Sold a car and now the head gasket has gone

justcat

Hi everyone,
I sold a car on Friday (Skoda Fabia with just over 100k on the clock) and today I had a call from the buyer that the head gasket has gone and according to the garage it has been gone for a while.
The woman bought it at £200 less than asking price because she was concerned about the mileage.
I spent over £400 getting the water pump replaced and cam belt and getting it checked over. It then had it's MOT done and was driven from there to my boyfriend's parents house (they have a big driveway).
Anyway, the woman has taken it to the garage and has been told that the head gasket has gone and to fix it would cost over £600 and if it has a crack in it the car would have to be scrapped.

Where do I stand as a private seller? I didn't know of any head gasket issues as the garage didn't find an issue with it although they possibly didn't check for that specific issue. As far as I was concerned, the car was roadworthy and in a working condition.

HELP!

Cat

Dave101t

sold as seen. forget it!

Curly

Dave101t wrote: »

sold as seen. forget it!

thats it they dont have a leg to stand on

justcat

Dave101t wrote: »

sold as seen. forget it!

Haha - I like that answer! But as it was so recently does she have anything to go on?

Anihilator

There only recourse would be if you had mislead them about the condition of the sale or had acted in a manner to conceal the faults.

I hope you didnt describe it as excellent condition or the likes.

justcat

I just said it's a good runner

Anihilator

justcat wrote: »

I just said it's a good runner

Which it clearly wasnt if the head gasket was blown.

Do not make statements like this about cars. If their mechanic comes back and states the gasket had been blown for some time then you are in a bit of a situation as they can state you lied.

Imo If I was you I would be looking to come to a deal on paying part of the fees for repair or similar.

Dave101t

it ran when they handed over the cash and drove away didnt it?
legally they have no recourse, they dont even have a glimmer of a chance of a possibility so really, dont worry about it.

justcat

It was a good runner when I sold it. I told her about all of the problems it had and what we did to fix it. I'm getting very paranoid about this now as I am not working so I don't have the money to reimburse her.

Keith

When they checked the oil and coolant before purchasing the vehicle did they find anything which pointed to a HGF?

If they didn't, then they had a chance to inspect the vehicle and failed to do so.

Tell them to sod off, it's sold as seen.

maninthestreet

Caveat Emptor applies - did the buyer take it for a test drive, did they get the car inspected by a mechanic before the bought it?