Who do you think should pay?

swingaloo2

 Can I ask for opinions please, bit of a family dispute here, personally I think they should just go halves but-
Person A is selling an item and Person B  is interested in buying it.
A names his price and B is happy with it.
Then A gets offered £200 more from someone else so B agrees to match the other offers and pays for the item.
The day before handing over the item A breaks a part on the item and so says he will get a new part and replace it as it was not broken when B agreed to buy.
So A gets the part which costs almost £80  only to find out that it does not fit and on further investigation it turns out that the part has been upgraded and is no longer compatable with another part of the item. Apparently it means that 3 parts are needed to rectify the issue and the cost is around £250.
So A says he is willing to pay the £80 (grudgingly) but is not willing to replace all 3 parts at his expense and has taken it forgranted that B will be coughing up the difference.
B says that as the item was not damaged when he agreed to buy he s not willing to pay out £170 especially  as he has already paid 200 more than he was originally offered the item for.
Who should cover the cost ?

burlingtonfl6

When A got offered £200 more they should have stood by their word and done the deal for the original price. 

swingaloo2

burlingtonfl6 said:

When A got offered £200 more they should have stood by their word and done the deal for the original price. 

I must admit that was my thought. It transpired that he thought he would get more selling privately than as a trade in but then got offered more as a trade in so wanted the price matched.

warby68

If they'd already 'shaken hands' A should not have entertained the higher offer.
If it got broken before the sale completed, the deal should effectively be off. A should refund B.
Then either a new price in its broken condition or A pays to fix it and sells it again. If price now higher B can refuse or accept.
A seems to be giving B a raw deal.
Honestly can't see the case for going halves - B bought it in good faith including the £200 extra. A had the accident and couldn't supply the item in the condition paid for.

wannabe_a_saver

What's the item worth?  That will make a difference as to what proportion of the value these numbers represent.

Is it a car?

swingaloo2

Yes its a vehicle. B accepted the higher price as he really wanted the car and thought it a fair deal.
A said 3800 but then was offered 4000 at trade in against new vehicle so price paid was £4000.
A said he would buy new part as part not broken when deal done. Too late to call the deal off as tax and insurance already sorted and new owner docs sent off. 
A was ok with buying part till it transpired it meant replacing other parts as well due to the part having been modified.

naedanger

'A' should cover the cost in my view. (That is A should supply the item to B in the condition it was sold and for the agreed price.)

However if it is a family matter (and probably in practice even if it wasn't), then it really just comes down to what is negotiated between them.

74jax

If I purchased a car from a dealer or family in working condition, paid for the item and then collected the car and it didn't work because the dealer had broken something on it, there's no way I would be paying to fix it. 

Savvy_Sue

With the 'right' figures given, it seems even more reasonable that A should pay to fix it. He's still better off than under the original  offer, maybe someone other than B should point that out to him!

wannabe_a_saver

Savvy_Sue said:

With the 'right' figures given, it seems even more reasonable that A should pay to fix it. He's still better off than under the original  offer, maybe someone other than B should point that out to him!

I agree, especially seeing as in the OP it says A caused the damage.  these numbers are quite small compared to the value of the car. 

Any damage that occurs before the car is handed over - seller sorts or knocks off the price
Any damage that occurs after the car is handed over - buyer sorts, that's life with second hand cars!

Pollycat

Person A is not a very nice person.

Person B should pay the agreed £4000 and Person A should foot the bill for the part he/her broke.

Including the £80 wasted for not buying the right part.