nath86

Hello i sold my subaru impreza WRX last week, there was not a mark or even a slight ping from the engine or anything wrong when i owned it, and i always had it serviced and never drove it hard. Then 2 days later i have a very threatening email saying the big ends have gone and along with other nasty stuff , he had only done 400 miles and was taking it to germany where he is based, should i give the guy his money back? in my thinking to have the big ends let go is from a constant hammering at high speeds? for a long period of time? now im not a dodgy car dealer and hate that this has caused the guy such problems and feel real guilty, but in the same sense he has caused real stress to me and my family with what he has been emailing, the only reason i sold the car is because i have a crittically ill 17 week old daughter that has just had 1 op and needs 2 more and i dont have the time for the impreza as she is more important at the mo! and he knows that!. So all im asking is, what should i do, and am i right with the big ends?, cos i dont want to give the bloke any money if im right?

nath86

also the car had really low miles and was serviced when it was due.

GC8

Its not uncommon for newly purchased vehicles engines to let go. If he had driven it like you had been doing, then it probably would still be fit.

GC8

Ive read a little more of your original post now. Id take a copy of all of th eemails to your local Police station and see that they deal with it. The vehicle was sold as is and as long as you didnt lie to or deceive the buyer then the responsibility lies with him. Its almost certainly his own doing: if it all appeared fit when he bought it then it almost certainly was.

Simon

DaveR

As long as your conscience is clear ie. you looked after the car well and sold it with only good intentions, then don't let it worry you. The whole premise of a private sale is 'sold as seen'. That is why the stealers whack a premium on - because the buyer normally has the right to take the car back if it goes wrong. With a private sale, the risk is entirely in the hands of the buyer. This sounds like unfortunate timing - but $hit happens

BargainGirl

It's your choice what to do. If your conscience is clear and you really had no idea that anything was wrong then I would just ignore all attempts to threaten you, take everything to the Police, then if anything happens they have something to go on.

rbaz

iTrader: (1)

Sorry to hear your problems.
What year and model was the car?
UK or Jap import?
Was it standard?

When you buy a car second hand/private you take your chances, inspect it best you can or get an independent vehicle check.
If it goes bang it’s the new owner’s bad luck unless you knew there was a problem there when you sold it.
If the guy had been reasonable contacting you, you may have wanted to give a small back to maybe cover a little of the costs (but no where near all) but only as good will on your part.

Because he has been threatening don’t even answer him, make a copy of the emails and I would report them at your local station then if you have any further problems the Police would have more to go on.

I wouldn't be giving any refund don’t be intimidated

Shark Man

One thing I hate about Impreza engines, is a worn/tired engine can sound perfect and goes on forever if driven nicely. (forget the warm-up nonsense often spouted ). Then take it for a good hammering, and it suddenly starts clattering like a old bag of spanners.

Usually, its oil changes or new owners that brings it to light.

Of course there are other factors: Driving the car hard with a dodgy MAF sensor or using a modified car/JDM import on the wrong fuel being well known issues.


If you can honestly say there was no running, perfromance, visual or noise issues that you knew of that could indicate a future problem presented by the car during your ownership or when the new owner inspected it - how can you or anyone else predict its impending failure?

Its a classic problem with car engines of any sorts - they can sound and run perfect; yet the only way to be sure is to fully strip the engine to inspect its internals. I say this from experience as I have purchased a number of claimed "good" engines that have turned out to be past their sell-by date when I stripped them down (the unknown condition being the reason why they were stripped in the first place - including the ones that ran ok).

The Chief

Mine went pop after a sustained high speed run in Germany.

Imprezas dont like sustained top speed runs as the airflow goes over the scoop apparently.

Tell him to f**k off and tell him you have also forwarded the e-mails onto the police and will have him arrested for threatening behavior if he continues.

