badu

I need some help guys. I just sold my old car A3 last weekend after I picked up the C63, and two days later the buyer came back and said the car has "bad idle and mis-firing on all cylinders". The buyer did test drive the car and the car drove fine at the time of transaction though.

What's the nice thing to do at this point? I probably won't be bothered if this happens a month after the transaction, but 2 days?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Car was a 2007 Audi A3 with APR all program tune.

rjeezy

- Buyer Beware!
- You Break it You Buy it!
- Sucks to be You!

All great phrases to say to him before you watch him dissapear in the rear view mirror of your C63 AMG.

badu

I'm just trying to do my good deeds and to make this transaction as pleasant as possible. Also, the buyer has my home address. It can potentially get very ugly.

dodger63

Do the right thing find out what's wrong with it fix it be done.. Karma is the worst thing in the world..

Roswell

If it's a 2007, it should be under warranty... just ask him to go to the dealership. I dont think you should take responsability for this if he test drove the car & agreed to buy it since everything was fine to him. Just my opinion.

propain

Ask yourself what you would you like the person to do for you if the situation was reversed and do that.

_AMG_

+1

Roswell

I somewhat agree with you if you want to do a good deed... but make sure he doesn't come back to you everytime he has a problem... hehehe! And who knows who is wrong... did you experienced this problem in the past? If yes, help him out. On the other hand, did the buyer beat the hell out of it after he purchased it? No one will ever know...

dodger63

Well depending on inservice date and Mileage plus he's tuned. It's probably something stupid. Your prob best of calling apr they have always been good..

black-clk500

Isn't there a law that allows the buyer to come back on the seller for some period of time?
I'm sure it varies state to state, but I feel like I've heard something like this.

I'd offer to split the repair costs with him if there's no law saying you're liable.
If he's trying to get his money back you may have to get a lawyer.

Keep us posted--don't screw the guy, but don't you get screwed either

PetroC63

If it's still under warranty see if he's willing to go to the
dealer. If it's not under warranty, tell him you will split the
charge for a complete tune up and diagnostic evaluation
at the dealership.

badu

warranty just expired on the car so no luck getting it fixed for free. Car drove fine without a problem during my ownership. It's just bad luck on both sides i guess.

I also haven't offered to pay half of the cost because 1. I am not sure what the new owner has done to the car in that 2 day period 2. If it's a major repair, I want to limit my liability since I sold the car to the new owner for a really good deal. If the repair is minor, I don't mind splitting the cost actually. Like I said, I want to make this car purchase experience as pleasant as possible because that's how I want it to be if I were on the other side.

_AMG_

Has a Audi dealership confirmed the problems claimed by the new owner? Its kind of odd that you drove the car for that long and suddenly these problems came up.

propain

You have to bring it to a shop that you trust and figure out what went wrong. If the shop thinks it was from abuse then you should decide how you want to proceed.

If you leave it in his hands you are going to get stuck with a big fat bill. If you get proactive you can save yourself some money.


This is why I dont do private sales.

Even Money

Most, if not all states, when you buy a car privately, it's assumed that it's an AS IS purchase.

badu

I don't think I'm legally liable for the "big fat bill". I "might" offer to help because I think it's the right thing to do.

Also, I don't really have a shop that I trust. Car has been maintained by Audi. I just hope that it's an easy fix and we can all move on.

badu

I'm in California. Does anyone know the rules in CA?

C63newdude

Badu,

This has been my nightmare for me in the past as well, I am just like you by the way that you described it. Botton line, you SOLD the car and it is NOT your problem. At the moment of the sale the deal is done and if the engine breaks 100 yards from there is is NOT your problem even if you are morally down.

It could be just a simple Software issue from APR. The best thing you can do is to be polite and explain that you never had issues and that he should take it to a shop to have it look at. You don't know if he abused the car.
It could be negligence on his end and he is trying to blame on you or it could be a legitimate machanical issue that unfortunately happened under the other guy's ownership...

propain

2 days later the car blows up? You bet you will be liable. If you don't make things right I'm sure you will find yourself in court in the future.

Tell the new owner to investigate the problem on his own then. Ask him to get back to you with the problem and how much it will cost to fix. Make your decision then.

propain

All sales are assumed under the Uniform Commercial code in every state. Well all but Louisiana but their own Civil Code enforces Article 2. "Sales"

Maybe if you wrote on the contract in a very conspicuous way

"AS IS - NO WARRANTY"

You might win the case. Maybe....

If you have no contract then you will be liable if it goes to court. I promise you. The goal here is to avoid court.

Even Money

^ He's gonna have to prove you somehow knew your car was about to blow...Good luck with that. Used cars...caveat emptor..

I am Jeff

Karma is a *****! If you screw this owner after 2 days of ownership, I guarantee to you that this new owner will not drop the issue. Take it to an independent shop to get it looked over. How much will a diag cost? 100? 200? It's not that much. If his claims are without merit, then you have an independent 3rd party source corroborating with with your side of the story.

pdjafari

It's great to see so many self proclaimed attorney's on a public forum.

It's always smart to have a contract written for this very purpose....

I _________ am selling 2007 Audi A3 VIN # _____________ with xx,xxx miles to ______________ on 2010 12 09. This automobile is in great condition to the best of both the buyer and sellers knowledge during the time of this transaction and is being sold AS-IS with NO warranties written or implied.

Buyer Signature __________________
Seller Signature __________________
Date __________


Something as simple as that can save you a ton of headache.

The problem with even offering to spilt the bill will cause the buyer to think you knew of the issue before selling the vehicle. You might think its in good faith or doing the right thing..... but beware. Doing the right thing might be perceived to him as 'that SOB knew something was wrong and now he wants to try and make up for it by paying for half...

Then he may hit you with a summons and that whole thing is another hassle that could've been avoided with just a simple contract like the one above.

If you genuinely sold him a lemon....well even if you decide not to help him with the expenses, karma will get you later on somehow.

But if you genuinely sold him a legitimate car with no issues, than he's on his own....perhaps karma is getting him back.....

So before you decide what step to take, I'd be cautious about making any gesture of kindness

Reminds me of that Jackass episode when they rent a car and buy all the different types of insurance and demolish the car, and even drop a wrecking ball on it and return it to the rental car company ....

propain

Another self proclaimed Attorney?

pdjafari

Negative, I never quoted any state statues or codes regarding third party used automotive sales. I also never offered any legal advice. I mentioned how a simple contract can avoid potential headaches in the future.

the rest of it was pretty much what everybody else said, except others seem to be emotional towards the buyer. I'd personally never meet somebody at my place of residence for this specific purpose.....

Caveat emptor