Hi All
Just hoping someone can give me some advice on whether it would be worthwhile pursuing a seller of a private car who has clearly been involved in fraudulently hiding major rust issues on a vehicle that I purchased in March 2021.
I was looking to purchase a classic Australian vehicle for a while when one that I was very interested in became available on a well known online broker service ( I am not implying that the brokering site had any knowledge of the fraud or issues with the car ). The advert for the vehicle ( which can still be clearly viewed online and be directly identified as the vehicle purchased ) provided significant detail including a very high number of photos of the exterior, interior and engine etc, among the detail it clearly stated that the vehicle was stripped to bare metal and was rust free and and repainted only a few months prior. After discussing the vehicle with the broker I was given the number and details of the seller and further discussed all facets of the vehicle with him. The vehicle was located around 2000 kms from where I reside so we organised a video call so that I could have a better viewing of the vehicle and discuss further, following that I decided to purchase the vehicle as it was exactly what I was looking for and they do not come on the market too often, without going into specific detail the purchase price was in excess of $100,000. I organised to have the vehicle shipped to me and upon arrival everything was as described and I was more than happy.
In early 2022 I noticed a small crack appear in the paintwork at the bottom of the c pillar ( the pillar between the rear door window and the rear windscreen ) which was a concern considering the paintwork was only about 12 months old so I initially called the seller and told him about it and even sent him a photo of the cracked paint, he claimed not to know why that would happen and provided me the name of the business who completed the body and paint restoration work, I called and spoke to the owner of the business who confirmed that upon stripping the car there had very little rust and that any found was removed and repaired properly prior to being repainted so I felt reassured and decided to find a local panel beater to undertake the repairs.
I found a suitable vehicle restorer in my area and initially they thought that the crack was just caused by some poor finishing in the roof channels which had allowed moisture to get under the paint and that besides matching the paint it was unlikely to be a major job. Upon stripping it back we discussed the best overall solution would be to cut out the existing sheet metal and fabricating a new replacement piece to ensure it wouldn’t be an issue again. After the removal of the existing sheet metal it became obvious that major rust issues had been hidden and covered over with new sheet metal and most significantly even the structural steel in the c pillar was almost rusted through reducing the whole structural integrity and safety of the vehicle particularly in the event of an accident.
A significant amount of effort had gone into the body work to hide the fact the these major and dangerous rust issues were present and even with a major inspection by a qualified vehicle inspector or qualified panel beater were unlikely to be evident without removing the sheet metal.
Any advice or information that anyone can provide most appreciated, apologies for the drawn out message but wanted to provide as much background as possible. Would I be a better than fair chance of proving deliberate fraudulent action by the seller (and also the vehicle restoration business ) and being successful in following this course of action? Remembering also the we both live in different states ( not sure if the makes any difference or not.)
Thank you in advance
Just hoping someone can give me some advice on whether it would be worthwhile pursuing a seller of a private car who has clearly been involved in fraudulently hiding major rust issues on a vehicle that I purchased in March 2021.
I was looking to purchase a classic Australian vehicle for a while when one that I was very interested in became available on a well known online broker service ( I am not implying that the brokering site had any knowledge of the fraud or issues with the car ). The advert for the vehicle ( which can still be clearly viewed online and be directly identified as the vehicle purchased ) provided significant detail including a very high number of photos of the exterior, interior and engine etc, among the detail it clearly stated that the vehicle was stripped to bare metal and was rust free and and repainted only a few months prior. After discussing the vehicle with the broker I was given the number and details of the seller and further discussed all facets of the vehicle with him. The vehicle was located around 2000 kms from where I reside so we organised a video call so that I could have a better viewing of the vehicle and discuss further, following that I decided to purchase the vehicle as it was exactly what I was looking for and they do not come on the market too often, without going into specific detail the purchase price was in excess of $100,000. I organised to have the vehicle shipped to me and upon arrival everything was as described and I was more than happy.
In early 2022 I noticed a small crack appear in the paintwork at the bottom of the c pillar ( the pillar between the rear door window and the rear windscreen ) which was a concern considering the paintwork was only about 12 months old so I initially called the seller and told him about it and even sent him a photo of the cracked paint, he claimed not to know why that would happen and provided me the name of the business who completed the body and paint restoration work, I called and spoke to the owner of the business who confirmed that upon stripping the car there had very little rust and that any found was removed and repaired properly prior to being repainted so I felt reassured and decided to find a local panel beater to undertake the repairs.
I found a suitable vehicle restorer in my area and initially they thought that the crack was just caused by some poor finishing in the roof channels which had allowed moisture to get under the paint and that besides matching the paint it was unlikely to be a major job. Upon stripping it back we discussed the best overall solution would be to cut out the existing sheet metal and fabricating a new replacement piece to ensure it wouldn’t be an issue again. After the removal of the existing sheet metal it became obvious that major rust issues had been hidden and covered over with new sheet metal and most significantly even the structural steel in the c pillar was almost rusted through reducing the whole structural integrity and safety of the vehicle particularly in the event of an accident.
A significant amount of effort had gone into the body work to hide the fact the these major and dangerous rust issues were present and even with a major inspection by a qualified vehicle inspector or qualified panel beater were unlikely to be evident without removing the sheet metal.
Any advice or information that anyone can provide most appreciated, apologies for the drawn out message but wanted to provide as much background as possible. Would I be a better than fair chance of proving deliberate fraudulent action by the seller (and also the vehicle restoration business ) and being successful in following this course of action? Remembering also the we both live in different states ( not sure if the makes any difference or not.)
Thank you in advance
