Car Sold....Buyer wants money for repairs

neacy69

Hey All

Just looking for advice regarding a car we recently sold on behalf of my mother.

My brother sold it to a lad who came to the house with his brother. They both checked out the car, took it for a test drive, bargained down the price and made a deal.
2 weeks later the buyer calls back to say there is now a problem with the car and he wants half the cash to repair it.

Do my brother/mam have to pay for half the cost to repair? The lads who came to view it checked the car over before buying it and as far as we were concerned the car was is good order (very recent NCT aswell)...

Cheers!

more: estimates on repairs are €600-800 and he wants half from us which is a lot considering the car only cost him €3000

He bought it, his responsibility

Dermo

They do not have to pay anything. How are they to know that the new owner of the car didn't cause the damage himself?

It was a private sale that has already been concluded. You should just tell them kindly that it is no longer your problem

Don't give them a penny, they checked it out and bought it, end of story, be polite but firm and don't give them any money.

OldmanMondeo

Tell them to get some legal advise, that will put an end to it.

Paddy001

No you dont owe him anything once its gone, its now his problem and not yours

andyseadog

tell them to piss off, private sales are buyer beware, they are just chancing their arm.

Thatnastyboy

Do not give him a single cent, or even the time of day,

Explain nicely to him that:
He checked the car and paid for it, it is now his, and his responsibility. end of story. That is how a private sale works.

Unless you are a dealer ( I suspect not ) its tough sh!t to him.


I bought a lemon before, I smiled and got on with my life.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Buyer beware, you cannot have the low cost of private sale with a guarantee. Guys chancing his arm. Tell him to lawyer up cause he doesnt have a leg to stand on. Do not entertain him in any way.

The Internet Explorer

Dermo wrote: »

You should just tell them kindly

x 2

I agree, try this first. If that fails, begin unfortunate but necessary legal action.

CardBordWindow

Sold as is.

Tough Sh!t.

The Internet Explorer

The Internet Explorer wrote: »

x 2

I agree, try this first. If that fails, begin unfortunate but necessary legal action.

No need for that, just ignore them.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Oh god dont get a lawyer, if he want to waste money let him find out. Sounds like maybe he though you might be naive and is giving it a go.

The Internet Explorer

RoverJames wrote: »

No need for that, just ignore them.

You're right, an overreaction on my behalf. I was thinking too hard, or possibly not enough. I think what I was trying to say was........ you know what, I don't even know what I was trying to say.

coylemj

The buyer doesn't have a leg to stand on. In a private sale the seller is 100% in the clear unless he sells a car which to his knowledge is in a dangerous condition.

If a private buyer buys a car from a private seller and something goes wrong it's tough but they have no comeback on the seller. That's why you pay a premium to a garage, if you take your chances with a private deal you assume the risk, the seller is in the clear.

Darsad

He may be genuine and have a problem but do yourself a favour dont give any money . Even if you think he is a nice decent guy, to offer anything by way of helping with the costs could be viewed as an acceptance of liability and or knowledge of the defect. This could be used against you at a later date sometimes when you try to help people they come back at you even harder.

dr.fuzzenstein

No comeback for the buyer, he's just a chancer.

Out of curiosity, exactly what did he say was wrong with the car?

dgt

Sold as seen. They inspected it before they bought it? Their problem not yours. Know your rights as a seller!

ninjasurfer1

coylemj wrote: »

The buyer doesn't have a leg to stand on. In a private sale the seller is 100% in the clear unless he sells a car which to his knowledge is in a dangerous condition.
If a private buyer buys a car from a private seller and something goes wrong it's tough but they have no comeback on the seller. That's why you pay a premium to a garage, if you take your chances with a private deal you assume the risk, the seller is in the clear.

If something serious (as in potentially dangerous) shows up in a privately sold car (soon enough after buying it), how is it to be determined whether the car was sold in that state with or without the sellers knowledge?

Does this invalidate the "buyer beware" clause, and would it give the buyer a legal case in looking for a refund/compensation for repairs?

mgbgt1978

The only way that a buyer (in a private sale) has any come back is if the seller states a fact about the car which is untrue. If the buyer asks a question and the seller misinforms him then the buyer does have a case.
For example, if a car is due a timing belt change at 60,000 miles and is being sold with 65,000 miles and the buyer asks if the belt has been replaced it's up to the seller to tell the truth. Likewise if a buyer asks if the car has been involved in an accident (while owned by the seller) the seller is obliged to be honest.
This does not have anything to do with the OP's situation, I am simply saying that a private sale does not mean that the buyer does not have any comeback (if he asks certain questions when buying).

bigneacy

ninjasurfer1 wrote: »

coylemj wrote: »

The buyer doesn't have a leg to stand on. In a private sale the seller is 100% in the clear unless he sells a car which to his knowledge is in a dangerous condition.
If a private buyer buys a car from a private seller and something goes wrong it's tough but they have no comeback on the seller. That's why you pay a premium to a garage, if you take your chances with a private deal you assume the risk, the seller is in the clear.

