Car blew a head gasket day after I sold it?

[TheEnemy]

In most states particularly with a person to person exchange and with a car that cheap the car is considered as is and is under no warranty.

[backpacker3]

Not saying you sold him a bad car but the guy got a car that runs and drives for $250 bucks in that price range he should just be happy a head gasket was all the mechanic found wrong with it. I agree on telling him to scrap it if he doesn't want to pay the bill or better yet part it out and make a decent chunk of change that way.

[sarguy01]

Did you actually sell the car for $250, or was it more that $250?? If you did sell it to him for more and if he takes you to court, it could come out that you put a lower amount on the title in order for him to pay less tax...which is fraud...it won't look good in court for either one of you. You may want to remind him that he got a tax break on the car and signed the title with the incorrect sale price on it.

If you did sell it to him for $250, it's his problem. He can get that if he sells it for scrap. If you sold it to him for more, then maybe you could throw him some money if the car did actually blow a gasket (even though there isn't any warranty, he only had the car for a few hours...if I just bought a car and this happened, I'd be pissed!). But, who's to say he didn't poke a hole in the radiator and then run down the highway with the AC on at 90 mph?? Why he would do that, I have no idea, but it could happen.

[RobertISaar]

Originally Posted by sarguy01

Why he would do that, I have no idea, but it could happen.

if i were a less than fair person and bought a car for $250...... and wanted to make a nice, quick return on my investment, i would do just that, pocket the money if the seller pays up and sell the car for scrap, coming out ~$900 ahead of where i started.

not that i'm saying this is the case, but even if he doesn't get the "repair" money, he can still scrap it and profit, just not as much.



sand. pound. get to it.

[sarguy01]

Originally Posted by RobertISaar

if i were a less than fair person and bought a car for $250...... and wanted to make a nice, quick return on my investment, i would do just that, pocket the money if the seller pays up and sell the car for scrap, coming out ~$900 ahead of where i started.

not that i'm saying this is the case, but even if he doesn't get the "repair" money, he can still scrap it and profit, just not as much.



sand. pound. get to it.

Valid. Buy a car for cheap, break it, get some money from the previous owner, and then scrap it. Pocket a few hundred dollars.

But, I have a feeling the car was sold for more than $250... A running Toyota should fetch at least $1,000, even with no AC and a zillion miles. I sold my faded purple, broken AC'd 208,000 mile Geo Metro for $1,500.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

So I sold my Camry yesterday to a guy, and he drove it to work today (all the way down to L.A, that's about a 120ish mile drive) and the radiator blew and the head gasket went.

<snip>

Sounds to me like the radiator failed and he didn't bother to stop driving, so the headgasket failed.


None of us "know" you (it's just a forum, after all), but assuming you are the honest person you seem to be, I'll assume you weren't aware of a bad headgasket and let the buyer know about the issues you were aware of with the car. So.... don't worry about it, he has no case. You sold him a car with known problems that was recently in a collision for a low price. He should have checked it over for himself to make sure it was in good working order before driving it. Proving you are at fault will be difficult.

I would just politely tell the guy that you were unaware of any issues regarding the headgasket and feel no obligation to pay for it. Then leave it be unless it actually goes to court. Tell him nothing that might be construed as accepting fault.

Oh, and it's probably not in your best interest to disclose the sale price on a public forum. That is between you and the seller.

[Xist]

Did he take it to a mechanic before purchasing?

Why did you only charge $250?

[Rishar]

Originally Posted by Xist

Why did you only charge $250?

Doesn't really matter why and just on the off chance it's for any reason that should not be admitted to *cough* I wouldn't ask or answer this question :P.

[NachtRitter]

Originally Posted by Xist

Did he take it to a mechanic before purchasing?

Why did you only charge $250?

From here: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...car-28854.html... The car was wrecked, the insurance company totaled it, the title was "salvage" (or whatever the term is for a totaled car in CA), and Baltothewolf notified the buyer of the accident (or said he would)... since the car was not repaired to its original state (as I understand it), the buyer certainly would been able to determine damage from the accident before paying the money.

I agree with others here... once the buyer pays what you've agreed upon and you sign over the title, it's out of your hands. Don't need to be rude about it, but it is not your problem anymore.

[Thenorm]

had a similar thing happen to me when i sold a sub $1000 car.
I told the guy it was his problem. what do u expect with a car that cheap.

however i will always do a bill of sale now. doesnt have to be complicated. a hand written piece of paper with name, date, amount, "as is", and signed by both.