I sold my car, but the buyer is upset...

[GreenFrog]

Originally Posted by uhurit

There's a saga full of lulz about a recent college graduate who got a job and now is agonizing over buying a bmw or not. Highly recommended!
good to see that i, an anonymous person on the internet, have made a strong enough impact on you to the point where you're still butt hurt and talking about me days after i pwned you. it's great knowing i can influence your life so hahaha thanks for the e-ego boost!

 

[CouttsClient]

Originally Posted by GreenFrog

good to see that i, an anonymous person on the internet, have made a strong enough impact on you to the point where you're still butt hurt and talking about me days after i pwned you. it's great knowing i can influence your life so hahaha thanks for the e-ego boost!
But seriously though...that thread is hilarious

 

[sho'nuff]

dam. i got to read that next! is it fail-hilarious or just funny haha!?

 

[ter1413]

Originally Posted by sho'nuff

dam. i got to read that next! is it fail-hilarious or just funny haha!?

it's aaaaaight.

 

[sho'nuff]

so what finally happened in this issue?

 

[suited]

Hope you didn't have her come to your house to buy the car. Personally, I would never sell a used car to someone from my own address. Too many crazy ***** out there. Meet them somewhere, or have them meet you at "work" (some random parking garage) or a title office.

 

[Wolfador]

Originally Posted by suited

Hope you didn't have her come to your house to buy the car. Personally, I would never sell a used car to someone from my own address. Too many crazy ***** out there. Meet them somewhere, or have them meet you at "work" (some random parking garage) or a title office.

I do the same for any craigslist transaction, especially the people who ask for your address when you already told them you would not be home until a certain time.

 

[dtmt]

I don't get why any of this would even be an issue. Most states require/recommend that both parties sign a Bill of Sale form for private sales which specifically states the seller is released from all liability.

 

[intent]

Originally Posted by dtmt

I don't get why any of this would even be an issue. Most states require/recommend that both parties sign a Bill of Sale form for private sales which specifically states the seller is released from all liability.
People don't know/care about this.

 

[impolyt_one]

If she is of 'good stock' then school her quickly on the 'as-is' stuff, don't give her a penny, and still try to hit it.

 

[borderline]

I forgot to update everyone on this saga:

Originally Posted by QBNCGAR

K....at this point, ol' boy deserves whatever he gets. Wow.

+1

Whomsoever obstinately refuses to listen to the collective voice of wisdom, indeed deserves whatever bad luck comes his way.

Being ethical is one thing(refund the purchase then, and take the jalopy back) Being smart and playing it by the book is another. One can't sit between two chairs

I was not always between two chairs. I started out wanting to help, but her progressively more and more crazy responses and threats of lawsuits made me decide not to help.

There has been a lot of good advice in the thread, and this might be selfish but... what if you disregarded all of it and continued the saga for our lulz?

No!

so what finally happened in this issue?

What finally happened was...I guess she was bluffing. Eventually the emails, texts, and phone calls stopped.

Hope you didn't have her come to your house to buy the car. Personally, I would never sell a used car to someone from my own address. Too many crazy ***** out there. Meet them somewhere, or have them meet you at "work" (some random parking garage) or a title office.

This was a major mistake on my part, and led to some weeks of paranoia about retribution. In the end, she will never believe that I didn't know the problem was as severe as it turned out to be. Or, the problem wasn't severe, but she was getting ripped off by her mechanic and trying to get me to pay for it. Who knows. So there you have it. I hope that this brings closure to all of you who chimed in. Thanks!

 

[HRoi]

Did you hit?

 

[borderline]

It was a no hitter.

 

[Texastyle]

Didn't read the whole thread but I think you are morally fine. You sold it well below the blue book and gave her the option of taking it on the highway or to a mechanic. She will come out of this with a valuable life lesson.

 

[x26]



Originally Posted by NorCal

How much was the car and how much are the repairs? If you can afford to, offering to cover a portion of the repairs would be a good gesture.
Obviously, you have no legal obligation to do anything.

The car was sold for $11K, and my understanding is that a complete ****** rebuild would be on the order of $2K or possibly slightly less. I don't know if it got worse after I sold it (her description doesn't match my experience). My experience is that it was totally driveable, it happened occasionally, and that I felt like it might be something to be looked at down the road, not an immediate crisis.

That said, I want all of the parties in the transaction to be satisfied, and I don't want to screw over someone who probably doesn't have a lot of money. I am worried that additional funds to her might open me up to some legal liability (might be able to get her to sign something releasing me from liability), but at the same time why should I let her off the hook when she clearly didn't do her due diligence? And is it sexist that should I feel worse that it is a young woman and not some guy?

When disclosing the issue I obviously didn't make a big deal out of it. I was trying to sell the car. But it was mentioned, even if the noise didn't manifest itself during the test drive.

That said, I am still conflicted.

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