Car blew a head gasket day after I sold it?

[ecomodded]

I sense he is trying to defraud you as he never asked for his money back, just money from your bank account.

Put him on call block and be thankful you had you brother with you as a witness if it ever comes to that you have proof he bought it as is and being a salvage title the Guy is double beat. Put him on ignore , he has no recourse in the end anyways.

[cbaber]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

So I sent them a message saying I'm not responsible for repairs and they told me because I didn't get it smogged before the sale and I sold it with the clean title I committed fraud? Wtf? They agreed (and I have my little brother as a witness) to take care of repairs to get the salvaged title and get it smogged. Is their claim even still valid?

They are clearly trying to scam you, or they are just really dumb people. You owe nothing to them, and should stop all contact immediately. Whatever communication you send them could be used against you if they ever decide to waste money trying to sue.

A judge would see they bought the car for $250, when they are asking $800, and simply throw the case out. They are not serious about bringing legal action, they are trying to scare you into giving them money.

Even if by some miracle they had evidence to show a judge that you knew the headgasket was bad before the sale, the most they would be awarded is the original $250 sale price. But that is theoretical to show how insanely stupid their claim is, and we all know they have no evidence to prove their claim.

[vskid3]

Does it need to be smog tested right before selling it, or just be current? If it just needs to be current, was it? Smog test might not have even shown the problem, if there is one.

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by vskid3

Does it need to be smog tested right before selling it, or just be current? If it just needs to be current, was it? Smog test might not have even shown the problem, if there is one.

I just did the registration like 2 months ago, and idk I'm at work and on extremely slow Internet so I can't do any research on it. What really sucks is, I have no way of proving that I didn't know about the head gasket before the sale... I honestly didn't but, I don't really have a way to prove it. Isn't it their job to prove that I did know anyway?

[Insight for life]

Did you smog it when you last registered it or just renew the tags? If it was smogged its good for 90 days. Not like it really matters. I feel for them because that sucks but im 99% sure they will never take legal action.

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by Insight for life

Did you smog it when you last registered it or just renew the tags? If it was smogged its good for 90 days. Not like it really matters. I feel for them because that sucks but im 99% sure they will never take legal action.

No, I didn't have to smog it this year. And honestly I don't. As someone said in a previous post, it looks like something in the coolant system failed, which is why it overheated and blew the head gasket, if they had taken it to a mechanic to make sure everything was OK it would never have happened.

[TheEnemy]

So let me get this straight, you sold him a car for $250, that was obviously in a recent wreck?

And he has the Gaul to think he has a chance at suing you?

Signs that a headgasket has blown, milky foam in the oil, you will see it on the dipstick.
White smoke out the tailpipe.
Stuff floating on top of the coolant in the radiator.
If you pull the radiator cap and rev the engine coolant and/or bubbles come out.

We looked at an old mustang once, first red flag of serious problems were the 3 gallons of coolant in the back seat. Second red flag was the odd clicking noise coming from the right bank. Third red flag was she admitted that it had been overheating.

I pulled the radiator cap, reved the engine slightly and had coolant shoot 2 feet into the air. Now drenched in coolant I told the owner that they had a boat anchor and walked away. I suspect it had a cracked cylinder wall.

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by TheEnemy

So let me get this straight, you sold him a car for $250, that was obviously in a recent wreck?

And he has the Gaul to think he has a chance at suing you?

Signs that a headgasket has blown, milky foam in the oil, you will see it on the dipstick.
White smoke out the tailpipe.
Stuff floating on top of the coolant in the radiator.
If you pull the radiator cap and rev the engine coolant and/or bubbles come out.

We looked at an old mustang once, first red flag of serious problems were the 3 gallons of coolant in the back seat. Second red flag was the odd clicking noise coming from the right bank. Third red flag was she admitted that it had been overheating.

I pulled the radiator cap, reved the engine slightly and had coolant shoot 2 feet into the air. Now drenched in coolant I told the owner that they had a boat anchor and walked away. I suspect it had a cracked cylinder wall.

Wow, thanks for this advice... I'm not sure if I already stated this, but I drove the car for 150 miles after the accident. Around town, on the freeway quite a bit, just normal running around stuff. Never overheated, no white smoke, no weird substance in the radiator reservoir... It ran beautifully up to the day I sold it. Anyway, what I think, if they try to sue me, is going to try to sue me on the fact I sold it to them without a smog cert. This is what I'm really worried about but, at the same time, the title says I sold it to them for 250$ so, yea.

Oh I forgot to mention, I had just driven it over 20 miles the day before, when it was over 100F outside and I had the A/C on. No overheating. No other weird sounds/problems, with a blown head-gasket is that even possible?

[redpoint5]

Perhaps the thermostat was stuck closed. Was it ever replaced? That's the most likely component to fail when you have a cooling system issue (too hot or too cold). That'd blow radiator hoses and possibly the head gasket.

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

What really sucks is, I have no way of proving that I didn't know about the head gasket before the sale... I honestly didn't but, I don't really have a way to prove it. Isn't it their job to prove that I did know anyway?

It's not your job to prove you didn't know; it would be his job to prove that you did know, which is impossible unless he has a tape recording of you saying it has a bad head gasket.

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

It ran beautifully up to the day I sold it. Anyway, what I think, if they try to sue me, is going to try to sue me on the fact I sold it to them without a smog cert. This is what I'm really worried about but, at the same time, the title says I sold it to them for 250$ so, yea.

Oh I forgot to mention, I had just driven it over 20 miles the day before, when it was over 100F outside and I had the A/C on. No overheating. No other weird sounds/problems, with a blown head-gasket is that even possible?

As others have said, it's a likely a scam. Even if the guy did blow the head gasket, he's bluffing about suing. Even if he sued, the case would be dismissed because he is asking for more than the stated value of the car ($250).

If the guys is anything like my cousin, he can find a way to destroy even the best running vehicle. Maybe he ran it wide open throttle with the AC on to see what the "new" car can do, and then drove it into the ground.

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Perhaps the thermostat was stuck closed. Was it ever replaced? That's the most likely component to fail when you have a cooling system issue (too hot or too cold). That'd blow radiator hoses and possibly the head gasket.



It's not your job to prove you didn't know; it would be his job to prove that you did know, which is impossible unless he has a tape recording of you saying it has a bad head gasket.



As others have said, it's a likely a scam. Even if the guy did blow the head gasket, he's bluffing about suing. Even if he sued, the case would be dismissed because he is asking for more than the stated value of the car ($250).

If the guys is anything like my cousin, he can find a way to destroy even the best running vehicle. Maybe he ran it wide open throttle with the AC on to see what the "new" car can do, and then drove it into the ground.

Yea they still haven't responded since I told them I have witnesses that they agreed to take care of the smog, and knew the car was salvaged, AND the car was in good running condition when I sold it.