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

photome

The same thing happened to me many years ago.

The guy came knocking on my door a few days after purchase. (He did test drive and have a mechanic with him) Told me the back axle was shot, they werent great on old Granadas. I told him that it was his problem now and I never saw him again.

elaine373

Personally, I would tell him its his vehicle now so therefore his problem. If you had sold it knowing it had a problem you hadnt declared, then imo, that would be a different matter. You sold it in good faith and Goodness knows how he has driven it/how far/ and whatever he has done to it. Once it left your possession it was no longer your reponsibility.Thats the risk one takes when you buy a 2nd hand car unless its from a garage with a warranty.

maytaurus

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I just can't take anymore ...................
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I’m going to bed[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If I laugh anymore [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I won’t be responsible for the consequences ![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]SORRY .....
the_big_fact_hunt

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]you need to see the threads I had just left, before I saw yours, to understand my post ! :rotfl:

[/FONT] free samples, special offers & latest news on Dove products
and
are you ready to rock with laughter ?

[FONT=&quot]and then I read this ![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]sold a car.... it blew up!!![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]but seriously you sold the vehicle in good faith .....
I agree with others that he had his chance to check the car... & he didn’t
We learn by our mistakes
and
DON’T FORGET TO RECYCLE![/FONT]

iolanthe07

but the guy does seem genuine,

The best scammers do - that's how they get away with it. This has got SCAM written all over it.

Wig

If you want to check the car over before giving him £100 that's fine. Or you could give it to him anyway, without proof.

As you say the reason you are giving the 100 is because it probably did have the fault when you sold it, and you were holding out for the £1300 as opposed to his initial offer of £1200.

If the rad cap was leaky before then that would allow the increase pressure to escape without indicating to you that it was overheating.
The heater did not work properly because there was air in the system,
The Air was in the system blocking the heater pipes because there was liklely a headgasket leak
You misdiagnosed this as a thermostat problem and removed the thermostat.
As soon as he put a new rad cap on he sealed the system, the temperature & pressure would have risen quite quickly after doing that, hence rad hoses failed.

For these reasons:
a) I would never have bought your car
b) It is likely it had a head gasket leak before sale
c) I'd give him back £100 - £300

You can ask him to sign a release for the money something like this

"I dipstick, gratefully accept the sum of £100 from mr bigfh as an ex-gratia payment towards the costs of repairs to vehicle V###VVV. I understand the vehicle was sold (to me) as seen and without warranty either given or implied by Mr bigfh and this payment is not an admittance of liability by Mr bigfh."


Legally you owe him nothing, morally you owe him what you think is a fair amount - 100 - 300 ???

pulliptears

My Punto had head gasket failure last year. It didnt happen with a puff of steam and I was well aware for a month or more that it was on it's way. I was bloody annoyed to be honest as even though it was an "M" reg car it had only just clocked up 36,000 miles. Symptoms varied from it being sluggish, to temp warning lights on the dash and the heaters playing up. The final, obvious symptom was the milky consistency of the oil.

I priced up a new head gasket and it came to more than the car was worth. As the symptoms only became apparent after a long journey I could easily have sold it on without your average tyre kicker realising there was a problem, but Im far too honest for that

In the end she went off to a new owner who was aware of the problem and I got £250 for her, and peace of mind that the buyer knew exactly what he was buying.

I wouldnt give him a penny. Im sure you would have noticed first signs if what he is saying were true.

Wig

pulliptears wrote: »

I wouldnt give him a penny. Im sure you would have noticed first signs if what he is saying were true.

He did notice first signs, the heaters didn't work.

pulliptears

Wig wrote: »

He did notice first signs, the heaters didn't work.

Ohhh missed that bit!

Different light on it altogether then

In which case I agree with your suggestion of offering him an ex gratia payment.

zzzLazyDaisy

I don't! The buyer had every opportunity to check this car out. He could have had an AA report done, or brought a mechanic to check it out.

Just because the seller knew the heater wasn't working doesn't mean that he knew the head gasket was faulty.

The only time the seller would be liable would be if he made deliberate misrepresentations about the car. For example, say he told the buyer that the car had a new head gasket last week (and even then, the buyer would want to see the receipt).

This is just very unfortunate. The buyer bought a 17 yr old car that developed a problem shortly afterwards. That is just the luck of the draw.

Recently my son passed his test and we bought him a second hand car to run round in. We bought from a dealer and paid extra for a 12 month warranty. Within a couple of days it was apparent that the petrol tank was shot, the engine was leaking oil, and the brakes were not right (goodness knows how it had passed its MOT the day before). The work was all done under the warranty.

IF the buyer had wanted a warranty he should have gone to a dealer. 'Ah', you say, 'but then he would have had to pay more for the same thing'. Exactly - you pays your money and takes your choices.

OP should sit tight and tell him to beggar off. He has no legal obligations... and in my mind, no moral obligations either - but I'm a lawyer... some would say we have no morals :-)

Wig

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Just because the seller knew the heater wasn't working doesn't mean that he knew the head gasket was faulty.

No it doesn't mean that the seller knew the HG was gone, the OP shows that the seller did not realise that. But it does show that the fault was likely there prior to sale.

The only time the seller would be liable would be if he made deliberate misrepresentations about the car.

No one has said the seller is liable. It has only been suggested an ex gratia payment should/could be made.

This is just very unfortunate. The buyer bought a 17 yr old car that developed a problem shortly afterwards. That is just the luck of the draw.

Legally, yes, but it all depends on what sort of a person you are.

There is a TV gameshow on ITV afternoons called 'goldenballs' which I watched yesterday for the first time, in the final the 2 contestants can either show a 'split' or a 'steal' card

If 2 'splits' the pot is shared between them
If 2 'steals' they get nothing
If 1 split & 1 steal the stealer gets to keep it all.

I saw yesterday this woman gave a steal card against someone who gave a split card, and who had said all along to the other contestants that he would split and he shook hands (with her) on agreeing to split before they chose to split or steal.

When I saw that womans total lack of morals it made me feel sorry for her, you could see that she knew she was beneath pond scum. But her greed had overcome her. I would hate to be someone like that - without morals.