Sold a car, buyer not happy....
Discussion
Executive summary:
Sold a car on Saturday as a private sale. I took the chap out for a 20 mile test drive and he was happy with the car, paid a £100 deposit on Friday and collected the car and paid the balance (£2100) on Saturday.
He's just contacted me (Monday PM) to say he is not happy with the car. Apparently there is a suspension issue (broken arm?) which his mechanic has told him is dangerous and will cost him £50-100 to fix plus labour.
Also, he mentioned the Sat Nav now has a big issue which wasn't apparent when I sold the car.
This a private sale and I have a receipt "Sold as seen, no warranty implied or given".
He wants his money back and has threatened bringing a claim against me for selling him an unsafe car. As far as I can see, I have several options:
1/ Tell him to go away in the politest possible terms - 'buyer beware'. I have a Law degree and understand the legal issues.
2/ Offer him a goodwill payment of, say, £150 towards the cost of the suspension problem but not accept any liability for that or the Sat Nav (both were fine when I sold the car).
3/ Take the car back and fling it on Ebay. Sell it for £600-800 less but not have to deal with the hassle or fall out of either option 1 or 2.
I'm tempted to take the easy option and take the car back as it really isn't a lot of money to me (but it is to him) even though he doesn't have a leg to stand on legally. I'm not sure if I can be bothered with the potential hassle for the sake of a few hundred pounds if I stand my ground or adopt a strict legal stance.
I do see where he is coming from, if the problems are genuine I'd be annoyed too - but I sold the car in good faith without knowledge of the above problems.
Would you play it nicely, or be hard-line.
(Oh, and to pre-empt the question which is bound to arise - he is bigger than me but I have mates who are (much) bigger than him!!)
Sold a car on Saturday as a private sale. I took the chap out for a 20 mile test drive and he was happy with the car, paid a £100 deposit on Friday and collected the car and paid the balance (£2100) on Saturday.
He's just contacted me (Monday PM) to say he is not happy with the car. Apparently there is a suspension issue (broken arm?) which his mechanic has told him is dangerous and will cost him £50-100 to fix plus labour.
Also, he mentioned the Sat Nav now has a big issue which wasn't apparent when I sold the car.
This a private sale and I have a receipt "Sold as seen, no warranty implied or given".
He wants his money back and has threatened bringing a claim against me for selling him an unsafe car. As far as I can see, I have several options:
1/ Tell him to go away in the politest possible terms - 'buyer beware'. I have a Law degree and understand the legal issues.
2/ Offer him a goodwill payment of, say, £150 towards the cost of the suspension problem but not accept any liability for that or the Sat Nav (both were fine when I sold the car).
3/ Take the car back and fling it on Ebay. Sell it for £600-800 less but not have to deal with the hassle or fall out of either option 1 or 2.
I'm tempted to take the easy option and take the car back as it really isn't a lot of money to me (but it is to him) even though he doesn't have a leg to stand on legally. I'm not sure if I can be bothered with the potential hassle for the sake of a few hundred pounds if I stand my ground or adopt a strict legal stance.
I do see where he is coming from, if the problems are genuine I'd be annoyed too - but I sold the car in good faith without knowledge of the above problems.
Would you play it nicely, or be hard-line.
(Oh, and to pre-empt the question which is bound to arise - he is bigger than me but I have mates who are (much) bigger than him!!)
Bottom line - tough 
IIRC, he's got no comeback, unless you expressly stated that the savnav worked perfectly, as did the suspension.
Look for a thread from TonyHetherington from a few months ago. A similiar situation
And under no circumstance offer him a partial repayment - as it implies a level of guilt (I think that's the term). Tonys thread had a lot of detail and info.
IIRC, he's got no comeback, unless you expressly stated that the savnav worked perfectly, as did the suspension.
Look for a thread from TonyHetherington from a few months ago. A similiar situation
And under no circumstance offer him a partial repayment - as it implies a level of guilt (I think that's the term). Tonys thread had a lot of detail and info.
I personally wouldn't take the car back. I know its a bad situation for the buyer to be in, but who's to say he didnt smash into a curb and break the suspension on the drive home? As for the sat nav, well, I don't know how he could have broken that but if it was fine when you sold it to him, why should you take it back broken?
I know how you feel, stuff like the plays on your concious, but I believe you have no moral right to help him what so ever.
Edited: fixing spelling
I know how you feel, stuff like the plays on your concious, but I believe you have no moral right to help him what so ever.
Edited: fixing spelling
Edited by balders118 on Monday 3rd May 20:15
I had the same thing done to me couple of years ago. Guy bought car & we both signed "sold as seen" reciept & off he went. Approx 3 weeks later he contacts me wanting his money back because of a problem which cleary was not apparent when i owned the car & when he bought it. I told him where to go & offered him to take me to court! I never did hear from him again. Don't worry chap, he bought the car & if he signed that reciept, he would be silly to persue it.
I just bought a car for twice that (which is a f
k load of money for me btw), and have already spent over £350 on it in terms of maintenance because it was my own fault for not noticing the potential issues.
He has to learn that cars always have problems that need sorting out, especially second hand ones.
I'd view this as teaching him a life lesson. He can't depend on having a decent bloke save his bacon everytime.
k load of money for me btw), and have already spent over £350 on it in terms of maintenance because it was my own fault for not noticing the potential issues.He has to learn that cars always have problems that need sorting out, especially second hand ones.
I'd view this as teaching him a life lesson. He can't depend on having a decent bloke save his bacon everytime.
balders118 said:
I personally wouldn't take the car back. I know its a bad situation for the buyer to be in, but who's to say he didnt smash into a curb and break the suspension on the drive home? As for the sat nav, well, I don't know how he could have broken that but if it was fine when you sold it to him, why should you take it back broken?
I have to agree with all he says Also - here's Tonys thread that I referred to above
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
If there was something as serious as a broken suspension arm i'm pretty sure this would be immediately obvious to anyone who drove it.
Just tell him you were not aware of any issues with the car (which you were not) and he had ample opportunity to have the inspected so there's nothing you can do.
Failing that Foxtrot Oscar
Just tell him you were not aware of any issues with the car (which you were not) and he had ample opportunity to have the inspected so there's nothing you can do.
Failing that Foxtrot Oscar
Kinky said:
IIRC, he's got no comeback, unless you expressly stated that the savnav worked perfectly, as did the suspension.
The sat nav did work when I sold the car to him although it did have the occasional blip on a cold morning which I told him about before I sold him the car. What he describes is far worse than I've ever experienced though.I'm not a mechanic and was unaware of any suspension issue, I drove him 20 miles in the car and he didn't once mention it although he now claims there was a heavy knocking noise as soon as he took the car home.
However
He obviously knows where I live, and I don't want him to come round and cause a problem. I've looked at his address and it is a bit of a rough area so not sure how he will react with me telling him to politely bugger off. At the end of the day, if I lose £600-£800 that isn't a lot of money to me and might be worth it for an easy life.
So, if he comes round and causes problems, you have his address and I'm sure you have the number for the police (999 btw).
Option 1 is the way to go. Option 2 would be the totally stupid and unecessary thing to do. Option 3 is the one which will probably cause you more hassle than this sale already has.
Option 1 is the way to go. Option 2 would be the totally stupid and unecessary thing to do. Option 3 is the one which will probably cause you more hassle than this sale already has.
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