Sorry this may be a long read.

Yesterday I sold my MY97 STI.
The guy that collected the car had a very good look over the car and gave the car a good thrashing when testing it revving it much higher than I ever do 7500-8000rpm.
We had all ready agreed a price (€600 under asking price) on condition he viewed the car and was happy.
After looking at it he wanted some money off.
The cam belt is due and some surface rust underneath needs treating (I did tell him about this before he viewed the car) and after the test drive the car was bubbling a little. Not boiling and the temp was fine just sounded like an air lock.
After the car cooled a little we needed to add approx 1/2 a litre of water but there was no pressure in the system at all. I have recently put new hoses on the car and assumed it was just an air lock and the car hadn't been run hard since I changed them.
I/he didn’t think this was a problem and he renegotiated the price which was €400 less previously agreed (€1000 less in total).

When he returned home with the car he emailed me and said he got home ok (240km) but it was still bubbling a little.
This morning a received an email saying the car had used 2ltr of water in 15km and that he could see traces of a radiator sealer around the header tank.
He is taking it to a dealer today suspect about the head gasket and would get back to me.

What do I do

I sold the car in good faith and when he took the car was happy about the bubbling. I feel terrible if it is a head gasket but as he lives so far away can’t offer to help change it and I don’t think he can do it himself.

What do I do
I can’t pay a dealer to fix the car if it is a head gasket and he already got a good discount on the car but I feel really bad.
What would you all do?

 

Sold as seen!

 

Sounds like he got what he deserved, gave it a good thrapping got a good discount and now he can use the 1k he saved fixing it..
Happens to the best of us.. Sold as seen.
Your not responsable once he hands over the cash and drives off it becomes his car so his problem.
Sounds like a bit of a tool as well, welcome to high performance cars
p.s buy some £'s with those euros is the first thing i would do

 

If he thrashed it that much with you in it, imagine what the drive home was like....

 

Buyer beware, sold as seen , tough luck.

 

I agree with all of the above...

 

Sold as seen and he knew there was some kind of problem before he took it off your hands! If the problem developed more after buying the car its down to him NOT you!

 

not to mention the extra 400 he dropped the price when he took it, tell him that'll go towards any repairs it needs

 

As above, sold as seen.

Suggest you're a bit more diplomatic than that with your E-mail than just saying that. Try explaining that he can put the money he negotiated off the car towards any repair, but that ultimately, you can't be responsible for the escalation of a problem that occurs after you are no longer the owner of the car.

You were honest in selling the vehicle and describing it's condition, so your responsibility has been met. It's unfortunate and one sympathises, but it's no longer your problem.

Ns04

 

I know it plays on your mind if you haven't done it before. But don't give it a second thought.
He got a generous discount, and its sold as seen as usual. He sounded very thorough with his checks, so its just one of them things.

 

Thanks guys

That is why I sold the car so I can get a newer more comfy new age now we are expecting a baby.
Subarus really keep their money here and the £-€ means its the time to change.

I just feel really bad am just waiting feeling very nervous for a call or email with him demanding money etc

 

Mate

Dont worry about it.

I brought my sccoby about 3 weeks ago. Me & a mate checked it over as much as we could and drove it as much as possible. HOWEVERE, I knew that if something went wrong with the car after I brought it, I was the one who would have to pay to get it fixed.

You already done the guy a favour by dropping the price.

If he thought there was a real problem he should have got you to get a garage to have a look before he parted with his money.

 

If he becomes a muppet then tell him to ring this number for some help 08457 90 90 90 or visit there website!


Home-->

He will then know he's been put in his place.

 

If you've offered no warranty with the car then the minute he hands you the money for the car and he has the keys you absolve all responsibility for that vehicle as you are no longer the owner. You may feel guilty about what has happened but it isnt your fault, as stated earlier, if he ragged the car with you in it, what would he have done without you there???

Tough ****

Steve

 

to be fair i would never considder thrashing a car to within an inch of it's life, especially on a test drive, i'd feel guilty in case i did any damage. As you hadn't paid a penny i guess you could walk away scott free if you did the damage while on a test drive ??(not sure on the law) but still i think his driving style is the root cause of the issue and not your car, after all it was fine when you had it and drove it !!

Stick to your guns

 

Well he has just phoned me
The car is still bubbling and losing a little water through the expansion tank so it looks like a head gasket has gone or a cracked head

He was very nice and believed me that I didn’t know there was a problem and said he doesn’t want his money back but would like help fixing the car. (no money mentioned)
He is going away for a month (I knew this before hand) so it’s going to be a while before anything happens.
He is sending me an official letter informing me that the car has a fault and says that in France it’s the seller’s responsibility to sell a good car but I have never heard of that before surely it’s the same as the UK

Well if all is nice I will offer to change the gaskets and even source them for him but I cant pay for parts a month after.
I can rest a little easier until next month

 

Why did you change the hoses?

