Private sale gone wrong - Any advice?
Discussion
Hi Folks,
I'm new here and wanted some of your invaluable advice please. I have looked through the forum and have seen MANY of these type of threads so I understand where I stand, i think but I feel there is a grey area on the CAB website regarding description.
The headache...
Placed an ad to sell my 2005 VW Polo with 51000 miles on the clock, partly serviced etc etc. the very next day I had a buyer who wanted to view. He mentioned his cousin who is a mechanic was coming to help inspect but the mechanic cousin couldn't make it. So him and someone else inspected the car and test drove it. I forgot to mention the engine cover was cracked due to my partner replacing the ignition coils, when they asked about the cracked engine cover we told them the reason. The car was priced at 2500 and he got me down to 2150 for various things he pointed out, despite them being noted in the ad. So money transferred by bank transfer, V5 signed over and receipt given, me being novice I only have my signature on the receipt but he has the original and I have the carbon copy. Sold as seen was also stated on it.
About 45 minutes later I get a call and was asked to come outside. The buyer said there was a problem and the engine light was on. I could see the problem, the car was juddering and to be honest I was gutted for both of us. It was really awkward but the car had worked fine for me prior to the sale and nothing was wrong when he inspected and test drove it. I explained the car was now his but because he was still at my door and morally felt bad for the guy I said if he can get an independent mechanic who could see what the problem is we could come to a compromise. My partner and I discussed the options between ourselves depending on what was wrong with the car.
So the RAC came and inspected the car, found no fault with the engine and reset the engine light but asked my partner why he replaced the ignition coils. My partner reinterred what was said to the buyer and explained the engine cut out 6 months prior and road side recovery advised to replace them. Since then there had been no problems. RAC confirmed this was the correct thing to do and signed the car off as roadworthy to drive once he jiggled the igntion coils. The buyer wanted it checked by VW but RAC told him not to bother for obvious reasons, they are rip off merchants. There was no further discussion and he drove home.
Now I have been told he broke down in the fast lane and had to run for his life, the police apparently had to close the lane!!! I'm suspicious because if he had been driving in the fast lane surely there would still be speed to pull over safely. I could understand if he powered down in traffic. Not sure if this is to guilt trip me into agreeing to warranties but I emailed to say I gave him the opportunity to inspect the car before the sale AND afterwards. Since RAC found no fault I felt I had no further obligation. I had not experienced the fault and it occurred once I left him with the car. He said I knew of the fault but I didn't. I pointed out that the suspension could have gone wrong within days of purchase yet he still bought the car despite asking me if it had been in an accident. He believed it was because apparently the bodywork is slightly out of alignment but I have never had an accident. He just wanted to use this to negioate me down and I agreed to a lower price despite never being in an accident. Not sure if he will get the point though...
Sorry for the long story but the question is, if he is now saying I endangered his life what can I do? This had never happened to me and RAC signed it off to drive away, which he did with no further questions. I'm currently waiting to hear back from CAB but would appreciate advice in the meantime.
Thanks
I'm new here and wanted some of your invaluable advice please. I have looked through the forum and have seen MANY of these type of threads so I understand where I stand, i think but I feel there is a grey area on the CAB website regarding description.
The headache...
Placed an ad to sell my 2005 VW Polo with 51000 miles on the clock, partly serviced etc etc. the very next day I had a buyer who wanted to view. He mentioned his cousin who is a mechanic was coming to help inspect but the mechanic cousin couldn't make it. So him and someone else inspected the car and test drove it. I forgot to mention the engine cover was cracked due to my partner replacing the ignition coils, when they asked about the cracked engine cover we told them the reason. The car was priced at 2500 and he got me down to 2150 for various things he pointed out, despite them being noted in the ad. So money transferred by bank transfer, V5 signed over and receipt given, me being novice I only have my signature on the receipt but he has the original and I have the carbon copy. Sold as seen was also stated on it.
