You sell an old car and then it breaks down

[JohnMitchell 14]

Happened to me last month. After having 3 daughters learn to drive in it, I sold our old Ford Escort to a 20 year old kid for $1100.

Two days later his mom emails me and said it had to be towed home. A few days later the diagnosis was $800 dollars in engine repairs. Not worth doing to an old car like that, brand new tires or not.

What would you do in a case like this?

[hcsvader 1]

Sucks that it happened but there are no guarantees when you buy a vehicle for $1100.

What are the repairs needed? I'm assuming this is a quote from a garage to fix the problem properly when many times things can be "patched up" to get the vehicle running again.

Might be time for this 20 yr old to learn how to turn some wrenches and try to fix the vehicle.

That's how I learned to fix cars... Couldn't afford to pay someone to do it so I had to figure it out myself.

Have you seen my pants?
it"s a rough life, Livin' the dream
>:)

[skydiverbry 0]

It suck that it happened but for $1100.00 I imagine you sold the car "as is".
Unless you gave some sort of guarantee with it the kid and his mom are unfortunately shit out of luck.


That is unless you want to be a super nice guy and refund the money for it....which I would not.

But I'm not that nice of a guy



Bry

--------------------------------------------------
Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[JohnMitchell 14]

Well, I told him everything about the car, including that the check engine light came and went. But I sold him what I thought was a working car. I immediately mailed him $500.

I asked him to put an ad on Craigs list and see what he could get. He got a little over $300, so I mailed him one last check for $300, to even out the books. He's out a hundred or so for tax and registration. But I remember being a young kid, just starting out and working hard for my $$. I just wouldn't feel right if I hadn't done what I did. I've been lucky and had a lot of good things happen in my life (like you guys). I just wanted to keep the karma flowing.

But damn, that would have bought a lot of jumps and beer.

[quade 3]

It's the kid's fault for not getting an inspection, but I think the honorable thing to do might be to come to some compromise on repair costs.

Don't talk to the mother. That's bullshit and she might as well be chopping the balls off him by helicoptering at this point. Talk to the kid. He's old enough to start acting like a man, so treat him like one.

While it might not be "worth it" for you to invest another $800 in the car, it might be worth $400 on something like a rebuilt engine. I don't know, but I wouldn't treat the kid like a fool and his money nor would I roll over and give him $800 for some estimate his mom came up with.

I believe you're an honest guy and didn't intentionally screw the kid. Here's your chance to save a 20-year-old from not being a mamma's boy the rest of his life OR a 20-year-old cynic.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[JohnMitchell 14]

Yeah, he's a nice kid. I just felt really bad to have the car crap out on him. Wish it had just happened when I was driving it myself the week before. When I sell something, I feel it's my word that it's good. If it craps out, I feel it's a reflection on my honesty. Besides, I have four young kids making their way out into the world. I guess that's how I'd want them to be treated, not gypped.

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Heh, it's an old car. That's what old cars do. Having to nurse a dying old crapmobile along on duct tape and WD40 is all part of growing up! My first car needed $2000 in repairs within a couple of months! Of course, the benefit of buying direct from a person versus a dealership is that a person might feel "guilt." Used car dealers have their guilt organs surgically removed when they get their business license.

He might have been better off repairing it, if it'd have mostly run for a couple years after that. It's tough to find a decent car for $1900. Pretty much anything you're going to find at that price is going to be on the verge of death and will need a fair bit of repairing "real soon now." As long as the monthly cost of keeping it running is less than a car payment, it's really not a bad strategy.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[promise5 17]

Quote

Well, I told him everything about the car, including that the check engine light came and went. But I sold him what I thought was a working car. I immediately mailed him $500.

I asked him to put an ad on Craigs list and see what he could get. He got a little over $300, so I mailed him one last check for $300, to even out the books. He's out a hundred or so for tax and registration. But I remember being a young kid, just starting out and working hard for my $$. I just wouldn't feel right if I hadn't done what I did. I've been lucky and had a lot of good things happen in my life (like you guys). I just wanted to keep the karma flowing.