 

Tell him you want £400 for fixing it as he took it with the fault and thats why you knocked more money off! Only fair IMHO

Tell him that and i bet he wont ring you again! lol

 

I did a group buy on them as the bottom hoses looked origional and needed changing.

 

Well personally i wouldn't have sold it with a problem - just to avoid situations like this. I would have thought the law would be the same though caveat emptor - buyer beware.

You can't lie or cover up faults but if they are pointed out then he can't complain, the responsibilitiy lies with him to be happy.

Given the situation though best i think you can offer (if anything) would be to pay for the gaskets and let him sort the labour out.

5t.

 

Sod that, why should you help him?? as above mentioned sold as seen, i know it may seem abit caless, but if the guy hammered like that on the test drive how do you/he know he didn,t contribute to the problem himself..

 

Had exactly the same thing happen when I sold my Range Rover

Even more embarrassingly it blew up on the buyer on his way home

I started a "conversation" with the guy -- but after talking to my mate who owns a independent garage -- he said don’t -- sold as seen especially since the guy had a test drive etc

Basilically he said that unless you are prepared to compensate him -- which I wasn’t don’t even enter into a discussion

I felt bad and ****ty, but obviously not enough to “help”

 

'sold as seen' is not a defence in UK law, however the car is not in an unsafe (unroadworthy) condition (the extent of your liability under UK law assuming it can't be shown you told porkies), I have no idea about French law though.

That not withstanding, the buyer had the opportunity to test the car and was aware of the issue and still happy to buy, the car is not unroadworthy, nor is it dangerous in anyway, so I suspect legally he's on his own, morally you haven't tried to 'cheat' him (assuming your telling the whole truth to us) so its up to you if you offer some 'help' or not!

Simon

 

I have just found this site about French right when buying a car.
http://www.parisfranceguide.com:81/i...age&PAGE_id=45

There is a section on rights as a buyer

This is going to do my head in, he is away for a month so not going to be sorted soon I daren’t buy a new car now until this is finished with
I will just have to wait for the letter to arrive from him then get professional help see what they say.
I would prefer to pay for new gaskets (what £150 ish ) than have the hassle and any more problems fixing it myself.

 

Job 1: get it fixed and for him to agree in writing that any other fault is not your problem.

Job 2: One way ticket back to blighty!

 

i didnt see that this was subject to French law

but the problem you might have, is that, as soon as you start offering something -- the door is open and you are admitting some sort of liability

and if he is as big a **** as he sounds where will he stop!!! before you know it ,either you'll be offering, or he will be demanding that you wipe his **** for him

best stopped now imo

 

If I could take back every second hand car I have privately bought that has developed a fault I would have saved £000's

He decided to buy the car, You sold to him in good faith, It was working as described when you sold it, Job done.

You have done nothing wrong. Plus he lives miles away

 

Thanks for the replies guys
I had a visit from a French friend and he doesn’t think there is any comeback as I am not a business.

I have just had a thought when I changed the hoses I cleaned the header tank lid it was a little gunked up.
Maybe it is not sealing or very weak and letting a little pressure past. This would then bubble in the overflow and lose some water without the car over heating
If it was a gasket surely it would have gone big time when a new buyer raggs it a little? especially the distance he drove it.

 

Found something which may help you:

France: Selling a car, What to consider when selling your car in France, Before selling a car in France, you m

Particularly this part:

With the purchaser, draw up a list of minor damage and faults and ask him to sign that he accepts these ( ‘lue et approuvée’ or ‘ Monsieur X accepte l’état du véhicule’ followed by the date). Include in the receipt that you’re selling the car without a guarantee ( sans garantie), the price paid and the car’s kilometre reading. The new owner may ask for a declaration in writing that the car is accident-free ( sans accident/non-accidenté); this refers to major accidents causing structural damage and not slight knocks.

From this I would say he has no leg to stand on and you have already gone far beyond where you needed to. Sold as seen. Tell him sorry, c'est la vie.

Hope that helps.

 

Thanks for that Ved French paperwork and the law is a nightmare.
I had a lot of trouble getting it French registered in the first place.

We didn’t give each other a receipt and nothing was signed apart from the transfer document.
He paid by Bankers draft so that’s proof of sale I guess.