous owner about condition of the car and it having roadworthy.

is the car registered? if it is and the car was sold to you with an invalid roadworthy then the previous owner has broken the law and u may be able to get your money returned via legal action.

well i got the add from the trading post and the owner sent me pics of the car. I got all the paperwork with the car with the invalid rwc and the car is registered. Do u know of anyone who could help me as i live near townsville the town i live in is home hill. If you know of anyone that can help us out my email addrress is escortpanelvan@yahoo.com.au

im not sure who u could call.

if the car was to be sold registered which is what i gather from what u are saying then the seller has broken the law selling a registered car without a valid roadworthy.

so heres your thing.

previous seller needs to fix car up and get legal roadworthy for you.

or

can give you money back.

as far as i know thesem are the legal options here.

is this a matter for the police? im not sure. department of transport maybe. DOT could at least give you some advice.

please tell me you got written receipts etc for the car?

these will help

Hi again, well i did ring the previous seller today and she told me that i'm lying about the rust and oil leaks and so forth. It took me a full day to calm down when i found out what was going on. It sounded like she wasn't going to pay back the money but get the car fixed. That means she wants me to send the car back down to her so she can get the work done but that will only cost me more money unless i get it fixed up here and she pays the bill. That is the only thing that i can think of apart from taking her to court. However did the rwc is going to be in a whole world of trouble if the department of transport finds out what he did. So do u think the car can be fixed?
I would love to keep it if it's fixable as it looks different and cool at the same time. But if you think that the car is not worth saving then it'll have to go!

anything is fixable

i dont know what the car is like and there are others on this forum with far more knowledge than me.

but the RWC is your leverage.

ring the Department of transport and ask them what they think.

well i got a bank reciept for depositing the money into her brothers account as she owed him the money. yes i did get a reciept from her now that i just looked at the paperwork she sent me.

does the receipt give any conditions of roadworthyness of the car etc? condition of RWC?

or does it just say u paid her X amount of dollars?

the reciept shows the amount and the rego number on it aswell as reciepts of the operator who supposedly did the rwc, does that help?

rego number. helps.

proves that the car was sold registered.

did he/she sign the receipt?

if its signed by the seller saying bug with rego number XXX XXX was purchased for X dollars then you are entitled to a roadworthy bug with a certificate.

yes it does have a signiture on it. How do you post pics on this and i'll send some of the car that she sent me

pics must be under 50kb

click "new reply" right hand side under this post.

theres a pic posting thing in there.

im no lawyer but to my knowledge u have a big lever here to use in getting what u deserve.

ring DOT ask them for advice regarding legaliltys of selling a registered car without rwc.

if the seller is being unreasonable take photos of the problems on the car....lots of photos and see a solicitor.

sorry but im off to bed now

ok thanks for your help. sounds like there are decent ppl out there after all. Hopefully this pic will work

It looks pretty good in the photo.

Good luck with it. It sounds like the previous owner has the responsibility of getting it fixed:vader

It looks like it is worth fixing.

hey mark, thanks that helps. see what i mean the car looked like it was in vgc did it not? Well when my other halfs brother gets his money next month i'm gunna make sure this bug gets the proper paint job it deserves as he owes us money lol

It will look great with new paint. :thumb

well it should i hope. won't be till next month but hey as long as it gets done thats all that matters. it'll be painted the same colour but done properly.

Maybe you should be chasing the person that did the RWC? If they have given a false RWC then they could get themselves into serious trouble. As for saying that the car is in VGC, this is pretty subjective ie: my definition of what is VGC could be very well different to yours. It may be that this owner did think that their car was in VGC and did think that it was in roadworthy condition when it was sold.

I know that this is probably not helpful and I do sympathise with you as we all have probably bought something a bit dodge at some stage but it really does pay to see the car before you buy. A friend of mine paid $7000 for an unsighted Celica and then paid $1500 to get it sent to Vic on a train and it was the biggest heap I have ever seen, he ended up getting rid of it a month later to the wrecker for $100.

It may also pay to get the oil leaks and stuff fixed before getting it painted especially if your on a limited budget (like most of us on here are!)

Good luck and hope all goes well. Am looking to see the progress of your new toy on this site

buyer beware. But if you bought you a car with rego and a RWC, this is not what you got. Doesn't matter what state the car is in, that's not the point. The problem is that you will need to get a lawyer to send he a notice of demand for the money, and cite that the thing you bought, is not what you received, and in such case you want your money back.

If she ignores this, then you will need to get further advice from the lawyer as to how best to proceeed with a civil action. I doubt that this is a criminal action, unless the RWC is faudulent is some way.

The rule of thumb is - if you can argue the law, then the other person can only argue the toss. The state of the car now won't help you, unless you can show that the photos you got are a mis-representation.

I strongly worded legal letter stating the law may scare the shit out of her and you might get paid out. Sound like shes a tool. The world is full of them. You waste your lifeforce arguing with an idiot - they tend to beat you with experience.

Get a lawyer to draft a letter, take the RWC and rego to the police and tell them you believe it to be fraudulent. Thats all you can do.

The down side really is, that you may get nothing. If she does not have the money and doesn't get spooked, then you will have to take her to court - the plod don't like spending money on this kind of thing - the law sucks. If you do that it will cost you money. If you win, and I'd think you would in front of a magistrate, she'll get told to pay up. Shell then say 'can't pay', and you'll have to get intallments, even if they are $10 a week. The court will accept anything just about. As soon as she misses a payment, you'll be back to chasing the money.

Talk to the lawyer, but in my experience, the court option is a waste of money and time, unless you really want the moral victory that bad.