If something serious (as in potentially dangerous) shows up in a privately sold car (soon enough after buying it), how is it to be determined whether the car was sold in that state with or without the sellers knowledge?

Does this invalidate the "buyer beware" clause, and would it give the buyer a legal case in looking for a refund/compensation for repairs?

As I am also involved in the situation, I thought I'd also give some info.

Firstly it was to do with the cam shaft.

The buyer says that because we said that the car was 100% mechanically, which we thought was true (and he has this text saved) We are responsible. (even though we sold it privately and we ain't mechanics of any sort)

The buyer was told from the get go that it was his own problem, after he made some threats etc. We asked the local Gardai to mediate (there had been threats of physical violence made). They told us (and him) that this was indeed our responsibility to put right and that he had every right to ask for his money back or for us to pay his mechanics bill.

The situation has since calmed down, threats-wise but we don't where we stand now.

Was the Guard totally wrong?

Henry Ford III

bigneacy wrote: »

As I am also involved in the situation, I thought I'd also give some info.

Firstly it was to do with the cam shaft.

The buyer says that because we said that the car was 100% mechanically, which we thought was true (and he has this text saved) We are responsible. (even though we sold it privately and we ain't mechanics of any sort)

The buyer was told from the get go that it was his own problem, after he made some threats etc. We asked the local Gardai to mediate (there had been threats of physical violence made). They told us (and him) that this was indeed our responsibility to put right and that he had every right to ask for his money back or for us to pay his mechanics bill.

The situation has since calmed down, threats-wise but we don't where we stand now.

Was the Guard totally wrong?

In a word "yes". He's in no position to mediate. The best he could possibly offer is an uneducated opinion. Infact if anything he should be issuing a warning about threats made to you.

BanzaiBk

Ignore the Garda's "advice". Tell the guy to look for legal advice. If you or your property is touched or damaged by the buyers then report it to the Gardaí.

mgbgt1978

Two things. First , if a camshaft is on the way out it will make a lot of noise....it obviously wasn't when the car was sold.
Secondly did the buyer ask if the camshaft was giving trouble. If not then he will have a very hard time proving that he is entitled to anything.

As for the Guard, unless there is a different system in Dundalk where they have special Courts in the back of Avensis's (without any judiciary present) then he is wasting his time giving verdicts.

Maybe if the same guard spent some of his time watching "people who have just bought cars" driving the crap out of them then this thread wouldn't exist.

unkel

bigneacy wrote: »

They told us (and him) that this was indeed our responsibility to put right and that he had every right to ask for his money back or for us to pay his mechanics bill.

The Garda said that? That's shocking. Totally unprofessional :eek:

The Garda should spoken to the buyer about his threats of using violence. He should have completely ignored discussing the car. Selling a car is a private matter, nothing to do with the Gardai.

Thatnastyboy

bigneacy wrote: »

They told us (and him) that this was indeed our responsibility to put right and that he had every right to ask for his money back or for us to pay his mechanics bill.



Was the Guard totally wrong?

Regardless of what was wrong with the car its tough sh!t to your man,

As said, the Guard has absolutely no right to make a verdict like that, especially a wrong one. It was a private sale = "caveat emptor". If it was me I would consider going to his super, and then if you're not met with a favourable response I would contact the Garda ombudsman.

Re: Physical threats, I would make a formal complaint and record all future texts and phonecalls. Physical threats are not to be taken lightly, It is basically extorsion.

The law is on your side OP, and if it was me I would not ever give a penny to your man, threats or no threats.

Now, I am not giving you legal advice on the matter, I am in no position to give it so don't take the above as gospel, but,


If I turn out to be wrong with my opinions above, then the days of private buying and selling of cars are numbered.

Cuddlesworth

I would be having a chat with the Guards super since he is clearly incapable of doing his job.

unkel

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I would be having a chat with the Guards super since he is clearly incapable of doing his job.

I'm not one for going over someone's head. But that Garda made a grave error of judgement and / or doesn't understand his role towards the public at all.

The only way he can be prevented from doing something like this again in the future is by going to his super. I agree.

bryaner

Think you got a feckin mud guard there man..

couldntthink

Are you sure it was a real cop and not a monkey with a blue shirt and a stab vest, cos he obviously has no idea what he's on about.

I sold a car recently, it was tip top, just spent loads of money on it and had a 3 day old nct on it. Guy bought it and rang 2 hours later saying he wasn't happy, a rear spring broke on the way home. Anyone with any mechanical knowledge will know that you can't tell if a coil spring is going to break or not. My initial thought was f**k you buddy, you bought it, not my problem now. I told him I was sorry about his bad luck but it was sold as seen and not my problem.