About 45 minutes later I get a call and was asked to come outside. The buyer said there was a problem and the engine light was on. I could see the problem, the car was juddering and to be honest I was gutted for both of us. It was really awkward but the car had worked fine for me prior to the sale and nothing was wrong when he inspected and test drove it. I explained the car was now his but because he was still at my door and morally felt bad for the guy I said if he can get an independent mechanic who could see what the problem is we could come to a compromise. My partner and I discussed the options between ourselves depending on what was wrong with the car.
So the RAC came and inspected the car, found no fault with the engine and reset the engine light but asked my partner why he replaced the ignition coils. My partner reinterred what was said to the buyer and explained the engine cut out 6 months prior and road side recovery advised to replace them. Since then there had been no problems. RAC confirmed this was the correct thing to do and signed the car off as roadworthy to drive once he jiggled the igntion coils. The buyer wanted it checked by VW but RAC told him not to bother for obvious reasons, they are rip off merchants. There was no further discussion and he drove home.
Now I have been told he broke down in the fast lane and had to run for his life, the police apparently had to close the lane!!! I'm suspicious because if he had been driving in the fast lane surely there would still be speed to pull over safely. I could understand if he powered down in traffic. Not sure if this is to guilt trip me into agreeing to warranties but I emailed to say I gave him the opportunity to inspect the car before the sale AND afterwards. Since RAC found no fault I felt I had no further obligation. I had not experienced the fault and it occurred once I left him with the car. He said I knew of the fault but I didn't. I pointed out that the suspension could have gone wrong within days of purchase yet he still bought the car despite asking me if it had been in an accident. He believed it was because apparently the bodywork is slightly out of alignment but I have never had an accident. He just wanted to use this to negioate me down and I agreed to a lower price despite never being in an accident. Not sure if he will get the point though...
Sorry for the long story but the question is, if he is now saying I endangered his life what can I do? This had never happened to me and RAC signed it off to drive away, which he did with no further questions. I'm currently waiting to hear back from CAB but would appreciate advice in the meantime.
Thanks
Private sale there is no comeback. Once the money has changed hands anything that happens afterwards is the buyers problem. You have gone the extra mile and had an inspection which gave it a clean bill of health. I wouldnt have gone that far.
A while back I sold my Vauxhall Omega on ebay. Buyer was warned it had a small water leak but was otherwise in good nick for a 160k mile car. He got around 5 miles before something burst, it dropped its water then the engine seized. He called me to let me know. As it was late at night and he was stranded I popped out to see if there was anything I could do but a quick flash of the torch showed it was toasted. He just shrugged and said 'oh well' and that was that and I left him to it.
A while back I sold my Vauxhall Omega on ebay. Buyer was warned it had a small water leak but was otherwise in good nick for a 160k mile car. He got around 5 miles before something burst, it dropped its water then the engine seized. He called me to let me know. As it was late at night and he was stranded I popped out to see if there was anything I could do but a quick flash of the torch showed it was toasted. He just shrugged and said 'oh well' and that was that and I left him to it.
Cortina1 said:
Hi Folks,
I'm new here and wanted some of your invaluable advice please. I have looked through the forum and have seen MANY of these type of threads so I understand where I stand, i think but I feel there is a grey area on the CAB website regarding description.
The headache...
Placed an ad to sell my 2005 VW Polo with 51000 miles on the clock, partly serviced etc etc. the very next day I had a buyer who wanted to view. He mentioned his cousin who is a mechanic was coming to help inspect but the mechanic cousin couldn't make it. So him and someone else inspected the car and test drove it. I forgot to mention the engine cover was cracked due to my partner replacing the ignition coils, when they asked about the cracked engine cover we told them the reason. The car was priced at 2500 and he got me down to 2150 for various things he pointed out, despite them being noted in the ad. So money transferred by bank transfer, V5 signed over and receipt given, me being novice I only have my signature on the receipt but he has the original and I have the carbon copy. Sold as seen was also stated on it.
