Am I Obligated to Pay him?
 

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. *edit: he now wants me to pay in full*

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?

Fuck him. If he was a responsible buyer, he would've brought the car in to a shop to have it checked out himself. But no, he's a lazy fuck. You told him what you knew, so you did your job. Tell him to go suck your balls if he makes another threat.

I mean, I would like to think that way, but what I want to know is legally, am I obligated?

LOL funny as hell. Tell him if he was so concerned he should of had a inspection done on the car. You are not liable for anything and there's nothing he can do about it. That's why when buying a new vehicle it's always better paying BCAA to get a 150 point inspection done so you don't run into these issues.

No you are not obligated at all. Who says he wasn't rat bagging it or something. It's nothing to stress over he cant do shit.

No

hey
 

Fuk him he prob burnt the clutch is this his first car driving stick

It's all buyer beware. He should have been responsible for getting the car checked out before buying. If anything happens after then it is his fault.

Anyone with common sense should check something out before they buy it, especially a high priced item. "good condition" can mean different things to different people. It can mean that it works or that it is spotless. Tell him that your dad is in the mafia and tell him to fuck off.

To be fair, he was a middle aged gentleman with two kids, so I highly doubt the chances of him wrecking the clutch from lack of driving experience. He is not "yelling" (via e-mail) at me or anything, but it does seem like he really wants me to pay for the other half of the repairs.

The car is considered to be sold as is. Tell them to sue u. If his father is really an attorney, he'll know that it's ridiculous to sue for 1,700. Court fee will cost more than that easily. Call his bluff.
Posted via RS Mobile

LOL too many nice guys like you.. i wouldnt even consider paying half. guy shoulda checked out the car completely before buying.


just cause hes a middle age man doesnt mean he knows how to drive standard.

don't fall for his threats... seriously, regardless of what age he is, he could still suck at driving stick, and regardless, he should have had it inspected prior to making his decision to purchase it. For all you know he could've used the car to teach his entire family to drive stick, and you'd be the fool paying for the new clutch... it's buyer beware, and bad luck on his part. Just politely decline, and if he chooses to take it to small claims it's up to him, but he's not going to get very far

OP:

you are not on the hook for any repairs.

Ask yourself this question, When was the last time you took your car to a shop/dealer and asked them, "So my clutch wore out, go ahead and replace it....and by the way, that'll be covered under warrenty right?"

Clutch, brakes, belts, fluids are all routine serviceable items on a car and their lifespan can be prolonged or severely reduced depending on the owner.

My bet is he is a younger kid, who got some cash from his parents to buy this car and he didnt have the best manual trans driving skills and doesnt have the cash to pay for a new clutch and is looking for an easy way out.

edit: read your lastest post. ignore the younger kid comment. lol

Tell him you contacted Berzerker. Tell him Berzerker once knew a guy who knew a lawyer. Berzerker said your a fucking douchebag maybe you should learn how to drive a standard and the clutch wouldn't have blown up. Hang up phone come back to RS and post lulz.

Berz out.

+1 on what Berz said. If I didn't hire Berz I'd be paying sooooo much child support

lol, thanks for all the "support" from you guys, and I just so happened to find the exact quote I told him regarding the clutch:

"Clutch still grabs strong, can do uphill starts with 4 occupants with no slipping at all."

Kindly reject the request. Something like a private sale is a buyer beware circumstance. There were no papers stating you would be responsible for xx repairs, or that you would provide some sort of window in which you would pay for damages.
For all you know he fucked it up somehow and is trying to lay you as a scapegoat.

Like I said, kindly reject the request. If he continues to pester, let him know that you won't be afraid to press harassment charges. It is the buyer's responsibility to have things checked out, and because of his incoherence he lucked out.

Caveat emptor. Buyer beware.
Posted via RS Mobile

True!!! Only in LB's case I told him to say... I know Berzerker and he used to listen to rap music and according to this rapper.... I don't owe you shit bitch.


Berz out.

privately sold used cars with expired warrenties are sold "as-is" no? considering the guy had the car for 3 weeks, it is likely that he messed it up. He might not be a racer, or anything, but if he knows how to drive probably then he wouldnt have damaged the clutch. I think he's trying to play the nice guy to think he could get away with it. Politely reject anything that comes from him and tell him to move on.

Wow, I'd tell him if wanted a warranty he should bought a new car. I'd then tell him buyer beware you're going to have to sue me sir. Have a wonderful weekend.

So it looks like I really don't have to pay for anything at all in this case. I find it quite sad that the repairs could have been much less if he had spent the time to inspect the vehicle soon after the purchase.

note: lol on the Google ads for "extended vehicle warranties"

About the issue of responding to a direct question

it'll be based on your wording in the response like if you said "to the best of my knowledge" or "as far as i know" etc (then u wouldnt have a problem)

aside from that its not a brand new car so clutch wear is to be expected

and clutches can break in no time even if its brand new based on the driver

yada yada issues of reasonable time since time of sale until the problem will be brought up yada yada buyer beware


if you didn't want to pay for the clutch and it did go to small claims court you do have a case (as long as you didnt say the clutch is in perfect condition etc etc) there are so many variables but he could have a case too based on your responses

LOL!

The he said I said game. Fuck his empty threats and move on with your life.

Not worth getting gray hairs over.

a friend of mine had a similar issue, he sold a kid his imported MR2 and the kid bagged the fuck out of it, he quickly blew the tranny and when he brought it to his mech the mech said the tranny was low on fluid, so the kid wanted $5k from my friend for a new tranny (the car was sold for $7k or something) because "your cars tranny blew"

my friends response? "no, my cars tranny is fine. YOUR car has a blown one"

and like people above said, it's buyer beware. once that car is registered to him it's his problem unless you have some sort of warranty agreement.