Next morning I decided I'd help him out. Rear spring on a toledo is a quick job and second hand spring is cheap. I rang him and told him I'd have a spring sent to him asap and he could pay to fit it (30 euro tops). I got him to send me a pic of the broken spring in the car just to verify he wasn't chancing his arm. It was genuine. I called a breaker near him and paid 30 euro by card to have a spring sent to him by courier by the following morning. I told the guy and he said ok.

What thanks did I get? Constant phone calls asking where is it, why isn't it here yet blah blah blah. And not even a thank you at the end of it, ignorant c**t. Once bitten twice shy. If it happens again the person will be told politely to go and jump. I can be quite bad tempered at times and I don't know why I didn't let rip at him, but thats that. Thats my 2 cents anyway.

Means Of Escape

You gave no warranty with that car. As stated by another the cam would have a knocking sound if it was on the way out.
How are you to know that he didn't gun it on the motorway?!?
Tell him to take a long walk on a short pier.
If a buyer wants a guarantee then he or she has to buy from a dealer who will stick you for more money for the same car.
So in the sellers mind he can make **** of a good engine a month later and have you on the hook for it?!? Come on.

I expect YOU posted off the log book so it's no longer your baby

Browney7

When selling cars make sure they go far far away:D That's my two cents anyway

Senna

I'd report that guard to the Garda Ombudsman, he is completely wrong and he should realise that his position of authority means his word will hold water with many people. If he didn't know what he was talking about he shouldn't have commented or just dealt with the threats and no more.
Many people would just pay out the money if told they are liable by a guard.

samsemtex

unkel wrote: »

The Garda said that? That's shocking. Totally unprofessional :eek:

The Garda should spoken to the buyer about his threats of using violence. He should have completely ignored discussing the car. Selling a car is a private matter, nothing to do with the Gardai.

That is not in the least bit shocking unfortunately. Most of them are uneducated fools. NEVER ask a Garda for legal advice.

-Chris-

Alright, let's relax with the Garda-bashing.

Back to the OP's discussion!

neacy69

Thanks for all the advice....As mentioned by my bro in an earlier post, things escalated fairly quickly when it all happened.

It all seems to have calmed down a bit now and we made a phone call last night to politely tell him that we wont be giving him any money so hopefully thats the end of it (he didn't answer and hasn't called back yet)


Cheers

Wolverine_1999

couldntthink wrote: »

What thanks did I get? Constant phone calls asking where is it, why isn't it here yet blah blah blah. And not even a thank you at the end of it, ignorant c**t. Once bitten twice shy. If it happens again the person will be told politely to go and jump. I can be quite bad tempered at times and I don't know why I didn't let rip at him, but thats that. Thats my 2 cents anyway.

What has happened to this country? I don't remember where people were so rude and obnoxious when I was growing up.

Now I didn't grow up in Limerick but I find my friendliest neighbours are all the foreigners!

Ignore the buyer.. car was not properly inspected which was no fault of the seller. If it is a "known" issue with the car, then the buyer should have done a bit of research. Let them make the mistake of coming on to your property and then you can call a (real) Guard to remove them and tell them the laws in relation to private sales.

Soarer

neacy69 wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice....As mentioned by my bro in an earlier post, things escalated fairly quickly when it all happened.

It all seems to have calmed down a bit now and we made a phone call last night to politely tell him that we wont be giving him any money so hopefully thats the end of it (he didn't answer and hasn't called back yet)


Cheers

After reading this thread, I certainly won't be buying that Megane CC you have for sale!

Edit: Ahh, just checked the link in your sig there, and it's sold. That ruined that joke!

neacy69

Soarer wrote: »

After reading this thread, I certainly won't be buying that Megane CC you have for sale!

Edit: Ahh, just checked the link in your sig there, and it's sold. That ruined that joke!

Thats actually the car in question!

vincenzolorenzo

Don't give him a single cent. Warranty on private sales lasts until the car drives out the gate. Chancers

Mar4ix

cant imagine diagnose camshaft fault without striping top of engine .

mondeo

Give him the two finger salute and hold them high with a smile..

johnos1984

mondeo wrote: »

Give him the two finger salute and hold them high with a smile..

Our man in Havana

Browney7 wrote: »

When selling cars make sure they go far far away:D That's my two cents anyway

Agreed. Last car I sold was a 106 with a terminal oil leak and bad brakes. Sold as seen. All faults clearly disclosed. Got a call from a lad only 3 miles down the road. No way was I going to sell it to him. You could imagine the grief. Luckily a Russian chap from Mayo bought it and it went 200 miles away. He was happy with his purchase faults and all.