About 45 minutes later I get a call and was asked to come outside. The buyer said there was a problem and the engine light was on. I could see the problem, the car was juddering and to be honest I was gutted for both of us. It was really awkward but the car had worked fine for me prior to the sale and nothing was wrong when he inspected and test drove it. I explained the car was now his but because he was still at my door and morally felt bad for the guy I said if he can get an independent mechanic who could see what the problem is we could come to a compromise. My partner and I discussed the options between ourselves depending on what was wrong with the car.
So the RAC came and inspected the car, found no fault with the engine and reset the engine light but asked my partner why he replaced the ignition coils. My partner reinterred what was said to the buyer and explained the engine cut out 6 months prior and road side recovery advised to replace them. Since then there had been no problems. RAC confirmed this was the correct thing to do and signed the car off as roadworthy to drive once he jiggled the igntion coils. The buyer wanted it checked by VW but RAC told him not to bother for obvious reasons, they are rip off merchants. There was no further discussion and he drove home.
Now I have been told he broke down in the fast lane and had to run for his life, the police apparently had to close the lane!!! I'm suspicious because if he had been driving in the fast lane surely there would still be speed to pull over safely. I could understand if he powered down in traffic. Not sure if this is to guilt trip me into agreeing to warranties but I emailed to say I gave him the opportunity to inspect the car before the sale AND afterwards. Since RAC found no fault I felt I had no further obligation. I had not experienced the fault and it occurred once I left him with the car. He said I knew of the fault but I didn't. I pointed out that the suspension could have gone wrong within days of purchase yet he still bought the car despite asking me if it had been in an accident. He believed it was because apparently the bodywork is slightly out of alignment but I have never had an accident. He just wanted to use this to negioate me down and I agreed to a lower price despite never being in an accident. Not sure if he will get the point though...
Sorry for the long story but the question is, if he is now saying I endangered his life what can I do? This had never happened to me and RAC signed it off to drive away, which he did with no further questions. I'm currently waiting to hear back from CAB but would appreciate advice in the meantime.
Thanks
Buyer beware. Seems harsh, but that is the way it is I believe.I'm new here and wanted some of your invaluable advice please. I have looked through the forum and have seen MANY of these type of threads so I understand where I stand, i think but I feel there is a grey area on the CAB website regarding description.
The headache...
Placed an ad to sell my 2005 VW Polo with 51000 miles on the clock, partly serviced etc etc. the very next day I had a buyer who wanted to view. He mentioned his cousin who is a mechanic was coming to help inspect but the mechanic cousin couldn't make it. So him and someone else inspected the car and test drove it. I forgot to mention the engine cover was cracked due to my partner replacing the ignition coils, when they asked about the cracked engine cover we told them the reason. The car was priced at 2500 and he got me down to 2150 for various things he pointed out, despite them being noted in the ad. So money transferred by bank transfer, V5 signed over and receipt given, me being novice I only have my signature on the receipt but he has the original and I have the carbon copy. Sold as seen was also stated on it.
About 45 minutes later I get a call and was asked to come outside. The buyer said there was a problem and the engine light was on. I could see the problem, the car was juddering and to be honest I was gutted for both of us. It was really awkward but the car had worked fine for me prior to the sale and nothing was wrong when he inspected and test drove it. I explained the car was now his but because he was still at my door and morally felt bad for the guy I said if he can get an independent mechanic who could see what the problem is we could come to a compromise. My partner and I discussed the options between ourselves depending on what was wrong with the car.
So the RAC came and inspected the car, found no fault with the engine and reset the engine light but asked my partner why he replaced the ignition coils. My partner reinterred what was said to the buyer and explained the engine cut out 6 months prior and road side recovery advised to replace them. Since then there had been no problems. RAC confirmed this was the correct thing to do and signed the car off as roadworthy to drive once he jiggled the igntion coils. The buyer wanted it checked by VW but RAC told him not to bother for obvious reasons, they are rip off merchants. There was no further discussion and he drove home.
