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Moral dilemna with the CSVT I sold...

C

Canadian 98 CSVT

CEG'er
Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
70
Location
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
So those of you that may have seen, I had a 98 CSVT that had a ticking coming from the engine. I had 3 mechanics, including a Ford mechanic look at it and diagnosed it as a collapsed or sticky valve lash adjuster. I ended up selling the car to a 17 yr old that really wanted it, tick and all. Well, I put 3500kms on the car with that tick, and it never got worse or better. I delivered the car to him Tuesday night, another 200kms drive away, still consistent noise on delivery.
Well, he called me this morning, the engine apparently has "seized" according to him and a mechanic he took it to. It happened yesterday on the highway. Said it was the same noise wed and thurs, but got extremely loud yesterday and quit on him. It apparently won't turn over now.
He basically wants me to buy the car back, even at $1000 less than I sold it to him for.
My question to all of you is this: Should I fell obligated to do anything for this guy? Legally he has no recourse against me, but morally....

He had every opprtunity to take it to a mechanic before the sale, and I have no idea how he was driving it over the week... What does everyone think?:shrug:
 
He knew about the tick when he bought it. You didn't defraud him and lie about it. It's out of your hands. He bought your problem when he bought the car. He should have gotten it fixed rather than ignore it.

Try to see if you have any proof of you notifying him of the tick. An email of him acknowledging it, anything like that.
 
I had this very same thing happen to me when i bought my svtc. When i picked up the car it seized on me driving it home. The previous owner gave me back half of my money so that i could replace the engine. Looking back i probably should have gotten the 3L:nonono: You aren't under any obligation to buy it back since the kid knew about the ticking noise. If you liked the svtc and you only sold it because of the noise now is a good opportunity to buy it back and use the $1000 to put in a 3L. You may even have money left over. If you don't want the car back. Just give the kid back $500 for a new engine and a clear conscious
 
He did know about the tick, and I do have emails to prove it. Did I like the car, yes. But I didn't sell it because of the tick, I sold it because the wife really didn't like it, and she needs to drive it for her work a fair bit. I'd rather put the miles on the "second car" than the new Escape. Also, I want a 60's stang, so that gets me closer to it too, letting her keep the Probe GT (auto slug).... The Contour was fun, but I only had it for 5000kms...
I don't know if I should feel guilty or not....
 
You gave full disclosure so you shouldn't feel bad at all. It's a car!

Morally or otherwise this isn't your problem anymore. The stupid thing was on it's way out and he bought it. What is his gripe really?? That HE made a stupid decision and now wants you to help pay for it??

I can't believe he wants you to buy it back.

Bottom line is you were completely honest about the condition of the car and now that it finally did break he's mad aobut it. I find that interesting but typical of an immature 17 year old.
 
i'm not trying to call you out or anything, so please don't think that. my opinion is if you truly let him know the deal with the car (or as much as you could know about it) and he still wanted it knowing what the mechanics already said and from what he had seen, then it's on him, but if you were not as clear with the problem and you could have been more forthcoming in the whole situation then I'd try to work something out with the kid. well @ least that's my 2 sense on the situation.
 
i have a similar situation happen to me with quite a few different parts on my car, ive put over $3000 into my car in repairs since ive bought it and ive owned it for just over 3 months i think, the engine seized like a month after i bought it, and the cars just a freekin money pit, the engine, clutch, flywheel, starter, bulged tires, bent rim, bent rear sway bar, snapped front spring, bad front tie rod, snapped shift linkage, i think thats about it.

but you dont see me accusing Bob (cannondale98) the guy who sold me the car... i just got over it and repaired it, i couldve been an ******* and tried some **** like this kids doing to you but thats ****ty.

especially since you told him about the tick, you shouldnt have to buy the car back unless the kids dad is friends with a lawyer!
 
Lawyer or not, the whole "buyer beware" thing takes on meaning here. But, I can honestly say I disclosed all info about the car that I knew. I was the second owner for a low 5000kms, car had 175,000kms on deliver (kms, not miles) Since I bought the car I sunk over $1000 into it in repairs, and sold it to him for the same price I bought it for, so I took a loss on it anyways. I owned it for less than 3 months as well. Thiings I replaced were the MAF Sensor, serp belt, alt and had Ford do the upper and lower intake gaskets... oh, and I replaced the IMRC transister. Aside from that he got summer and winter rims/tires, an almost mint interior, original paint and an accident free car. # mechanicas gave me the same opinion... sticky valve or sticky/collapsed lash adjuster, noisy, but not detrimental. I don't think I have any obligation here, just unfortunate, and I feel bad for him being his first car... But then again, mommy and daddy gave him the money, it wasn't out of his pocket.
 
