As Ben is no longer replying to any correspondance/phone calls, I have no choice but to post this.
I exchaged cars with Ben, but was royally duped, and now have a car that is totally undrivable, and am faced with a
£1700 repair bill, whilst Ben has my pristene Integra.
It's a real shame that Ben couldn't have been more honest in his description of the car, in that it's suffering from chronic piston slap.
The sale price of
£7500 would never have been realistically reached, had anyone known about this.
We met to exchange cars at a service station just outside Birmingham, last weekend.
I arrived shortly after Ben.
After looking at the MR2, and showing Ben around my Integra, I asked if he would like to go for a test drive.
He said
"No", and that if the cars had been driven this far, there would be no problem with them.
I had no reason to disbelieve Ben, and obviously had every confidence in my Integra, as it was a real mint example that had been very well looked after.
I had heard nice things about Ben, and I had researched the car well before contemplating exchanging with him.
We signed log books, and shook on the deal.
Ben then jumped into the Integra, and drove off very quickly indeed.
I finished packing what things I'd had in the Integra into the MR2, and drove out of the car park.
I'd been driving less than a mile before I noticed a rattle coming from the engine.
It happened at low rpm, and under load.
The knock bar on the Power FC Commander read 100!!!!
I now had no way of ringing Ben to bring my car back, as my mobile phone is out of order, and will only recieve calls.
I tried ringing his mobile from a call box, but got no reply, so I had no other option but to drive the car home, and try and call him from there.
The car seemed to drive fine at motorway cruising speeds, and showed no sign of the rattle.
It was only under load that the noise appeared.
This would explain the lack of rattle when I started the engine and listened to it at the service station.
It has obviously got a lot worse since, and now sounds more akin to a diesel Transit than a 300+ bhp sports car.
Ben refused to answer his phone, and reply to any PM's/emails I sent.
Instead, he got his MOTHER to ring me and try to fob me off with excuses.
I have since had several emails and phone conversations with Ben's mother Gina, and would like to say that whilst I she seems to be a very nice person
(and I can even understand her trying to defend her son), she should never have been put in this position in the first place.
I have since had an email from Peter Gidden, saying that the car was indeed suffering from quite bad piston slap when he replaced the crankshaft a few WEEKS ago.
I, in no way wanted this to become a legal matter, but have been left with no other choice but to proceed with a law suit against Ben/Ben's mother, to try and recoup the cost of repairing the car.
I have offered to swap back, whilst the car is being repaired, and would have even tried to contribute to the cost of the repair, but was met with such a negative attitude from both parties, I am now more determined than ever to recoup the full cost, which Peter Gidden has quoted at around
£1700.
I can only say that I have been both shocked, and appaled by Ben's actions.
Not only did he decieve me, but he has acted in such a cowardly manner, using his mother as a shield from any responsibility he may have regarding this situation.
He is a grown man, with children, and yet he still seems to use his mother to fight his battles.
My appologies if this has burst anyone's bubble regarding Ben as a respected member of this community, but it just goes to show, you can't judge a book by it's cover.
I await Ben's reply.
Regards,
Glen Barnett
(EarL).
