Real-life MMD: Should I keep schtum about car problems when I flog it?

Ashagill

Ah, having read the other posts, I think perhaps I might take it to another garage man and have it checked out. So perhaps having the work done first is a bit hasty.
Perhaps just tell all to your friend, and maybe he'll want it anyway, or reach a compromise. If he doesn't, then maybe you could sell it to someone you don't know.

pennypinchUK

Some friend you are, if you're even considering selling a faulty car to them. Shame on you for even thinking about it.

Augustus_the_Strong

Yes, obviously you should mention it to your friend. If you want to get the full price for it, sell it to a stranger and it's up to them to check/worry.

This is yet another of the 'can I get away with shafting my friend to make a bit of extra money?' type dilemmas. But I suppose people still have a tiny spark of conscience, or they wouldn't be asking the question.

Simon_Radcliffe

Don't be a nobber.

a16svm

Never sell Cars to Friends! Cars Brake Fact! and your friend will tell you that the car is broken down, whether you knew before or not and you will feel guilty. If you do a good enough advert and sell on ebay, the car will reach market value any way, then it is for them to decide after inspecting if the car is !!! descibed. :money:

daveeeeed

a16svm wrote: »

Cars Brake Fact!

In fact that is what they are designed to do!

Some cars also break

Fujiko

To knowingly sell a faulty car to anyone is pretty disgraceful, but to even think about selling it to a friend is a hundred times worse. You have a very distorted view of friendship. How would you feel about one of your friends who did the same to you?

Old_Tone

Depends entirely on whether you want to keep your friendship !!

Fluff15

If selling to a friend, I would get a second opinion of another mechanic first - I don't see why the mechanic has flagged it up when it wasn't even serious enough to be an advisory in the first place. Nor do I see why it would cost thousands, if he's spotted it early there's probably a much cheaper preventative measure he can take now? Everything will need doing eventually, it just depends on how long you want to keep the car and how much money you're willing to put in to it!

However, I would still tell the friend about it beforehand. He might not want it any more but chances are if he's still interested, he'll be pleased you've told him as he knows exactly what to expect in the future and what it might cost.

If he says no thank you, and you have to sell it privately, I wouldn't tell the buyer if it had any issues at this stage.

daveeeeed

Fujiko wrote: »

To knowingly sell a faulty car to anyone is pretty disgraceful, but to even think about selling it to a friend is a hundred times worse. You have a very distorted view of friendship. How would you feel about one of your friends who did the same to you?

A lot of you are missing the point. The car is not faulty - it is used. Used cars have worn parts, hence the market value of only £3000. Worn parts will need replacing eventually. In this case the OP knows which parts are probably the most worn and in need of replacement. There is a balance of risk here - depending on numerous factors (driving style, service history to name but two) the part will need replacing sooner or later but at the moment it is not broken. It is also possible that another part will break/need replacing before the one with the potential advisory. Declare it to your friend, offer him a discount/second opinion and leave it up to him. What I would not do is knock £1000 off, because the work doesn't need doing yet (and because it might be possible to do the work for less anyway).