DazW

iTrader: (1)

Agreed, mine went pop after a 'maximum velocity' test, shortly after purchase ...engine appeared in very good health before that point

nath86

Hey guys thanks for all the replies, yea the car was a very healthy car as far as i knew, she ran lovely and i loved and cherished her and always had it serviced properly and run on super unleaded where ever it went, i cant say i never ever drove the car hard cos that would be a lie, Its an impreza, but i never ever drove it real hard as it was my 3rd baby lol, i have said to the bloke that i will go to the police now, and i will do that today, i do have all the copies of emails times and dates on the comp, i dont feel guilty now as i know it wasnt my fault, just bad luck on his part or his driving?? thanks guys

GC8

Good luck with what really matters.

The Chief

No probs

STi8 Mate

My guess is:-

a) you haven't seen the car since the problem
b) you don't know what he's done, or not done, in terms of fuel and oil etc
c) you don't know how he drove/misused the car

All that's out of your hands so I should rest easy over it all.
Good luck with everything.

rickya

iTrader: (18)

Tell him to f&cK*ff

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

If your conscience is clear i.e. it was well looked after and you didn't misrepresent the car then send one E-mail explaining this and that you will not tolerate any more threatening mail from him and they will be sent to the authorities.

Used cars are sold privately "as seen" as he well knows. You simply do not know how this car was treated after being sold. Some unscrupulous individuals even change parts on a car for knackered components just to get their money back whilst keeping the perfectly good bits for their own use/to sell on.

Its unfortunate, but assuming you can hand on heart say you had looked after it and genuinley believed the car to be in good order, it's tough *******!

FWIW and IIRC Imprezas often drop big ends as a result of detonation which, for example, can set in during sustained high speed runs if charge temps aren't kept under control, which isnt beyond the relm of possibility with a TMIC on the old bonnet design, where ariflow can get directed over the intercooler scoop rather than in it.

They''re sprint cars, not autobahn blitzers!

Ns04

beanys

iTrader: (3)

How do you know the big ends have actually gone
could be scam for you to give him some money back
be weary very weary

Shark Man

Of course, in scoobynet tradition; When a owner of an Impreza creates a thread about their engine blowing up shortly after purchasing the car. Fellow Snetters will be claiming the previous owner knew full well, and should claim repair costs, quoting sales and good act, take him to court, etc etc.

Doesn't help things, but it just shows the somewhat contradictory thinking on this forum in these situations

rbaz

iTrader: (1)

Big difference between buying a car from a dealer with warranty and buying one second hand privately.
If he was the buyer posting a what should I do post I would tell him tough luck if you wanted a warranty should have paid for car from a dealer.

nath86

well, he told me that he was a top mechanic before joining the army, i done a 110 mile round trip to pick him up from bristol airport and bring him 2 my family home without even a misshap or anything, fair play to the bloke, he wanted to see it started from cold, so in between waiting for it to be cold he went through the whole car, he had all corners jacked up and checked absolutly everthing, from wheel bearings to any crash damage (which there wasnt any) he checked everything, he was under the bonnet for at least 2 hours whilst i sat inside watching telly with my family, then came in and sat with us talking for ages, (i didnt think he would leave lol) then he started it up with no probs at all,. anyway after taking the car for a long test drive he finally parted with the cash at about 10.30 at night and started to drive it back to germany, then the next thing i knew, a threatening email saying he had to pay for road assistance and that he was grabbing a flight over to sort it and i will give him his money back etc etc and along with other stuff which i cant mention on this forum, i did explain that im sorry for what has happened but she was fine when i owned her, always looked after and i was real suprised that it had happened, but that just made him email me with a load more of threatening emails, and after talking to friends and the scooby net members i have came to a conclusion that it was not my fault, the car was perfectly fine when i owned it, i never miss guided the guy at all, i let him go over the car for 4 hours ffs because i knew she was as straight as any impreza should be, done a 110 mile trip for the bloke for free because i thought he was a nice guy and that it was going to good home??
and no i havnt seen the car, havnt heard it, so all i have is his word that its blown the big ends, i now have sent him an email stating that i will not tolerate anymore threatening emails, iv gone to the police with all copys that he sent me, and i cant help any further with the matter. and he replied saying he is taking me to small claims to get his money back and that this problem wont go away, and he will see me soon.
what a complete as* hole!!!
Thanks for all your replies guys and gals, i wish i could tell him to fu*k off but then that wud be stooping to his level, which i wont do

