ok i sold my iroc tuesday to a guy whos wife got him the numbus. he came and looked at the car for 5 mins. he didnt drive the car or even sit in it. he just looked at the motor and asked me "if anything was wrong with the car" i said no the car runs fine, there is nothing i no of. well i get a call today and its the guy. he says why didnt you tell me about the transmition? i said nothing is wrong with it. he said that he took it to 2 mechanics. and they said the fluid was burned up and it wasnt going through the gears. they also said it had been like this for awhile. i had no problems with the tranny at all. i told him he bought the car as is. he also said that this morning the check engine light came on. he asked me if i was going to payfor this stuff. i said no and then he said he was going to take me to court. what should i do? this guy has had the car since tuesday he could of down anything to it. i didnt no anything was wrong with the car. he didnt even drive it or ask to take it to a mechanic and no hes coming back on me. do you think anything can happen to me. he did buy a used car, from a private sellar

 

there was no implication of warranty, so he more than likely doesn't have a case. since you said "no, nothing that i know of", and he didnt drive it or take it to a mechanic, he is at fault b/c he had the chance to test it out himself. since you never saw a check engine light and never had a prob with the tranny yourself, then you were talking to him to the best of your knowledge. unless he bought the car simply on your telling him that you knew of no problems then he is SOL. this is the uniform commercial code 2-313(2), 2A-210(2). if you would like, i can type up an exact reference to this code. should be able to help you out if you go to court. e-mail me at punkrawkguy67@aol.com if you want it.

 

I am not a lawyer so this is all opinion and hearsay, but it sounds to me like the old phrase "let the buyer beware" since this is not your fault and the car was sold "as is". If he does take you to court over it, which is probably not likely, then point out he should have some receipts of where he took the car to be inspected before he bought it. If he did not have it inspected before he bought the car that is his problem not yours (the buyer should have been aware). Because you are also an individual (not a dealership) and I also assume your not a certified auto mechanic you have no professional opinion on the condition of the car you were selling so you in no way deceived the buyer by telling him that you knew of no previous problems. But if you have an answering machine and they call again tell them you are recording the conversation and be as polite as possible (DO NOT LOSE YOUR TEMPER) and explain that it is no longer your car and that because they never drove the car or had it inspected and that you consciously did not know of any of the alleged problems that you cannot be held responsible for the alleged problems. This way if it does happen to go to court then they cannot backtrack and say they dove it, or had it inspected, and falsify documents and receipts such as poor inspection reports. Hopefully some of the other members of this board can help out with any other suggestions and maybe out of the 10000+ members we have one is a lawyer and can give some professional advise. I hope the very best in this matter for you and wish you good luck.

 

wow, thanks for the information guys. i was scared there for a minute. i guess he should of tested out the car instead of looking at it for 5 mins. i really appreciate the fast responses. if he calls back ill give him the facts, record the call, and basically tell him if he wants to spend the money to take me to court the he can go right ahead.

 

I am a paralegal for a big firm in Florida. (future law student) I will say that if what you say is the honest truth, he probably does not have much of a case. However, it will be your word against his and considering that the car is falling apart less than a week after he bought it, you may find a sympathetic judge that will feel the buyer got scammed. I have seen in cases where a judge will unilaterally award someone damages with out providing a reason let alone citing any law. It may come down to whom he feels is more honest. Another worry, is that a court case is very inconvenient (even if you win, you really don't win, especially with a small claims case like this). If you haven't already done this, in the future write out a bill of sale outlining the terms of the purchase. This way you have much more protection if something like this happens. Good luck. If you need anymore info. tell me what you need and I'll try to help.

 

Did you give him a bill of sale and did it say "sold as is." If so he has no case at all.

What exactly is he going to sue you for. He has to have a cause of action. If it's fraud he has to prove intent and that is not cheap or easy to do.

If the facts are as you've described I'd say he has no case at all.

Also, to establish what he claims the two mechanics said he'd have to get them to testify and they'll probably tell him to FO if they exist at all.

Even if they do exist and are right about the fluid the car could still have been working fine when you sold it so you did not intend to defraud him and gave no written warranty etc. The mechanics don't know how it shifted when you owned it.

He may be just trying to get you to cave in and give him back some money. People will try this even if there is nothing wrong with the dam car.

See what he does next. It's one thing to threaten to sue you, another to do it and yet another to win against you. He has to establish his version of the facts. If he loses you get your costs.

See what he does next. He might give up on it if realizes you're not going to drop your pants.

 

For starters, every state is different. Your state laws on private sales are going to have the most pull. Is there a bill of sale at all? does it anywhere says "as is"? I know in Massachusetts you would be SOL. They are also on the side of the buyer most of the time. If there is no paperwork done then it's your word against his. It is all hear say and the mediator will look at it as you say what looks good for you and what looks good for the buyer. What state are you in? The law in your state might be cut and dry saying unless stated they are "as is" or there is a warranty on any vehicle over a certain $ amount etc etc etc.

 

Dont worry
1st...he has to get the money for court cost ect..if he loses he pays...
2nd the value of the car and what he could pay if he loses is proablly to close
3..tell him you will countersue for harrasment if he calls/comes to your house again..
4..register a complaint to your local phone company,about harrasiong calls from his number and hav printed refrence to it..

5..
go to a law firm and aslk to borrow the phone....his caller id will show its a law firm...then tell him you are lawyer and will countersue for emotional damages..
just kidding..
6..get 300 dollars ..hire some muscle and cripple him...PRICELESS

 

$300 ????? Damn, Im not charging enough, I gotta BEAT my competitors.

 

ok he did call back, he said his dad was a mechanic too and that he was gonna look at it, also his dad said that new fluid and filter night solve the prob. he said i better hope its that. so i told him not to call my house again and leave me alone, he hung up. well i am in ohio, and we didnt write any bill of sale. we just got the money and gave the title.

 

ok they called back this morning about 10. the lady asked for my dad. i said he not in right now. she said she would try back one more time and if she couldnt get ahold of him her attorney would. so.... i guess we might be going to court

 

Good luck in your quest, but this isn't really a technical question dealing with history or restoration. For moral support you could try www.nethirdgen.org or another similar site that deals with nontechnical topics.