borderline
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2008
- Messages
- 762
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I had a vehicle (that I purchased used 6 months ago) that made some clunking noises while shifting (it has an automatic transmission) and took it to my mechanic. He thought it wasn't a big deal, but thought replacing the ****** fluid would give a clue if something was grinding and if there was metal shavings in the fluid. He reported no problems.
So I continued to drive it, and occasionally it would make a noise when shifting say from first to second or from second back down to first. I don't know what's wrong, but it wasn't a huge deal even though I knew it wasn't 100%. It was very intermittent, but a "clunk" sound fairly accurately describes it.
A woman in her mid-20's was interested. During the test drive I told her, and I quote, "Sometimes it makes a noise when shifting, but my mechanic didn't think it was that serious. He changed the transmission fluid and didn't notice any problems." I also gave her a copy of the ****** fluid change receipt. She drove it for 10 minutes on city streets (never getting above 35 mph), declined my offer that she drive it on the freeway, and didn't take it to a mechanic.
After completing the sale (cash), later that night she texted me saying it was having problems and wanted to know what was wrong. This was followed by increasingly angry texts eventually telling me that she was going to take it to her mechanic and that she expects me to pay half of any repairs.
I'm fairly sure that legally I have no issues, but ethically what is my responsibility? Most people I talk to, including my mechanic, say that she is an adult and could have inspected the car more carefully before buying. The question appears to be how accurately I communicated the potential problem to her during the test drive.
I should note that the sale price was $1500 below blue book value, so I think that should count for something.
Your thoughts on what I should do? Some options include: ignore it, give her a few hundred, pay half...
So I continued to drive it, and occasionally it would make a noise when shifting say from first to second or from second back down to first. I don't know what's wrong, but it wasn't a huge deal even though I knew it wasn't 100%. It was very intermittent, but a "clunk" sound fairly accurately describes it.
A woman in her mid-20's was interested. During the test drive I told her, and I quote, "Sometimes it makes a noise when shifting, but my mechanic didn't think it was that serious. He changed the transmission fluid and didn't notice any problems." I also gave her a copy of the ****** fluid change receipt. She drove it for 10 minutes on city streets (never getting above 35 mph), declined my offer that she drive it on the freeway, and didn't take it to a mechanic.
After completing the sale (cash), later that night she texted me saying it was having problems and wanted to know what was wrong. This was followed by increasingly angry texts eventually telling me that she was going to take it to her mechanic and that she expects me to pay half of any repairs.
I'm fairly sure that legally I have no issues, but ethically what is my responsibility? Most people I talk to, including my mechanic, say that she is an adult and could have inspected the car more carefully before buying. The question appears to be how accurately I communicated the potential problem to her during the test drive.
I should note that the sale price was $1500 below blue book value, so I think that should count for something.
Your thoughts on what I should do? Some options include: ignore it, give her a few hundred, pay half...