The legal system is not set up to help normal people out. Its user pays.

The alternative ... stick it on eBay at $1 reserve and sell with all faults if any....you'll get at least some of your money back ... or parts it out ...

Sorry, all sounds gloomy - been there - learned that lesson too. It burns you up now, but don't let it send ya spakkas. You're not the first, not the last and there are plenty of arseholes out there with no moral fibre...

Well she messaged me today saying that i should get 3 quotes from panelbeaters and she'll pay for it all. Does anyone think she is genuine or not? I messaged her back saying that i wanted what she said in writing.

Get the 3 quotes and ask for the $$ BEFORE any work is started...and i wouldn't delete the message you got either..it can be used as evidence if need be.

Get the quotes in HER name and in writing. Get her to write down what she is doing - perhaps draft ift for her. Then armed with that, tell her that the thing you have bought is not what you paid for and you want your money back.

For the money you've spent, you can actually get a nice car. Get the admisssion off her though, all helps you.

If she doesn't pay the beater and painter, then of course they have a right to sell the car to pay the debt in most trading conditions I've read. So then you end up with no new debt, but no car.

Seriously, go talk to Legal Advice if you are skint, you'll get a free hour. Get a lawyer in. This bitch is laughing at you. You will just waste time....that way if she aint done what YOU want by the time you've seen the lawyer, then you can go after her....don't tell her that though....but its the way to go.

Yep...as mick h said.

In addition...u should know that you can also seek assistance from the people that issued the RWC. THEY KNOW that issuing a dodgy RWC isnt a good thing. And they stand to lose their ability to do so if you report it to DOT. They will also recognise that a car does not gather rust holes in two months. BUT, having said that. you need to make sure the rust is in a place that they could easily see it existed, and see thru, as now here in QLD, the ppl are allowed to 'poke rust' to see if it is surface or sturctural.

Friend went through this, and attacked the RWC guys first. THEY in turn went after the person with the car, on the basis that THAT person wasnt supposed to have used it as part of a sale. In the end, both partie coughed up half each for repairs to be done by reputatble groups.

So here are some things you can do.
1. Get quotes for the work to be done by reputable...and only reputable ppl. Its no use getting back yard ppl to give u a quote if u have no intention of using them. She has the right to pay a person who does the work directly. So she might end up picking one u didnt wish to use. Not bagging back yarders...just saying...get quotes & use ppl YOUR happy with.
2. Send the quotes, with a letter explaining exactly why ur doing it. Tell her she ahs 28 days to make payment, or dispute to you directly. When u go into a court battle, it is not enough to say...i sent a letter. If you dont have a 'respond by' date...your leaving it open for settlement to take place in a few months...
3. Get the letter checked over. Alot of ppl dont know that there are legal groups who work for free. The reason is...government said ppl are entitled to receive free legal advice. Doesnt mean it will always be perfect...but it shoudl be. And trust me, just because u pay for advice, that doesnt mean it will be any better. If you want to know who is available in your area, you can call ur local court, and ask them. I used to have the lists for them here in BRISSY, but i dont have them for Townsville.
4. Dont delete the message. You need to somehow show you have received it. who from etc. I have a program on my telephone at home that shows calls in as well as calls out...but this is too late for ur situation.
5. write down any conversations you'd had...date time etc..as well as who said what. this is also helpful if u need legal action.
6. DONT FORGET SMALL CLAIMS COURT. Its a pretty easy process..and its where u go to make claims for 'smaller amounts' such as a few thousand dollars.

Now, having said all that...ur prolly not as badly off as u think. But it is better if u follow the rule of 'chrome wont get u home" In otherwords...You need a working car, not a pretty one. So best to do things in this way:

Rust can be cut out. (get it to 'primer stage if ur really broke, but get it cut out asap...its what kills old cars first)
Mechanicals can be fixed. Ask who is a good VW mechanic in ur area. That is, someone who knows them well. Not necessarily the best VW mechanic.
Necessary interior items. Such as 'metal sticking out from seats'
Then go get ur road worthy!

That way the car is drivable. And can get you from A to B.

Then you go for things like a comfy interior, & a nice looking exterior. Good CD player/speakers. And make lots of vw contacts.... They can get u the best info the quickest for ur area.

And if all else fails...harass MICK H...i noticed ur both in townsville.



[ Edited on 3-9-2006 by bugeyedbabe ]

hi guys, thanks for the info, this is my first worst case senerio since buying cars. I have kept all the messages she has sent me as my mob keeps all records of messeges sent and recievied. With that rust, it's not hard to notice as it is visable if you turn the tyre. It's what i call religous as it is very holey to say the very least. There is no carpet really to speak of on the floor but first things first and thats the rust then whatever needs fixing up will be done.Apparently she is leaving for new zealend this week as her father is on his death bed but somehow i don't believe it. I know what i need though, i need a backbone otherwise ppl are gunna keep walkin all over me

its all good...trust me.

When we bought our first one...wow...the rust was so bad....they had put cardboard on the back floor so ppls didnt notice.

Butt he upseide was...most of what was okay in it was rare and original. So it became the parts car for the others....I'm now on number 4 vw...I love them as much as i ever...i've made heaps of friends...and thus...heaps of helpers!

u will too

well i hope things work out alright as i'm at the end of my teather. I was diagnosed with sever depression last year after my step father passed away 2 yrs ago from cancer and then my biological father passed away last january from emphasemia,so i've had a bit of a rough trot lately and this lil incident just made me feel worse.

beer fixes everything

to bad i don't drink

The sun will come up again tomorrow. :thumb