What's your policy on private sale cars and what you will do for the buyer if something happens?

Is it buyer beware in all cases? IE, the guy buys the car drives away and the thing blows up for some reason on his way home, is it all on him or will you work with the guy?

What's the time limit on something like that?

I tell the buyer everything i know about the car, and what could possibly go wrong in the future, if anything.

Then he signs a piece of paper that protects me from any sort of legal action in the case that it does magically blow up on the way home after not blowing up on the test drive.

It's the tail light warranty. If i can't see the lights anymore, the warranty period has expired.

Tough to say. If I knew the car had an issue and I made the buyer fully aware of it before purchase then once in their hands it finally breaks I would feel bad for them, but that's kinda the gamble you take when buying used cars with known issues.

If I bought a used BMW that I knew needed the cooling system to be addressed/properly serviced and it failed on me before I spent the time and money to fix it (be it days, weeks, or months) that's on me.

I didn't remember this particular noise issue that the buyer is describing because it never affected the running of the car. I basically told him that if something happened in the next two weeks related to the noise he is hearing that caused him to not be able to drive the car we could talk, but my wife drove it with this random noise for at least two years from what she is telling me and it was just a noise.

I'm trying to reconcile all of this with the awareness that I really do not have an obligation to the fellow after he drives off, but at the same time I didn't mention this random noise, because I had forgotten it did it.

Swank Force One wrote: It's the tail light warranty. If i can't see the lights anymore, the warranty period has expired.

This. I've sold a ton of cars and this is pretty much how it works. I'm open about what I know about the car and the buyer is welcome to poke all around it and drive it before they buy it. Once they drive away, it's their car. I'm not trying to hide anything, but I can't control or predict when something will break. Now, if a buyer comes to me and wants $20 for a headlight bulb, I'll probably just give it to him. But beyond that, it's on them.

Klayfish wrote: I'm not trying to hide anything, but I can't control or predict when something will break.

Exactly this. It's a used car, that's just the way it works. Used cars are less reliable than new cars, that's why they're cheaper.

I tell them what I know about the car's problems, but I don't include any offers to fix things after the sale. The customer is free to tell me, "I'm not buying this until you fix it." If I had a car die in spectacular fashion immediately after the sale, I might take pity on the buyer, but so far that hasn't happened to me.

I guess I'm just conflicted because I forgot to note this particular noise issue, but that said it's never affected operation of the car, it just makes a rattling noise at idle in neutral very randomly. People who own the cars attribute it to different things, but I have yet to see anyone say it caused the car to fail and there isn't much consensus on whether it needs fixing. My wife drove it with this noise cropping up once in a while for the last two years.

When I sold my LTD, I was as open and honest about the car as I could be. The buyer texted a half hour later stating the tire had blown on the highway trip back. I had never taken it on the highway, so I couldn't have known, but I still felt bad. However, I contend that it was a risky proposition to buy a $1400 40 year old car at 10:00 p.m. on a moonless rainy night, with the intention of driving it 1.5 hours back home.

I suppose the most I can say is that I didn't intentionally mislead the buyer about the car. The whole, should I do something. question is mostly hypothetical though since I honestly don't think anything will happen with the car to justify any action on my part, it's just a noise.

How old is said car? If it's older and the buyer is complaining something is rattling...they need to buy a brand new car. Pretty much every car has something rattle after about 10 years or so. Some rattle when they leave the factory...not mentioning any names.

Having been burned on a car that wasn't as described, I hit the negatives first, then the positives. If they still want the car after that, it's on them. In this case, I'd explain that it never affected the operation of the car during your onwership. It also sounds as if its a common occurance on that vehicle. Suggest if it bothers him to take it to a shop, then work it out from there if it is a seriuos issue. I'm assuming the sale wasn't too long ago. If it's been a week or more, then it's all on him.

I am very clear with purchasers: "Caveat Emptor is our motto here."

I always advertise my cars - "As Is, Where Is, No Warranty Implied". I also am very honest about what I know and in some ways more importantly, what I don't know about the car.

The minute we exchange money, keys and paperwork, the deal is done. Buying used cars is and always will be a crap shoot. Buyers and sellers in a private deal should understand this before they start.

To the OP, I would not have even offered the "If it gets worse. . . " statement. That could be seen as an implied warranty.

I have made no explicit promises or guarantees at this time.

30 feet or third gear.

Honest about every known flaw, once the title is signed and cash exchanged it's not my problem. I won't sell a vehicle to someone I know, regardless of how excellent the vehicle is. If something goes wrong 1 day, 1 year or 1 decade down the road I don't even want to know about it. I expect the same exact thing when I buy a used vehicle, and I have never, and probably will never buy a new vehicle (car, truck, boat, airplane, motorcycle etc)

When someone is selling a car, there's probably a good reason. Maybe they just got a fat bonus, true, but maybe they also don't trust it anymore, or it makes a funny smell, or has a new shimmy.

I have also always bought cheap, sold cheap, and buyer beware whether it was me or the other guy. Everyone is responsible for doing their own research.

Like the others have said....it's their car now along with any problems, pre-existing or otherwise. I've been on both sides of it and when one car I purchased started knocking after probably 30 minutes of run time I didn't go after the seller. It was my problem then and I dealt with it.

I go out of my way to detail every tiny little issue I'm aware of with the car.
If something else pops up it's something I was unaware of...
Sucks for them, not my problem anymore.

depends on the transaction... and the reason.

Interesting story... when I sold ($19,000) my restored 1970 428 SCJ Mach 1 (1993) the guy calls me 2 days after buying it with buyers remorse. He even offered it to me for $2000 less then he paid.

Decided I had enough... and I told him it was his car now....

I too am a "as is" guy. Once I was selling a 140,000 mile rusty Datsun for $400 and the guy was complaining the battery was old.

Finally I stopped and told him IT'S A $400 CAR! New ones were $15,000 if you want perfection.

As is, where is. Warranty neither expressed nor implied. That will be in writing, signed by myself and the buyer, we will both have copies.

The only time I ever did anything for the buyer after the purchase was when my neighbor bought my miata. The right rear caliper failed again so I helped them change it with the free warranty part. That was only because they live next door.

Other than that.....Forget about it. I tell them what is the scoop on the car and they have their choice from there.

All my cars are sold with a 5/50 warranty, 5 feet or 50 seconds from departing my driveway. I have no control over what the buyer may do to cause something to go wrong, I'm not assuming the risk.