What to do?

[VWB52000]

A few months ago I joined this forum after buying a 2000 Passat B5 1.8 Petrol for 500.00 from a trade seller via the AutoTrader website.

Are you already shaking your head? Haha.

From the beginning I had a really bad feeling about the trade seller. In hindsight I can now see he was using extremely aggressive sales tactics, but the car seemed alright for the 500 and it was not like I was spending 10k so it seemed like a risk worth taking.

At first glance it's a nice clean car and the engine seems really good so far. I've always had a soft spot for these Passats, I just really like the design, especially the interior, the red and blue lights in my opinion just look awesome.

On first viewing there were a few issues with the car, that he agreed to get fixed.

1. Broken indicator light.
2. Some windows not working.
3. Wing mirror controls not working.
4. ABS brake warning light.

On the second viewing everything seemed to have been fixed. So I ignored my concerns about the geezer selling it I completed the purchase.

Within a 3-4 days I had to buy a new battery from Halfords, taking the cost to 600.00.

One night after having the car for a few more days I was parking it somewhere and I noticed in my rear view mirror that the brake lights didn't illuminate until the brake pedal was pressed a little too far down for my liking. At this point I had also started to notice that the brakes were not as responsive as I would like them to be.

The next day I asked a friend to follow me around the block and her feedback informed me that the brake lights were not always illuminating. I then took the car to a quiet country road nearby and tried a couple of emergency brake tests from about 40 mph. I noticed that the brakes were not crunching under my feet like I would expect to feel with ABS, but having never driven a B5 before I didn't know for sure if this was normal or not. However at the end of each emergency braking the car skidded and spun a little, leaving me pointing about 20 degrees to the left.

For the next few days I drove it with a lot more caution, leaving a lot of extra stopping distance between me and the car in front.

Then one night I noticed that a little bit of light seemed to be leaking from the side of the ABS warning light.

I was becoming more and more concerned. So I took it to a small VW-specialist garage near my work for a pre-MOT and told the guy at the garage about the ABS light and asked him to pay extra attention to it.

When I picked up the the car the mechanic had a look on his face as if he was going to tell me I had a month to live. He explained that ABS warning light had been covered up to hide the light and the car was unfit to drive. He made it very clear how dire the situation was. He explained that the trade seller had committed a crime by doctoring the warning light and selling me a vehicle unfit to be on the road. He happily put it all in writing for me. He said I should contact the guy I purchased the car from, inform his of my findings, threaten to report him to the police, demand a refund/return and, if he had any sense he would comply and take the car back.

I have only driven it once since. A Vauxhall mechanic I have known for a few years who services and MOT's my main car says I should not drive it because, not knowing whats wrong with the brakes, anything can happen, like a brake can lock suddenly and well the story would have a very sad ending.

I contacted the police who said they could do nothing about it, it was a civil matter and I should contact trading standards. I then contacted the citizens advice bureau, explained everything to them and they created a case number for me to give for follow up calls. Each time I called them I would get a slightly different, or different advice for how I can proceed. They told me they have contacted trading standards and reported the trade seller on my behalf and that I should go through the process of getting a refund.

I decided to follow the advice of the citizens advice bureau. After sending several recorded and tracked letters to the trade seller, all of which were returned to me undelivered, they said I should send one last letter, even if it would not be delivered, then start court proceedings. I did so.

While this was going on a very close elderly relative of mine wasn't feeling very well. A few days after sending the last letter, she was taken to hospital in an ambulance. After three operations in as many days her condition didn't improve and I was fearing the worst. Every day I would pick up some close family members and visit her in the hospital. At this point the Passat was the very least of my worries. After another operation her condition improved dramatically, and I could breath a small sigh of relief. She remained in hospital for the next 5 weeks slowly improving, and was released to go home about 3 weeks ago. I took some time off work and have been living with her since to take care of her, as her husband passed away a few years ago and there's really no one else. I returned to work a week ago.

The Passat is still sitting outside my house, taxed and insured and with a 3/4 tank of fuel. The battery has now gone dead and the MOT is up in September. At night when it's quiet I think I can hear it calling me, laughing at me and my naivety.

I don't need anyone to tell me that I was a fool buying it. I know I got myself into this position. In my earlier posts in this forum I was too embarrassed to tell my story, but in reality I know there are far worse car buying stories out there.

So what should I do next, even if I get the ABS fixed, with the ABS warning light covered up it will fail the MOT.

In the last month two people have appeared on my doorstep out of the blue inquiring about the car and offering to take of off my hands. The last one offered me 150.00 for it. I politely declined. A part of me wonders if the geezer who sold me the car has sent them round to buy it back so he can repeat the con with another sucker - hey it's not a completely unthinkable possibility.

I'm no mechanic but I'm a relatively handy person and DIYer who has been taking apart, fixing and rebuilding computers since I was a kid. I could make a project out of it. Yeah I know a Passat is not a desktop computer, but I think I would enjoy working on it. I just don't want to end up wasting a fortune on it. I would just like to get it roadworthy, past the MOT and enjoy it for another year if possible.

I could start by seeing if I can get into the instrument cluster to remove whatever is covering up the ABS warning light. If I succeed I could see if whatever is causing the warning can be fixed. After researching it I think I can have a go at getting the cluster out, maybe.

Or I could scrap it, or auction it on ebay for parts, or park it outside the dealers from where I got it and torch it. Just kidding. Maybe I should just sell it to the next person who randomly knocks on my door asking about it.

The mechanic who services my other car has suggested I take it to one of the derby races he goes to and have a much fun as possible wrecking it. A tempting idea.

What do you guys think I should do?

Yeah you want my parts don't you!

a7cdb81d33db4fd98680043df3a767d5.jpg