Discussions

Sold my Truck AS IS - but Buyer Now says 4wheel drive doesn't work...

Posted by wagerwitch • 10/05/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: is previous owner responsible as soon as purchase is bought?, problems with 4wheel drive, used vehicle purchases

OK - here's a question for all of you.

I just sold my 1999 Ford Ranger that was in good condition.

The buyer had to pay for delivery off island - and paid to have it taken to the Ford Dealership which gave it a decent bill of health.

He was given a much lower price than the asking price (1,000.00 less than the original asking price.) And almost 1500.00 below bluebook price (I felt sorry for him).

At the time the vehicle left the island everything was in working order.

Buyer gets vehicle - takes it for a drive - turns on the 4wheel drive - it works.

Buyer then decides to take the vehicle ONTO the beach out on to the sand - and gets it stuck.

Buyer calls up and says the only reason he bought it was for the 4wheel drive and that the 4wheel drive does not work.

I offer him UP TO 500.00 to fix the 4wheel drive - as buyer has had it less than 24 hours.

But - I'm beginning to wonder if I am being ripped off?

I mean - I was being super nice to him because he runs a Christian agency that helps people... I was thinking how I would feel in that situation.

But - my husband says it is NOT my fault that he took it into the sand and that he may have done something wrong which may have broken the 4wheel drive.

I have a clean bill - minus some basic fixer upper stuff from the Ford Motor Company here...

So should I tell him to "pound sand"?

Or should I stand by my original offer of 500.00 back to fix it provided he gives me a bill from a certified mechanic?

Do you think I'm being taken for a ride?

Or do you think he has a legitimate claim?

My husband thinks I'm being taken for a ride and that I'm too nice. I'm stuck in the middle.

On one hand - IF the 4wheel drive went out - and IF it was going out prior to the shipment - I would have fixed it prior to selling it. If I had known there was a problem.

However - the 4wheel drive worked the last time we used it in July... And I never had any problems with it before.

Buyer got a great deal EVEN if the 4wheel drive doesn't work on the price of the vehicle.

So...

Should I stand by my original offer of 500?

Or should I tell him to bite me?

User Comments

10/05/09

Rainhat

I would tell him to deal with it. You already gave the guy a lower price, the 4w drive worked when you sold it, and he had it checked out by the dealership. If he decides to do something dumb with it after he bought the car, that's his problem. But then again, you already offered him the 500? Going back on your word is perhaps not optimal.

[reply]
10/05/09

trailofpen

AS IS means AS IS. Tell him he agreed to it when he bought it, so he can deal with it. That's it.

[reply]
10/05/09

wagerwitch

Thanks guys...

And Rain - the 500 - is what I am willing to do - to sleep better with myself...

But I still think I'm getting messed over somehow.

[reply]
10/05/09

amybyrd21

I always fill out the bill of sale with as is on it. I make sure it is on there for anything that I sell except livestock. Then after they get it off my property I do not have to worry about it at all. I would make him prove that it is broke

[reply]
10/05/09

Richer44

Wow... I think you have to be the nicest person in the world WW. I would have told him that it was working when it left the yard so if he wants to be dumb and go beach riding that it is his problem. And like the Kool-Aid man said... "AS IS means AS IS".

If I were you, I wouldn't have offered the $500 but I am thinking that you are just a better person then I am.

[reply]
10/05/09

wagerwitch

I just talked to him - and he said that YES - the 4wheel drive could have been an intermittent issue - that no one would have caught.

But the mechanic thinks it is only a hose - and that hose might only be about 225 for repairs - so I am only paying UP to 500.00 --- so he seems like he is a decent guy.

I dunno... I just try to think if I WERE in their shoes what would I want?

What would I expect...

And to be fair - if I bought a truck and it broke within 24 hours... I'd be upset.

But - again - Check out at Ford was done - (possible they did a bad job???)...

Also - his mechanic says problem could have been intermittent - so no one would have noticed it until it went out (which supposedly it went out as soon as he got in the sand...)

My hubby is a little upset with me - as in he's shaking his head saying that no one would treat us this good... Why am I treating someone I don't know good?

Well - I dunno - but I want to be fair.

I just want to know if he is swindling me - or if it is possible... or what other people would do...

Cause maybe I need to change or something.

[reply]
10/05/09

timethief

IMHO your husband is right on and you need to stop this vacillating at once. You sold the truck as is and that means there's nothing to discuss. Case closed.

[reply]
1. 10/05/09
  
  wagerwitch
  
  LMAO...
  
  Yeah I know...
  
  But even so - if I bought my truck (which was VERY nice... btw)
  
  And something went out of it in 24 hours - I'd want my money back too...
  
  I just don't even know what to think.
  
  On one hand my hubby is like you - saying - Too bad - you bought it - it's your junk now...
  
  But part of me... says... Think honor. On my honor I don't want a truck sold that is bad for someone else.
  
  Keep in mind I sold it 1500.00 less than bluebook value tho.
  
  So I'm like - agggggg....
2. 10/05/09
  
  trailofpen
  
  If I bought a truck AS IS, I would expect something to be wrong with it. There's no reason for it to be listed AS IS if it was perfect.
3. 10/05/09
  
  wagerwitch
  
  You guys are sooo right - I am a sucker.
4. 10/05/09
  
  trailofpen
  
  I once sold a breadmaker to a nice old lady on Ebay, who emailed me that the item was damaged beyond belief and wanted a refund. I said, ok if you want a refund, please send me pictures of the package and the item so I can open up a claim with UPS. I told her once the claim was opened, not once I received compensation, that I would refund her expenses in full, both price and shipping. She gave me a sob story about how her camera was broken and she bought it on Ebay and she had to return it, and bla bla bla. To make a long story short, I sent her an email telling her she had to return the item either on her own accord, or by opening up a claim with Ebay, in which she would be required to send the item back, and also added legal language in which a fraud lawsuit would be filed in small claims court if violated. And guess, what? She never emailed back. And if memory serves me right, it was one of the absolute best packages I had ever packaged for UPS. With some people, you never know what their agenda is.
10/05/09

dbowles1017

Why are you selling lemons Wager? I can't believe you.

