The one car I sold, I told the buyer everything I knew was wrong, and any issues that I thought might be happening in the near future. He drove it and I then told him expressly there was no warranty or guarantee of any kind, but he was welcome to take it to a mechanic to look the car over before he bought it. He took me up on the offer, his mechanic looked it over and he bought it that day.
He must still be satisfied as he called me about 6 months later to see if I wanted to sell him my dd.
Any car I sell gets the ol' "as is, as seen" on the bill of sale. If anything happens once the keys are in the new owners hands, though luck.
On the other hand,a good friend that I recently bought my Jeep from gave me the option of selling it back to him because of a couple issues he wasn't aware of when he sold it to me.It's nice to have that option I guess.
I don't even go out of my way to tell everything I know.
I will answer any question completely honestly.
I will also give a brief, honest description.
But there is no way I'm gonna say, "Oh yeah, last year it rattled a couple of times". Deal killer.
It is 100% the responsibility of the buyer to know what they are buying.
I have allowed them to drive it, crawl under it, take it to a mechanic, have their sister-in-law offer her opinion, whatever. But it is THEIR job. Not mine.
3 quick stories...
Sold a motor home. Older unit in good shape. Fair price- actually a little low. I guess I had failed to winterize it well, because when he hooked up the water after the sale, he found a couple of broken pipes. He called me and complained, I felt bad and told him to get a quote and we could talk about it. Never heard from him again. Guess he realized he got a good deal, even with a couple little repairs.
Once advertised a crappy VW. Listed everything I knew wrong with it- every little detail, and offered it for $100. No calls for 4 weeks. Upped the price to $250 and only said, "Needs work". Sold it in 2 hours (and honestly answered every single question). Guy was thrilled.
Sold my first car a LOONG time ago. I had put it together from several parts cars, and I was very inexperienced. Saw it several days later, totalled, having hit a tree. Driver probably didn't survive. I really wondered if I might have messed up the brake job I had recently done. It was tough.
Common thread... Caveat Emptor.
I am always as is/ where is, but have had a problem where the starter went out 2 days later and I replaced it for them.
I've sold a bunch of cars on a eBay and I always try to post photos and descriptions of any little defect because I don't want any surprises when the buyer sees it for the first time. I never put "as is, no warranty, etc.." because I don't think it really means much anyway.
The only time I had a minor issue was with a Miata that I sold (former track car). The guy drove up from Maryland to Connecticut. He was thrilled with the car and also bought a bunch of other stuff from me when he got here. He was a really nice older guy and we hit it off well. Much to my surprise, he showed up without a trailer. He just brought a license plate from one of his other cars. He said he was just going to drive carefully and have his wife follow him.
He called me about half an hour after he left and said that he was stuck on the side of the road. I thought he was kidding and told him so. He assured me that he was not. He turned on the heat and a few minutes later, one of the heater hoses blew. Once we were clear on the fact that there was no way that I could have predicted this, I agreed to grab some tools and heater hose and meet them at a gas station. Once I got there, we had it ready to go in less than ten minutes.
I felt a little bad for both of us because it was just kind of annoying and awkward, but I didn't lose any sleep over it.
"Caveat Emptor" is nonsense, just another platitude people tell themselves to justify lying by omission. I voluntarily disclose everything and anything so as not to screw anyone over without being cute and waiting for a person to ask. Here's a better little saying, "Do to others as you would have them do to you."
In reply to plance1:
Well, that's a fairly judgmental perspective.
It's also completely wrong.
Caveat Emptor is not an excuse for lying. It is a legal basis for transactions that is fairly universal in Western societies.
It is not a directive for sellers. It is a directive for buyers. It is their job to understand what they are buying. There are many ways to do so.
It in no way gives license to sellers to lie or misrepresent a product. That is fraud, and it is illegal.
But it is impossible for a seller to know what a buyer is looking for, and therefore foolish to attempt to guess. I may spend all my energy describing the rust spots and body damage on my car, with no understanding that the buyer is looking for a motor donor. My negative attitude in listing all the body imperfections (which are irrelevant to the buyer) can scare him off. Meanwhile, I might very well forget something else that DOES matter to the buyer. It is HIS responsibility to know what he needs, and assess the purchase.
It's the seller's job to communicate honestly when asked.
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