Now I have been told he broke down in the fast lane and had to run for his life, the police apparently had to close the lane!!! I'm suspicious because if he had been driving in the fast lane surely there would still be speed to pull over safely. I could understand if he powered down in traffic. Not sure if this is to guilt trip me into agreeing to warranties but I emailed to say I gave him the opportunity to inspect the car before the sale AND afterwards. Since RAC found no fault I felt I had no further obligation. I had not experienced the fault and it occurred once I left him with the car. He said I knew of the fault but I didn't. I pointed out that the suspension could have gone wrong within days of purchase yet he still bought the car despite asking me if it had been in an accident. He believed it was because apparently the bodywork is slightly out of alignment but I have never had an accident. He just wanted to use this to negioate me down and I agreed to a lower price despite never being in an accident. Not sure if he will get the point though...
Sorry for the long story but the question is, if he is now saying I endangered his life what can I do? This had never happened to me and RAC signed it off to drive away, which he did with no further questions. I'm currently waiting to hear back from CAB but would appreciate advice in the meantime.
Thanks
There will be better advice along shortly, no doubt.
awful as you may feel, and the heart strings can be tugged quite spectaculaarly, everyone else is right. He bought the car, why didnt his mechanic friend spot the issue beforehand??
And how do you know he didnt pop over to the 'ring for a few laps before reporting the fault? Or its been used on a bank job, yet the V5 will only show your name on it. Ditto some speed cameras etc etc.
You have done nothing wrong. The owner (and he is this, not the "buyer" anymore) also knows this...
You sold the car in good faith. Sleep soundly, and get on with your life. Next week it'll be forgotten
And how do you know he didnt pop over to the 'ring for a few laps before reporting the fault? Or its been used on a bank job, yet the V5 will only show your name on it. Ditto some speed cameras etc etc.
You have done nothing wrong. The owner (and he is this, not the "buyer" anymore) also knows this...
You sold the car in good faith. Sleep soundly, and get on with your life. Next week it'll be forgotten
Thanks everyone for input do far. If there thanks button I would press them.
What is bothering me is he says I knowingly sold a car that endangered his life. Apparently he has photographic evedence of this breakdown and I will hear from him soon. If it gets to small claims what right does the seller have? I was honest in the ad and with my answers to his questions. Like one poster said, I asked for a mechanic to look at the car after the sale so could see what the problem was myself.
I do appreciate your advice, I understand the buyer may get laughed out of court but it's the whole you endangered my life thing that makes me uneasy.
What is bothering me is he says I knowingly sold a car that endangered his life. Apparently he has photographic evedence of this breakdown and I will hear from him soon. If it gets to small claims what right does the seller have? I was honest in the ad and with my answers to his questions. Like one poster said, I asked for a mechanic to look at the car after the sale so could see what the problem was myself.
I do appreciate your advice, I understand the buyer may get laughed out of court but it's the whole you endangered my life thing that makes me uneasy.
Kinky said:
including a memorable one from only a few weeks ago.
Does anyone know the outcome? This is mainly why I posted my own thread because I couldn't find one with a conclusion. Hopefully I will be able to update with an outcome just in case someone else find themselves in this predicament.Cortina1 said:
I understand the buyer may get laughed out of court but it's the whole you endangered my life thing that makes me uneasy.
Don't worry about it. The new owner had ample opportunity to inspect the vehicle to their satisfaction prior to purchase. They did so, they purchased, they paid, any contract between you was fulfilled at this point. They also could have carried out their own HPI check to satisfy themself that the car had not previously been written off by insurers. Evidently they weren't sufficiently bothered to.
You sold a car as described as one private individual to another. If they wanted the sort of legal comeback they are now seeking, they should have purchased from a trade seller - and paid accordingly.
Is there any proof of what they are saying having actually happened? Just screams pathetic attempt at post-hoc negotiation to me. Ignore them entirely, if they seek legal recourse, let them do so and await contact from their solicitor - who will tell them that they have no case to bring against you.
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