Campervan purchase dissapointment

Hi Melody. If this was a private sale (and it seems it is) there really is little you can do. An expensive lesson to learn.

You simply MUST do your due diligence before purchasing a vehicle from a private seller.

It's going to come down to the advertisement text. If that said something like "no rust" or "minimal rust" then you MIGHT have something to run with.

That leads to another lesson. Always copy the text, photos, Q&A when you purchase a vehicle. If it is a classified advertisement (like this sale was) it's even more important. All this information disappears immediately when the seller withdraws it. If it is an auction the text remains but photos, prices, Q&A goes after 45 days. I have a feeling that even Trade Me can't get the details back for classified ads. But nothing to stop you asking them.

Unless you can come to some agreement with the seller by appealing to their moral compass you are probably pretty much out of luck here I'm afraid.

Kia Ora Cheryl,

Sorry to read your news regarding that purchase,

Unfortunately as your purchase was through a Classified Ad TM don't hold any info' on the system - classified's are similar to running an Ad in the newspaper, they are withdrawn post selling and gone!

It may be worth checking your Email communications with this Seller if clear questions were asked and answered which may go toward making your claim. - All the Best with this - Cheers.

I would still ask trade me if anything can be done, just in case!

Couldn't agree more with Callum. It's a hard lesson to learn but unless you get a pre-inspection check done you simply don't know what you're buying.

Case in point - a bookseller I know quite well - had a couple of wines one night and then bought a Ford Cabriolet went up and collected it from the Waitakere Ranges, drove it back home to Hamilton. Vendor assured me it was in good condition, he'd done everything that needed doing. Found out a while later that it had a petrol leak - leaking onto the manifold and numerous other problems. Cost her a fortune I believe. She no longer buys vehicles privately off Trade Me and wine is off the list too. :)

Due diligence is a must. However, have you sought a second opinion? From personal experience with classic cars vtnz do have a policy of removing older vehicles from the road. Even though you have failed a warrant, a good garage specializing in older vehicles might be worth a look. Just to confirm what you have been told.

Looking back there is already been a conversation about this issue in the past. Expired classified listing – Help - Trade Me - however, I have tried the methods outlined here, and they won't work in your case, so your options are quite slim.

Of course, I'd still msg trade me using the live chat function just on the off chance there's something they can do, but this doesn't seem likely.

You're speaking to a lawyer which is good - perusing legal action is probably your only step as you won't get any help from Trade me.

Thank you for your replies.