[Closed] Another 'sold my car, now it's knacked' thread....

Something doesn't sit right with this whole sorry tale mate.
Firstly there is this garage of [i]his[/i], kindly quoting a stupid price for a new head gasket.
Then there is this farcical, [i]Ooh, I paid you too much[/i] rubbish.
Thirdly, there is you faffing about.

I feel for you, as you want to do the right thing.
It's well & good folk telling you to tough up etc, but it's not their number he's calling & making life difficult.

But, they do have a valid point.

Firstly, I'd call a few garages & ask for a quote.
That sounds a lot of money for a head gasket change, if indeed it needs doing.
Ask a main dealer what the std labour time is for the job.

Me, it would cause me some sleepless nights, but your offer to go halfs is more than generous.
I've not heard of Ford TDCi engines having issues like this, they are tough old lumps. The injectors & DMF's used to be an issue, but not heard about them having head gasket issues.

I have a personal policy of never buying a car for a price I couldn't replace the next day if it lunched itself.

I bought a car on Monday based on it's description on eBay, a phone call and an email to the vendor. A fellow STWer volunteered to give it a quick test drive. On that basis I handed over my cash. The vendor even met me at the airport after a night shift as a doctor having just completed an emergency cesarean section.

As I turned the ignition on he said he'd filled up the tank as he felt guilty the tax disc had expired. We had arranged before my flight that he would renew that online at my expense.

When I completed the V5 all responsibly for the cars ownership and it's liabilities became mine.

If the car blew up at the end of the street, at the end of the day's 500 mile drive home, or next week. The responsibility for it's repair is mine alone.

I bought a Discovery with a brand new MOT whose rear brake pads detached themselves from their backplates on the drive home from the Lakes to Fife. The engine was underpowered too. Both required maintenance, but that responsibility was mine.

I can see why the OP would want to do the right thing, but cars like everything in life are unpredictable, I would suggest that you absolve yourself of any responsibly and of any ongoing liability.

This. He has absolutely no comeback if the vehicle was sold as seen.

I think at this point I
I would be tempted to draw a line and say I've been as reasonable as I think I should be, you've rejected the offer, good luck with your knackered car.

Second opinion at the very least.

The verbal 'help out' should be a firm contribution NO MORE.

Plus any private buyer knows its without warranty. He'll keep pushing for as much as possible. Where to stop? You mention heating taking longer. Surely its colder weather plus HG is spikes in temp guage/poor running etc?

I smell something. Hence a second opinion before handing over any money at all. If the garage say sorry car in bits then you say Im out.

Grow a pair. Whose to say its not a simple heater issue and a garage is fleecing? No coolant top up in your care means something is fishy.

i just paid 6500 for a vintage bike.. con rod snapped within the first 10 miles.. NO WAY would i expect the vendor to cough up anything other than sympathy..

your a mug and been taken for a ride.. the guy drove home thinking it was a great car and he d got a good deal. END OF..

When I sell my latest car I will sell it with peace of mind as when I hear one squeek on a car I want it solved or it drives me crazy. So if I sold it and within a few days there was suddenly a massive issue I'd be pissed off with the buyer/offer nothing thinking something was fishy.

My engine oil is still clean 4, 000miles after its change 😀

I too like to be liked and have had to learn to not let my dominant 'Please People' driver take over.

This is exactly why I write 'sold as seen' on the receipt when I sell anything that is mechanical, electrical or a mix of both.

Your generosity on this occasion is not all that admirable, given that you must have some self-awareness of your propensity to be overly nice and accommodating to people. Maybe this is here to help you learn to reign in your learnt behaviour?

Hora takes a lot of care to make sure his cars are in pristine condition when sold;

[img] [/img]

😆 Oh I miss that car 🙁

In the same situation, I'd have bitten your hand off for the £650. The fact that he isn't smacks of a chancer or a scammer.

Your conscience should be utterly clear, you've offered to go well above and beyond the call of duty.

Contractually, you owe him nowt. If he continues to whine about your massively generous offer, shrug and walk away.

(I'd want a second opinion on the damage at a garage of your choice local to him regardless of whether your offer is £650 or more.)

he had paid what he felt was a dealer price because of [s]the spec and condition[/s] [b]he intended to bum you for several grand[/b] and because I seemed so [s]honest[/s] [b]gullible[/b].

FTFY.

Seriously mate, fair play for wanting to "do the right thing" but this has "scam" written all over it. At the very least, you want to get the car to a second garage [i]of your choosing[/i] before paying out a red cent. You'd be surprised how honest people can look when they're confidence tricksters.

And to be honest, you offering to go halves and him kicking it back to demand you pay the lion's share, I'd be revising my offer to be the square root of **** all. You've already said that they've pre-empted the second sting, " If the head is warped another £1200 on top of that" - I guarantee, [i]guarantee[/i] that if you were idiotic enough to go "oh, alright then" he'd be cap in hand for the other £1200 a week later.

"I'm terribly sorry to hear about the problems you were having with [i]your [/i]car, and saddened that you've declined my generous offer to help with repairs. I wish you all the best, should you feel the need to contact me again please refer all correspondence to my solicitor."

and on what planet is it 1200 quid for a head skim.

