Steph1 Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 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.Everyseller of a vehicle - be it a business of selling vehicles or a singleindividual - is obliged under Articles 1641-1649 of the Civil Code, toprovide the buyer warranty for latent defects of the thing sold whichrender it unfit for the purpose for which the buyer intends it, or thatdecrease this use that the buyer would not have gained, or would havethat a lower price if he had known (Article 1641). It is whether a defect was not apparent at the time ofsale, so that the buyer (normally attentive but not professional) couldnot see at this time (Article 1642) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunday Driver Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 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'......[;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph1 Posted August 23, 2010 Author Share Posted August 23, 2010 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericd Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 Take a friend that knows about cars with you or rent your local garage mechanic for a couple hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 Eric, do you mind if I PM you about something completely different, STP?[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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