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

the_big_fact_hunt

of course i havent seen it since, its been "in the garage", but the guy does seem genuine, even to the point of telling me that the AA man that came out to him charged him for a metre of hose to repair it at the roadside,.
I have been told that if it did blow its hoses and he patched it up and carried on using it it could have seriously damaged the engine.
Other things puzzle me...... maybe the engine WAS failing when i sold it, but then why didnt it pump its water out there and then, and why didnt it overheat when he says the rad cap was faulty and it was letting the water escape (he said the rad was dry), surely lack of coolant=increased temp and would show on the guage? the needle only ever went up to about 1/3rd while i was using it, hence me not suspecting anything serious like imminent doom????

Keith

Call the buyer and just say to him that you are sorry that his car has broken down, however, when it was yours it showed no symptoms of Head Gasket failure. You make no offer towards the repair, wish him luck in getting it repaired cheaply and forget about him.

Head gaskets do just fail, normally first shown by oily residue in the coolant or mayonaise in the oill filler cap followed by a loss of power.

the_big_fact_hunt

Keith wrote: »

Head gaskets do just fail, normally first shown by oily residue in the coolant or mayonaise in the oill filler cap followed by a loss of power.

i am aware of these symptoms, but none were apparent, and it had plenty of power

chris147_2

the_big_fact_hunt wrote: »

of course i havent seen it since, its been "in the garage", but the guy does seem genuine, even to the point of telling me that the AA man that came out to him charged him for a metre of hose to repair it at the roadside,.
I have been told that if it did blow its hoses and he patched it up and carried on using it it could have seriously damaged the engine.
Other things puzzle me...... maybe the engine WAS failing when i sold it, but then why didnt it pump its water out there and then, and why didnt it overheat when he says the rad cap was faulty and it was letting the water escape (he said the rad was dry), surely lack of coolant=increased temp and would show on the guage? the needle only ever went up to about 1/3rd while i was using it, hence me not suspecting anything serious like imminent doom????

Why would the AA man charge him for the piece of pipe. I have RAC cover and have used it twice (once whilst out on my motorbike and once in the car) and they have never charged me anything extra because you only get the level of cover you paid for!!!!! If you pay for standard cover you get either towed to a garage or a roadside repair not chraged for the repair.

Sounds like he's trying it on. Ask to see the receipt for the repair and I bet he can't produce it!

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Lots of radiator caps are designed with a pressure valve so they will release water as the pressure is too high (due to failed HG).

If he knew anything about cars (which it sounds like he doesn't) he would have recognised a problem straight away, add the faulty heater in the mix and its obvious.

Anyway, it sucks to be him. His car died, not yours. Tough titty.

the_big_fact_hunt

i'm not planning on wasting too much time arguing the toss with him about anything, i was primarily curious about my liabilities as a seller, but it seems to be buyer beware "caveat emptor", and i'm 100% certain it had no issues with the head and gasket when it drove away so i'm not planning on refunding the money. He even offered to sell it back for £1000 (bought for £1300) and stand the loss, so he seems genuine about it breaking down, but then what would i want with my old, now broken 4x4.
I do feel sorry for him as its a lovely motor

anewman

Sounds like he's messed with the cooling system and royally !!!!!!ed it up himself to be honest and is now coming after you for £.

gravitytolls

Sold as seen, I presume. Them's the breaks, we buy old motors, and have been lucky, but just as likely to need to spend money on exhausts, starters, batteries etc within a very short space of time. Why? Not because we're being ripped off ( well twice in 20 years), but because no one spends cash on a car they know they'll be getting rid of, so while it's going, it's going. If it breaks down on the way home, tough.

hartcjhart

depends what is in your heart,

tell him to get stuffed or if you are a really nice person offer him a hundred pounds AS A GOODWILL GESTURE not admitting liability,and leave it at that

KeithP

Of course it is perfectly possible that this car is still in exactly the same condition as when you sold it. With respect, you have no proof, only what the buyer has told you.
I wouldn't mind betting that he is hoping you will make a 'contribution' to his 'repairs', that he can then look upon as a 'discount' on his purchase.