Complete head gasket. coolant/burp etc- all in on a Subaru is £1,500.

There are two heads on a Subaru 😯

In my eyes, by agreeing to fund repairs you have admitted liability. The buyer might come back to you for more repairs...Withdraw all offers.

As others have said, the garage costs seem very high, unless it was a main dealer. I had a head skimmed and it was only a few hundred quid.

OP I think you are doing the right thing and I don't think you are behaving like a gullible fool at all. Stick to your principles and don't listen to anyone telling you otherwise. It is possible to turn everything into a potential scam and 99 times out of 100 they are NOT so trust your gut.

Second opinion on the work sounds like a good plan if concerned at all about a scam.
Make it clear the offer is in no way accepting any sort of responsibility and is a one time good will gesture.

Being firm is also a good idea. This is the offer and is purely a good will gesture and is way and beyond any legal requirement.

Try to get it all sorted in as short a time as possible so it doesn't drag you down (due diligence still required, no hasty decisions but spend a bit of time sorting it all out in a short period.)
Make a decision you are happy with and move on.

Good luck.

his garage of choice

Its all very nice offering to help out if anything goes wrong but why would you? No one has a crystal ball and can tell when a car may lunch itself.

He is the man taking a risk. You sold the car in good faith with all faults disclosed and no false representations. I really can't begin to see how you owe him anything.

There are only two things you can guarantee with cars:

1. They will cause you trouble
2. They will cost you money

Everything else like being taken places safely in them is optional.

I think you definitely need a second opinion from another garage. Smells very fishy to me on a 70K mile car with FSH and that's been checked a few days before.

Don't fall for it.

Put something in writing, sooner rather than later, short and to the point.

Dear buyer

On xx/yy/zzzz you purchased the vehicle dd44 xyz in a private sale from me. The vehicle was sold as seen, as stated on the receipt.
You contacted me nn days following the transaction, informing me of a problem that had developed with your vehicle. As a gesture of goodwill I offer to contribute £xxx towards repair. This offer is made without prejudice.

This is my only offer in respect to repair to your vehicle, that was sold in good working order, and as already stated, sold as seen.

If you do not accept this offer and cheque enclosed, all further correspondence should be addressed to my solicitor.
I am sorry you have experienced problems with your vehicle and hope you resolve the matter to your satisfaction.

Regards etc

Send recorded too

he sold his Merc 2 days ago for top dollar

So he should be able to afford the repairs then? Stop being such a walkover and tell him to do one.

I had to ask him if he wanted me to pop the bonnet for a look, he didn't seem too bothered

Really, I wonder why? The chap sounds like a complete tool to be honest. You are admirable offering something to pay towards the repair costs (genuine or not). Why not just limit it to a goodwill gesture of say £500, take it or leave it. That sounds fair enough in my book. Otherwise you'll open yourself up to a world of pain and ever increasing strife from this idiot. A sold as seen sale means it's his problem not yours and the only comeback legally he would have would be for him to prove that you had deliberately lied about the cars condition - which you didn't if you were not aware about the alleged problem.

[i]If the head is warped another £1200 on top of that" - I guarantee, guarantee that if you were idiotic enough to go "oh, alright then" he'd be cap in hand for the other £1200 a week later.[/i]

this is right.

They just need you to start handing cash over and then they'll be back for more with a "Well you've already admitted it's your fault".

Either say that you've received further advice and have chosen to withdraw your offer or go with 49erJerry's approach.

I'd be tempted to go to the garage to see the car, meet the guy hand over a cheque and get a receipt 'in full and final settllement'

Your parting offer of let me know if anything goes wrong was purely verbal and AFAIK means nothing - the important bit is the piece of paper that says sold as seen and is signed by him.
Tell him to stuff it. If he can't be bothered to look at/into the coolant header tank when buying the car then it's his problem.

[OT: Morning Jerry..... how's the arm?]

i would go to the garage and pull the dipstick if theres water in the oil it will be a light coffee color but they may have drained it by now

It's funny how many of these threads appear on piston heads each month.
A car is sold with fully history only to go bang on the way back to the new buyers home etc etc.

[OT Sharkbait, improving all the time. Range of movement improving daily as is strength. Still as weak as a gimmer though. Doing a couple of sets of girlie press ups last night was mildly uncomfortable... Wasn't expecting to have the tedium of the Great British winter though. Dodging flying fish is much more agreeable! Still planning to get back out early March though.
May be popping over to Nipper's for a curry next week. Will let you know and pop in for a brew?]

OP. Your desire to be liked is admirable, but you're stiffing yourself in doing so.

If this is all about being liked, then I will like you for a mere £10.

Examples of compliments you will get are as follows:

I love what you have done with your hair!

Have you lost weight?

I wish I was as awesome as you. Can you teach me?

Etc etc.

These compliments can be delivered via a method of your choice. Email, text, phone, song or via the medium of modern dance.

I am sure you will make the right decision as always*

*That's a freebie.

