sold a car.... it blew up!!!

the_big_fact_hunt

I have just sold my 4x4 (an old H reg), the buyer came and had a look, didnt test drive it, or have it inspected, just ran the engine, looked round it, then gave me a deposit for his road tax. It was collected on the monday evening, and yesterday afternoon (6 days later) he called me saying that the engine was shot. He says the head and gasket had failed before he bought it, and the vehicle had been in the garage from the day after he bought it.
He claims that a mechanic has told him that it would not just fail. The buyer replaced the rad cap as he says it was losing water through the cap, and then it built up pressure and blew the hoses, and the engine is probably cracked.
When i sold it i told him the heater was not much good, i had tried flushing the engine and rad out with a hose, and had removed the thermostat to ensure water flow, this was explained to him when he came to view, i think it needed bleeding out, or possibly at the extreme a new heater His mechanic reckons i have done this to hide something (not true).
Facts:
I sold the 4x4 because it was simply not being used.
I had stopped looking into its problems because the tax had run out and it was parked up on somebody elses drive a mile away.
I had refused to sell it to a previous caller for £100 less as i wanted my price for it.
It drove away quite happily with no obvious problems.
Unknowns:
How far it has since been driven.
How hard it has been driven.
What has been done to it mechanically.

I sold the vehicle in good faith as it was running fine when i last used it in january, and it has given us no trouble over the 3 years we have had it. if it had been faulty, and i was trying to be crooked i would have ripped the first guys hand off to get rid and not held out for the right price.
He seems to think i will just cough up money for his repair, which i understand and do sympathise with him, but i dont see why i should lose out to fund his repair, (i have already lost about 60% of the original purchase cost) it was a cheap motor anyway.
There are new cylinder heads for £155 and i was considering offering him £100 towards it purely in goodwill as thats how much i held out for, but he thinks i should help with the entire bill.
any suggestions???

moonrakerz

the_big_fact_hunt wrote: »

the buyer came and had a look, didnt test drive it, or have it inspected, just ran the engine, looked round it, then gave me a deposit

If he bought the car on that basis more fool him ! You sold it in good faith, if he couldn't be bothered to check it properly then it is his problem . You owe him nothing !

the_big_fact_hunt

thats how i think, but it still doesnt look to good.
if it was dodgy i wouldnt have tried to fob anyone off as they would have my details from the logbook and i would expect them to come straight back, so it would be pointless trying

Keith

Tell him to get stuffed, his car broke down not yours.

cc25

Agree, the guy's trying it on. Your responsibility when selling the car was not to misrepresent it (ie make a claim about the car that was not true). You are not liable for the future costs of repairs to the car after you have sold it.

I'm sure you didn't give any warranty as to the future reliability of the car, so I'm afraid it's buyer beware.

moneyspender1981

the_big_fact_hunt wrote: »

I have just sold my 4x4 (an old H reg), the buyer came and had a look, didnt test drive it, or have it inspected, just ran the engine, looked round it, then gave me a deposit for his road tax.


He had his chance to check the car... he didnt and took it. Plus why get in touch 6 days later. If you buy a 16 year old car then then expect something to go wrong at some point.

I wouldnt worry...un less he is 6ft8" with a temper problem....if so tell him this through the letter box

vikingaero

He bought a 17 year old car! One of the risks of buying a banger is that it could blow tomorrow or it could last for 50k

the_big_fact_hunt

Keith wrote: »

Tell him to get stuffed, his car broke down not yours.

I wouldnt worry...un less he is 6ft8" with a temper problem....if so tell him this through the letter box

He's about 6'3", but then so am i

chris147_2

I agree with the general sentiment. It's his car not yours.

He bought it without an engineer looking at it or even driving it. Tell him where to go.

daveyjp

And of course you have seen the car since selling it haven't you? I've read this story so many times in the recent past that its got scam written all over it.

Someone buys a banger, claim it's died after a few days and their 'mechanic' says so and get the seller to cough up something as a good will gesture.

Like all scams some people feel sorry and cough up, those wise enough tell the buyer to go forth and multiply.

reehsetin

you owe him nothing legally, buyer beware, he should have checked it before he bought it, you are not a mechanic and he should have no expectation that you should know anything about the car
you have no lied about anything so tell him to booger off