REVscene Automotive Forum - Am I Obligated to Pay him?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Jgresch (Post 6988732)

respond with
"My dad is a hitman, try me."

Haha, that just might get me into trouble so I'd rather not. It would be cool if that was true though!

Did you have a mechanical inspection done on your own car? Did he tell you that your clutch fluid was leaking? Were you aware of the clutch fluid leaking before you sold it to him? Did you lie about knowing it?

If the answers to those questions are "no", then you have no problems whatsoever. The only time you would be liable are when you are aware of a problem and lie about it--and then you are liable for the whole amount. In that case, however, he should fix the car (for as much as possible) and then sue you for the costs in small claims.

You are fine.

I don't know how it this will turn out legally.

But I do know a way to avoid it from happening to any seller. At time of sale, make up a contract saying something like "The car is the sole responsibility of the buyer, the seller is not responsible for anything after the sale". Have both party sign it and keep it for records.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berzerker (Post 6988765)

HAHAHA Leaking clutch fluid does NOT affect the clutch itself it only affects the application of the clutch. IF it was out of fluid he would not have been able to press the clutch anyways and it in no way affects the actual clutch itself. He is trying to fuck with you don't play the game and tell him you are under no obligation to recoup any losses on his behalf and that any further contact should be through the court system.

Berz out.

What he said.

Clutch fluid affects the slave and master cylinders, not the clutch. The slave cylinder itself might be toast, but if he's talking about leaking fluid, I can guarantee it hasn't affected the clutch. Fluid doesn't come into contact with the actual clutch at all.

u have no idea what he has done with the car since u sold it to him so why would u be held liable?

he may have stuck his dick into his clutch and fucked it up that way and you would never know so how would this hold up in court

Great the good ol my dad is a lawyer tactic. Fuck this guy it was all his fault for not getting an inspection done before buying. Condition as is bitch.

Ur saying the guy is a middle ages guy his dad must be retired lawyer, plus leaking fluid doesnt mean shit about burning the clutch means u cant push the peddle. 1700 for a clutch seems kinda high what kind of car is this

Used vehicles are sold on as-is basis, too bad on his part for not checking. Just ignore the douchebag!

from the first email, u shoulda just responsded like, "too long, did not read"

it's situations like these that make me glad i learnt a few things from watching people's court.

you aren't a mechanic, so to the best of your knowledge the clutch was fine. the buyer is also on the hook for not having the car properly inspected before purchase AND it's been 3 full weeks since he took possession.

as everyone else has said, you don't owe shit! :thumbsup:

My take...

To be fair, the only reason you are asking this question is because of the guilt you feel for misrepresenting the clutches condition. If you had truly believed the clutch was fine when the transfer was made, you wouldn't have even asked about the legal obligation. It would have been mind boggling to even suggest you had any kind of responsibility.

He put trust into your strong statements about the clutches condition (ie. No slippage starting with 4 people on a hill etc.) Also, everyone with half a brain who has driven a car for three years straight can tell when the clutch is winding down on its usable life. So I have no doubt that you were somewhat aware of the clutch's condition.

Now that I have said that...

You shouldn't be responsible morally or legally to pay him a red cent. As a middle aged man, he should be well aware of the risks with buying a used car. I knew about them when I was 16. If we are too lazy to complete due diligence we deserve to pay from our own pockets until we realize to do so in the future.

We are also talking about a clutch. A component that can be destroyed in minutes. If his mechanic found some evidence of problems with the leaking fluid, he should have investigated more before buying, or made a new offer. Both very acceptable practices.

Either way, just tell him you had no idea there was a problem if there in fact was, and you're sorry that he had to experience this situation so soon after buying your car (notice you're not apologizing for anything you did). Then let yourself feel a little down for a few days, realizing that his kids don't get to go to Disneyland this year. Seems about right.

PS. Everyone's been there

I once bought a used car from a big name dealer, rolled off the lot and my window fell off the track. I took it back a half hour after I bought it and they pretty much told me to fuck off in a nice way.
So the first day every owning a decently newer vehicle I had to fix the window.

AS IS, WHERE IS, don't expect anything else

Buyer probably got his kids to learn how to drive stick on the car.

like everyone else said, call his bluff

Tell him to sue you.

But yea is buyer's beware. Unless you agree you will pay for warrantly then he got nothing on you.

Ha...when I bought my car, I went to get insurance and came back to get the car. It wouldn't start. Took me half an hour to get the fucker started and go home.

I think that kid is laughing to this day.