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

its a shame this has happened. from what youve said, you were entirely fair with him, and shouldnt have anything to worry about.

id like to know what hes gonna say if/when it went to a small claims court.

obviously in your defence you can tell them how you let hm check the car over, test drive it, even picked him up etc.

wihtout knowing both sides its hard to see the outcome, but from what you have put on here, you seem a genuine enough guy. if the other guy was a lot more polite and wasnt threatening, it may have been hard to digress a winner, but from the current evidence seems he will **** himself up before hes even started. make sure the police have a log if required to call upon in court. thats if the looser even takes it this far.

sarnyboy

tell him to **** off, but if he is a big bloke, move house as well lol

nath86

well he aint very big lol, just looks like nutter with scars all over his face and his nose is in the wrong place lol and he is scottish (no offence to any scottish people) but he did seem like a real nice guy, but i should of taken him on face value it seems, looks like i will move house lol. Cheers guys

zs_phil

iTrader: (1)

he's probably been on their autobahns at 140mph for a good while then all of a sudden its gone pete tong so he's thought ill ring him up and he can come and get it and give me my money back or his lass has seen it and said "what you bought that thing for i wanted a smart car "

Shark Man

Funny you should say that, as that's exactly what I said in those threads with regards to people who bought cars privately that blew up and want compensation from teh previous owner. Then some smart alec would always come back saying it does include private sales (fit for purpose - as descibed).

Seriously, post as a noob saying you just bought a car privately that blew up and you think the previous owner knew about it. (not that I would condone such an act).

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

hes probable been thrashing the beejeezus out of it driving like a bat out of hell everywhere . i had a bmw for a few years and it was fine no problems mechanically always serviced . i sold it and after a week the chap rang me and said the gearbox had gone and wanted a refund . i told him that it had never had anygearbox problems and had had a clutch and flywheel fitted 2 months previous. he took it to a garage who said it would cost 800 quid for a box and he emailed me the report sheet from the garage . i then rang the garage for some info the chap at the garage (very helpful) said the clutch was non existant when he took it out (3 months old) the rear tyres were down to canvas(4 months old) he said that the car had been put under serious stress hence the box giving up . i told him about the situation and he said probable cause was that the new owner was probably attempting to donut the car or doing serious burnouts . with this info i rang the new owner and told him what the garage had found and i have never heard from him since .

i had copies of all the reciepts from the garages who had done the clutch etc for me so he was trying to pull a fast one after thrashing the car like an idiot .

dj219957

agree with above, scoobs often go pop when they change hands. the new owner puts some crap supermarket fuel in it then rags the beans out of it to see what it will do including a top speed run. Scoobs dont lend them selves to top speed runs especially the imports. Stand your ground. Sold as seen.

deangtiuk

iTrader: (3)

Very true, No warranty given? Sold as seen? Don't worry mate you have better things to worry about.

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

Small claims court..?!!

So he's going to admit he's not an expert 'army' mechanic afterall..? As after a 4hr detailed inspection and extensive road test, he failed to spot something that you supposedly already knew about, as a none professional..?

If he, as a 'professional', couldn't find fault, after going to such lengths to ensure all was well with the car, then nobody reasonably could..!

End of case..!

I doubt you'll hear any more, but if he does, Lol, **** him up by claiming the ecu stores the last few hours of data, ie speed/loadings/temps/fuel type etc..

It's almost certain he's ragged it at constant WOT, probably on NUL to save on the fuel bill back to sausage land..

You'd be amazed how many people think Subaru's are indestructible..!