OP, I am not going to join in with the assignation of your character! I once made a similar offer after selling a car and feeling responsible for the subsequent fault. However, the buyer became increasingly unreasonable, pissed me off and threatened court(which went nowhere and I cut all contact ). Good luck getting it sorted and only do what you think is right.

So he didnt even want to look under the bonnet initially? Warning #1!
His garage of choice? Warning #2!
How do you know the garage guy isn't in on this scam?
Which garage and where? Perhaps a local STW'r could sus out the garage and whether its likely to be genuine or not?

Oh and a private sale means buyer beware and your responsibility to the seller ended the moment the money changed hands.

He's sussed you out as an easy play and your keenness to be nice sealed the deal for him.
He wasn't buying the car, he was buying you.

It could be that the garage doesn't know its onions. Plain and simple.

I took my car with a squeek and a noise to TWO garages, both established over 20yrs etc. Both were clueless. The latter were going to replace the exhaust, the plugs and the coil pack. None of these would have cured the issue. Only a STW'er cured them with after literally looking at the car for 2minutes.

If you do insist on paying (which is a noble and respectable thing to do if there's a genuine fault with the car), I don't think it would be unreasonable to request that the car is looked at by an independent garage of your choosing for a second opinion. It's a lot of money. Not something to give away based on someone's say so.

He wasn't buying the car, he was buying you.

Bingo.

If you want to give away free money then Jerry's letter is perfect. If not, I'd suggest telling him to roll it tightly and grease it lightly.

Money aside, how are you feeling about this? Concerned? Stressed? Upset? All over [i]a complete stranger's car?[/i] Is it worth the hassle? Bollocks to him, he's taking the piss and it's not your problem.

Has anyone suggested he already had a Ford TDCI which had lunched it's head and the garage is just swapping the engines/heads ? If you do go and see it, check the engine number against the chassis/V5.

I'd be telling him to jog on and stopping communication. Any offer you made expired when he demanded more money, and was verbal anyway so can't be proven, you've got a piece of paper saying 'sold as seen'.

One thing to think about is the engine in the car actually your former engine or a knackered one that's been swapped out for the orignal engine?

Rightly or wrongly the op gave something of a verbal guarantee. To go back on that would be breaking his word. Plenty of straw men on here don't seem to think that matters, but it sounds like it does to the op.
Get the car checked out, and if the repairs needed are legitimate stick to your 50% offer.

When selling a car always make sure it has one minor fault that you highlight, then put on advert and receipt spares or repair.

Oh and a private sale means buyer beware and your responsibility to the seller ended the moment the money changed hands.

A verbal one's not worth the paper it's written on, is it?

Rightly or wrongly the op gave something of a verbal guarantee. To go back on that would be breaking his word. Plenty of straw men on here don't seem to think that matters, but it sounds like it does to the op.
Get the car checked out, and if the repairs needed are legitimate stick to your 50% offe

From how I read it he said he wouldn't walk away and he had offered 50% of the first price. Its a contribution otherwise WHEN does he stop? In another week the A/C unit goes? Then again?

Do you see my point. He was making a good will gesture.

A verbal one's not worth the paper it's written on, is it?

I imagine the OP's followed up with texts/communications so cant back out of that. If it went legal though he could argue a contribution but only if he could have a second opinion. Going to one garage and getting a massive bill from a diagnosis is nuts. If a garage gave me that big a bill I'd shop around. The fact that the buyer isn't attempting to mitigate the costs is idiotic in the least (or lazy). In every business EVERY - you ring round for quotes, bids for business etc etc. You dont accept the first price.

Therefore its not unreasonable for the OP to ask for a second opinion. Hes offered to help however what he shouldn't feel like he has to now is to have his money taken through the idiot who now owns the car.

'Sorry you signed sold as seen, I said I'd help/contribute though as a goodwill gesture if there was a problem so soon after sale. For this to happen though I'd need more than the say of one garage'. As such I dont feel comfortable with the diagnosis, costs etc. (but better worded last sentance).

A court would see you as being fair I feel. Offering to contribute/help but not go ****ing crazy.

There's a lot of it about!

Thanks for the responses all, even the character assassinations and GCSE psychology assessments.....

Texted him this morning and told him that my offer is fair and that if he had have had the car inspected and the fault came to light then I could have used my warranty and neither of us would be out of pocket so the responsibility lay with him. Offered him £650 as a goodwill gesture with no admission of liability but that is the limit. He phoned back an hour later, said the garage had told him a new cambelt by itself would cost £400, he appreciated my offer and would like to accept. We have agreed that I will pay the garage directly when the work has been done but I want to see photos of the car in pieces before I pay anything.

So there we are, let the cries of "you mug" etc recommence, I think it reflects worse on you than me. I do think I've been generous but I said I wouldn't walk away in the event of a problem and my Dad always said you should be true to your word. Although he never bought us that windsurfer he promised us, the lying git.

@ Jamie - that's three examples of compliments you gave me, I insist I pay you £30! PPG ok?

No problems- get him to sign something with no prejudice/full and final settlement as agreed.

£400 cambelt? You mean aux (fan) belt replaced. That wouldn't be £400.

A Cambelt would cost that much. If your cambelt failed it'd be a new engine on most engines.