I'm never allowed to buy a car again. Can grind for others, but my emotions get in my decisions.

The car is awesome though ;)

Oh...and I never thought to ask for a refund.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chucki (Post 6988379)

First off, sorry if this is posted in the wrong section and I know this forum is probably not the best place to ask for help on something like this, but I do know that there are a few people on here that are actually educated enough to provide me good advice on this matter.

Scenario:

Summary: Sold car 3 weeks ago, got an e-mail today saying how the clutch blew up and the costs will be around $1700 to fix with parts and labour. He is asking me to pay for half.

His Argument: When he was asking for information on the vehicle via e-mail, he asked if the clutch was in good condition. I told him yes as I had been driving the vehicle for over 3 years without any issues with the clutch. That is, to my best knowledge at the time, of the condition of the clutch and I was not trying to hide anything from him. He also said his mechanic stated the clutch fluid has been leaking for a while, which I was unaware of because I rarely look under that area.

His recent e-mail: "I spoke with my father, who's an attorney, he said that because you responded to a direct question as to the condition of the clutch being in good condition, you can be held responsible for the cost of the repairs. You, knowingly or unknowingly, misrepresented the condition of it. The key is that I asked you about it so you should have made sure that the info you were giving me was true. I've kept the emails from you in case it has to go to small claims court."

How the initial sale went: He is from the Island, and we met up one day to complete our sale based on our conversation over e-mail. He bought the car after seeing it for himself and the keys were handed over to him. He drove home that day and that was the last time I ever saw the vehicle.

My question: Am I obligated to pay for half of the repairs? I mean, I didn't know the clutch was leaking fluid, and all I know is that it was working the way it should at the time. Also, the vehicle was fully available for inspections but he just chose not to look at it at all, so can it really be my fault?

tell his father to fuck off. How do YOU know that he didnt drop clutch at every red light that fuked up the clutch? Even if he tried to do a burnout and lack the skills to do it can fry a clutch in less than a minute. Even if you had a brand new clutch in there, his ignorance can easily mess it up in that short period. He has no solid case. Dont let his bluff get you, if his dad's an attorney, he wouldnt be buying a used old car in the first place.

Thanks for all the replies and by the way, this is his breakdown for the quoted price of 1700:

"So the hydrolics had to be completely redone as the master and slave cylinders were both leaking. On top of that the clutch plate was past the rivets. It had scored the flywheel. As well there were some broken bits from somewhere flying around inside the bell housing. So it's a complete clutch rebuild. Just to do the clutch, the book says 8.3 hrs. The hydrolics where another 4hrs. @ $90/hr. that's $1107.00 just in labor. Parts are going to be about $450.00. So with taxes, that's about $1750.00. It wont be finished till Monday, so I wont get the final total before then. Could be a bit less."

I just find it unlikely for the clutch to go in his 2 weeks 4 days of ownership versus my 3+ years that I've owned the vehicle.

Note: I told him I can help with the costs of the parts with my Lordco discount and he told me the shop he is dealing with will not accept customer parts because the shop itself needs to make a profit selling the parts. I've never heard of a shop that doesn't accept customer parts other than the original dealer.

I got a quote like that once to fix my clutch in high school. Instead of trying to scam someone into paying for my repairs, I asked for a jack and jack stands for my birthday borrowed some tools , and found a buddy that worked at lordco to get me a good deal on a clutch. Then I changed it myself for a 1/4 of what it would cost and learned a shit load in the process. Some kids are just to lazy and never want the blame to be on them.

O yea and after I figured out how much of a bitch it was to change a front wheel drive clutch I never did a burnout again because I didn't wanna change it again

Quote:

Originally Posted by chucki (Post 6989487)

Note: I told him I can help with the costs of the parts with my Lordco discount and he told me the shop he is dealing with will not accept customer parts because the shop itself needs to make a profit selling the parts. I've never heard of a shop that doesn't accept customer parts other than the original dealer.

So he's obviously trying to juice some money off you, if the shop "won't accept customer parts"

You should just call his bluff.
You should just meet him somewhere, and show him how you drive the car. And if theres a significant difference from before you sold it then obviously the guy fucked it up.

Chances are he won't show, cause this sounds pretty BS to me.

Just tell him its his problem now and stop replying to his emails. You told him everything you knew about the vehicle. If hes too lazy or cheap to get the vehicle inspected before buying it then its his fault.

Hey, if your offering him to pay costs for the parts and hes making some bullshit up tell him to go fuck his own asshole and to kill himself.