[reply]
10/05/09

Arcticulates

@WW
Shouldn't the buyers 'beef' be directed towards the Ford Dealership for the lousy job of checking? After all... they gave it a decent bill of health.. you gave it a 'as is'

You should listen to your hubby he sounds like a wise man!

[reply]
10/05/09

Agit8r

i would tell him to pound sand. what a weiner!

[reply]
1. 10/05/09
  
  trailofpen
  
  Pound sand with a weiner? Sounds painful.
10/05/09

PetLvr

I dunno .. although the "as is" makes a great disclaimer, I would be quite certain there are ombudsman or court judges who might differ on larger priced items with purpose.

EG .. a 4x4 Truck should have 4x4 wheel drive.

I mean, if the radiator was leaking or something - that would qualify "as is" in my mind. Same if the muffler was broken because you could hear it.

It would be like selling a toaster, that couldn't make toast "as is". Why would one buy that? Answer? They probably wouldn't.

I'm no lawyer though

[reply]
1. 10/05/09
  
  trailofpen
  
  When she sold the truck the 4 wheel drive worked. Case closed with a cherry on top!
2. 10/05/09
  
  PetLvr
  
  you mean it was certified working by a mechanic?
3. 10/05/09
  
  trailofpen
  
  Sold as is. As much as you think the guy would have a case, there are lawyers out there who would laugh this out of court, and I would be sitting right behind them laughing my ass off too. Certified by a mechanic? LOL, would you like a warranty with that too sir? Private sale, get real.
4. 10/05/09
  
  wagerwitch
  
  Yes - it worked...
  
  Mechanic down there even confirmed that it was a hose issue that would make it intermittent - so that it would have worked or appeared to be working - until a certain point.
  
  So - even if the mechanics here would have passed it - it would have gone out.
  
  Thank goodness it wasn't the drive train.
  
  Aggg.
  
  But thanks guys.
  
  YES - Hart - it WAS certified by a mechanic prior to being sent out to the buyer.
  
  By the FORD DEALERSHIP in town.
10/05/09

crazyTsu

Move on - think of the money as fees paid for a lesson taught.. life is a school of knocks

[reply]
10/06/09

gerryPlanetEarth

Caveat Emptor...

[reply]
1. 10/06/09
  
  wagerwitch
  
  Ayuh - but that usually only works for real estate. Aggggggg.
  
  I'm selling my condo too.
  
  So - My REAR END will be saying AS IS - TOUGH TOOTIE - ONCE SALE IS DONE.
  
  I did learn my lesson this time.
10/06/09

Sam1982

I'll give you $10 for the condo and thats my final offer - and im hoping that it really is supposed to be condo and not just some typo error

[reply]
1. 10/06/09
  
  wagerwitch
  
  ROFLMAO - well Sam... OK - let's see... I'm asking 55,000.00 for it.. Hmmmmm...
  
  Uhm.. No.
  
  LOL!
  
  I live in Alaska - in a part that is reachable only by plane or boat.
  
  So the housing is less expensive than the lower 48 - it's the cost of living that will kill you. 4.75 for a loaf of San Francisco sourdough bread - 5.99 for a gallon of milk. 3.89 for gal of gas... 7.99 or so for a pint of ice cream. 5.39 for cheap cereal boxes... 6.99 lb for tomatoes - and so on.
  
  Hamburger is amazing - it might as well be gold. We bought 2 lbs the other day for 13.40.
  
  Anyhow - cough up the other 54,990.00 in USD - and we'll talk.
  
  I just found out that my condo in the lower 48 would be valued around 150 - 200,000.00 WOW!
  
  I didn't realize prices had gone up that high in the last decade.
  
  That's INSANE!
  
  What are rental prices, I wonder?
  
  Anyhow - yeah - it was condo - without the M.
10/06/09

singaporecaddy

I can understand why you're vacillating because yeah I would be terribly pissed off too if it broke right when I bought it. That actually happened to me before with a Mazda that passed inspection except for an oil leak which the owner than showed me he had fixed right before the hand over.

But it wasn't fixed.

I went back to the mechanic with the receipt and the supposed 3 month warranty on the repair and he simply denied having fixed it.

I was stuck with the bill to fix because I chased the guy several times but he wouldn't pony up and then up and disappeared on a business trip.

Having experienced that, I'd pay for getting the 4WD fixed. Obviously, I'm the only one saying that and probably have the word "sucker" stamped across my forehead. But I'm ok with that.

Btw, I was able to sell the same car, after having fixed it, at a premium. So, yah, I think your good deed will not go unnoticed.

[reply]
1. 10/06/09
  
  wagerwitch
  
  Thank you for that.
  
  I think in my mind - I have to sleep with myself. And if I accidentally sold someone something that was bunko... Then it just isn't cool.
  
  I didn't knowingly sell it - but if it were me - OMG - I would be so upset.
  
  Although on the other hand I did sell it way way below blue book because I felt bad that he had to pay for shipping - but I gave it to him dirt cheap.
  
  I refused to sell it to this one guy I know who is an alcoholic and drives when he drinks --- for bluebook price. Because I didn't want to have that on my conscious. Yanno? Him killing someone or himself.
  
  I'm weird like that I guess.
  
  Hubby still says I'm crazy for doing it - but then he says that's why he loves me. Cause I think about how I would feel if I was in someone else's shoes.
  
  So thanks for saying that.