Buying a car privately?

[Steph1]

We have seen a car advertised privately and are a little aprehensive as we have never bought a car from a private seller before. In England you can do an HPI check and have the AA look it over, is there an equivalent in France? I would be grateful for any advice.

Many thanks.

[AnOther]

Don't know about AA type inspections but any car you buy which is over 4 years old should be accompanied by a CT less than 6 months old plus of course you would want to see the service history.

For a check on finance etc. the seller should provide a certificate de non-gage which can be applied for online.

 

Due to the vices cache laws you actually have more protection as buyer in France than you would in UK where it's strictly buyer beware, roughly translated summary below.

Every

seller of a vehicle - be it a business of selling vehicles or a single

individual - is obliged under Articles 1641-1649 of the Civil Code, to

provide the buyer warranty for latent defects of the thing sold which

render it unfit for the purpose for which the buyer intends it, or that

decrease this use that the buyer would not have gained, or would have

that a lower price if he had known (Article 1641).

It is whether a defect was not apparent at the time of

sale, so that the buyer (normally attentive but not professional) could

not see at this time (Article 1642) .

[Sunday Driver]

Buyer beware certainly exists in France, the same as it does in the UK.

Whilst article 1641 deals in general with a seller's liability for vices cachés, private sellers who offer no guarantee are exempted from that liability:

Art. 1643. - Il est tenu des vices cachés, quand même il ne les aurait pas connus, à moins que, dans ce cas, il n'ait stipulé qu'il ne sera obligé à aucune garantie.

Provided the seller is a layman and was acting in good faith (ie, he was unaware of the existence of the fault at the time of sale) then by jurisprudence, the courts will accept the validity of this exemption (Cour de Cassation, civ, 3e, 25 avril 2007).

That's why private sales are 'vente en état'......[;-)]

 

[Steph1]

Thank you for the replies.

Maybe I am over reacting but the car is 15,000€ and I am frightened of parting with the money in case there is a problem and I have no come back.

[ericd]

Take a friend that knows about cars with you or rent your local garage mechanic for a couple hours.

[mint]

Eric, do you mind if I PM you about something completely different, STP?[:)]