But damn, that would have bought a lot of jumps and beer.

No matter how slowly you say oranges it never sounds like gullible.
Believe me I tried.

[Krip 2]

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Yeah, he's a nice kid. I just felt really bad to have the car crap out on him. Wish it had just happened when I was driving it myself the week before. When I sell something, I feel it's my word that it's good. If it craps out, I feel it's a reflection on my honesty. Besides, I have four young kids making their way out into the world. I guess that's how I'd want them to be treated, not gypped.

Your the man john as usual.

Next time bill of sale marked as is no warranty at a low price. Every one signs.
No new tires. It is what it is.

Or sell it for salvage.

One Jump Wonder

[davelepka 4]

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When I sell something, I feel it's my word that it's good.

Unless you had prior knowledge of a problem, your word was good.

In your case, having several kids learn to drive with the car, I'm guessing you got more than your fair share of use out of the car. On top of that, I get the impression that you could live without the $1100 if you really needed to, so I get why you would extend the guy a refund to 'even out the books'.

For arguments sake, I know that in Ohio (and every other state, I think) any used car, motorcycle, RV, ATV, boat or trailer sale is 'as-is' unless specifed otherwise in writing. Even so, anytime I sell any of the above, I make sure to write that it's an 'as-is sale, with no warrranty' on the bill of sale, and I have the buyer sign a copy for me to keep.

For that reason, unless you're comfortable taking a chance, or are an auto-mechanic yourself, you should always arrange for a professional to inspect any used car before you buy. For $50 to $75, you can get an 'expert' opinion, and that's cheap insurance.

I had a similar situation years ago, I sold an old Buick that developed a habit of stalling at stop lights. I told the guy that it stalled from time to time, and it even stalled when he backed out of my driveway for the test drive, but he bought it anyway. Called me a couple weeks later talking about an oxygen sensor, or something like that, but there was nothing I could do for him. It was an 'as-is' sale, he knew the deal, not to mention I was broke and had already spent the money (most likely on a camera or canopy).

[davjohns 1]

You're a good man.

Personally, I would never have thought to contact you if something went wrong with the car. You had your money. I had my car...with all faults. We're done.

However, you have to wake up with yourself. You did what you needed to do for yourself.

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

[airdvr 200]

You're a good man John. Much better than I.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[wolfriverjoe 1,355]

You are an honorable man, John. Refunding part of his money was a very kind thing to do.

But as others have said, he bought it, it was his. Good, bad, indifferent.
Do you think that if the car had lasted another 4 years and 100k miles, that he would have paid you more?

And I have to ask - what went wrong?

There are a variety of things that would result in needing an $800 engine replacement.

Some of them (oil running out, trying to get the car up over 80, that sort of thing) are new owner related. His fault.

Others (timing belt is the first to come to mind, there are others) are maintainace items that you should have done or at least said that they are due.

Or it could have just been chance. Something that even a fairly thorough inspection wouldn't have revealed.

I will be selling my 83 Porsche 944 as soon as the weather gets nice. It has a lot of issues. I fully intend to disclose everything that I know of. But I wll make sure the buyer knows it's "As Is" and that there are probably issues that I don't know of.
It will become their problem the moment the title is signed.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[J-S 0]

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Yeah, he's a nice kid. I just felt really bad to have the car crap out on him. Wish it had just happened when I was driving it myself the week before. When I sell something, I feel it's my word that it's good. If it craps out, I feel it's a reflection on my honesty. Besides, I have four young kids making their way out into the world. I guess that's how I'd want them to be treated, not gypped.

Maybe the kid learned something from your good deed of being a stand up guy. Maybe he'll pay it forward one day if he's in your situation.

Spelling simple grammar*

[AggieDave 6]

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I will be selling my 83 Porsche 944 as soon as the weather gets nice. It has a lot of issues.

You mean besides having the motor on the wrong end of the car and being water cooled?

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[normiss 633]

Two words:
"as is".

Sometimes life sucks a little outta all of us.


I think I might have helped him learn how to repair it though.

[wolfriverjoe 1,355]

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I will be selling my 83 Porsche 944 as soon as the weather gets nice. It has a lot of issues.

You mean besides having the motor on the wrong end of the car and being water cooled?

Well, that way the uninitiated can find the motor.
And by putting the motor there (the tranny is still in back) the back end of the car doesn't try to pass the front when you lift the throttle in a corner, like a 911 will.

Before the 944, I had an 85 Toyota MR2. That was a fun car. Mid engined, and it had a little trunk all the way in back, plus the one in front.

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/1/3802/2121/9503560002_large.jpg

Not quite the right one, but you get the idea. The engine is under the forward lid on the back. The one all the way back is the "back trunk."

I got some very curious looks a few times in a store parking lot when I would put stuff in both the front and back.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[AggieDave 6]

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Not quite the right one, but you get the idea. The engine is under the forward lid on the back. The one all the way back is the "back trunk."

I got some very curious looks a few times in a store parking lot when I would put stuff in both the front and back.

Not as goofy as the luggage compartments on a Delorean.

As for John, you went well beyond what I would have. When I sold my old truck it was "as-is" and I was honest about what had happened to the truck over the years. I even drew up a little "contract" that said I was selling the truck as is and the purchaser understood. You get what you pay for when you buy a used vehicle. I wouldn't expect a $1k car to last more than to my driveway and I would fully expect to have to complete significant work. Then again, I do that work myself so a cheap car like that would have been purchased as a project in the first place.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[wmw999 2,155]

I'm thinking that the fact that
a. it was a kid buying his first car, probably with his own money
b. he could afford it

helped John to make the decision. And maybe, just maybe, he knows the family as well. I remember paying $100 more than asking price for a car once, because it was from a friend, and I valued the friendship more than the $100 (the asking price was just plain too low). Of course, that brought it to $300 from $200

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[normiss 633]

Back in the early 80's I bought a 69 VW bug from a guy in Philly.
I was living in NJ at the time, and the guy kept telling me "no idea how you'll get it to NJ, it won't go over the bridge cause somethings wrong with the motor".
So I brought with me the $6 carb rebuild kit, paid him $200 for the car, spent the next 10 minutes rebuilding the carb in his driveway, fired it up and took off. Ran perfect.
The look on his face......


(again, THANKS DAD!!!!)

[AggieDave 6]

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I'm thinking that the fact that
a. it was a kid buying his first car, probably with his own money
b. he could afford it

I can understand John's position and response, although it's colored with my personal outlook that when I purchase a used item I expect it to work as well as the price I paid. If it's on the super cheap, then I expect that much ability/use out of it and no more, if that makes sense.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[BillyVance 34]

We had a '96 Mazda Protege that we ran up to 221K miles. It had an oil leak or two somewhere on the bottom (probably head gaskets) where we had to add a quart halfway between oil changes. There were other issues, but for the most part, it ran well enough. We were going to sell it to a needy young mom for $500, but in the end, decided to just donate it to her. She used the $500 toward the repairs.

That was a year ago or so I can't remember exactly but she's still driving it.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Bertt 0]

If you told him it would run forever, you're a scoundrel. If you told him your daughters learned to drive it and he still bought it, anything you do for him is out of the goodness of your heart. If it was me, it would depend on how well I liked the kid and his family.

You don't have to outrun the bear.

[Nataly 38]

First of all, I am not at all surprised by your good deed, John
I bought a lemon once, but the guy knew it was a lemon when he sold it. It was a tough lesson, but I learned it. You sold the car in good faith, but if the guy wasn't a brat, I can understand you wanting to help him out. I'm not really sure what I would do... I think I would feel guilty and contribute something toward the loss and/or repair. Or try to put him in touch with a mechanic friend who could repair it for less as a favour to me.

"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse."
- Chris Hadfield
« Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. »
- my boss

[JohnMitchell 14]

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I bought a lemon once

You know, lemon was what I was thinking. I think this state, and many of them, have Lemon Laws regarding car purchases. If you buy a car that turns out to be a real piece of %^$# you can return it for a refund under that law.

I always found it amusing that the French have the car brand Citroen. Doesn't translate well to English.