I would feel very guilty selling a car in that condition to a teen. Kids don't have a lot of life experience and are more prone to make poor decisions. I'd really hate to think that I might be taking advantage of that, especially for a purchase of that magnitude. Reading your post history, that car should have been significantly discounted, in my opinion.

You may also consider that people have long, turbulent memories and it's never good idea to make new enemies, especially when there is no legal recourse.
 
Desiato said:
I would feel very guilty selling a car in that condition to a teen.

That's your problem. The kid knew everything about the car and choose to buy it anyway.


Kids don't have a lot of life experience and are more prone to make poor decisions.

So?????? He's got a mother and a father that could have and for all you know, looked at the car and gave their opinion. I certainly wouldn't let any of my kids buy something as significant as a car without looking at it.


Reading your post history, that car should have been significantly discounted, in my opinion.

I don't see anything in any of these posts that mention anything about the cost of the original purchase or the cost of the final sales price. You have no idea whether the final price was discounted or not. It's not up to you to decide what someone else should have charged for their car. Even so, a parent who lets their teenager buy a car without any input is the one you should be venting on, not the seller. The kid didn't have to pay the asking price, and for all we know, he didn't.


You may also consider that people have long, turbulent memories and it's never good idea to make new enemies, especially when there is no legal recourse.

This doesn't make much sense unless you are prone to look over your shoulder alot......I'm not.
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I had something similar to me happen. I bought a car from a shady used car dealer when I was younger. It ended up needing a piece of angle iron welded onto the driver side of the frame cause it was rusted so bad. I had traded my 96 tour on it, and I still regret it to this day. But the difference is that I could have taken the used dealer to small claims court, but I didnt because I realized that it was MY mistake for not really looking at the car before I bought it. So now the guy doesnt get any good advertisement from me thats for sure:laugh:
 
I am guessing the kid was beating on it after he got it, took a hard right hand turn at high RPM's and blew it up. He knew about the tick, he knew it was used, he had the oppertunity to take it to a garage and have it looked over, buyer beware.
 
im 18. and knowing that the car had a tick i would have bought it if the price was right. only if the price was a reasonable price. my dad would have supported the buy. heck i want to get a rolling svt shell right now
 
The few times I've sold a car I had a written statement explaining everything about the car and any problems that I was aware of. Then, we would both sign it and would each have a copy for ourself. It is ashame it broke on him, but if he knew about the ticking.
 
elraido said:
I am guessing the kid was beating on it after he got it, took a hard right hand turn at high RPM's and blew it up. He knew about the tick, he knew it was used, he had the oppertunity to take it to a garage and have it looked over, buyer beware.
Click to expand...

Thats what i was thinking. Anybody who buys a sports car/svt for the first time, likes to put the gas down at first to see what the car can do. It takes well grounded person not to abuse what they own or borrow. Some kids today are not that well grounded. And would beat on anything anytime they have the chance to do so.



Someone on ceg a few weeks ago stated how he took out a eagle talon that was up for sale. He wrote that he floored it the whole time shifting hard and all. After all that he said he wasn't even going to buy it :blackeye: All he wanted to do is see what it can do:blackeye:. Perfect example of what many kids are like today. Now the owner wasn't even in the car. He wouldn't have acted this way if the owner was there. Only because he needs an adult to help restrict his behavior.

Kinda like when the adults are away the children will play.


I would throw him like 300 dollars. If he complains tell him 200, Then warn him if he continues to argue your kindness give him nothing. Then tell him you are giving up on helping him because you are arguing free money and then say goodbye and hang up the phone. Also record this conversation. Cell phones today have that option.
 
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Honestly, since he had it a week, he probably did it himself.

Tell him to get a quote from a repair shop, and if it is local go and talk to the repair shop. If you truly feel bad for him and feel that it was the car and not his driving, throw down 10-20% of the bill as an act of kindness (assuming the bill will be between 1000-2000 meaning give him somewhere between 100-400 for the repair) OH but make sure an SVT motor goes back in! :laugh:
 
I thought my car may have developed this issue a few weeks ago and I researched it on the CEG. It's a bad issue that usually results in engine failure. I verified with an experienced duratec mechanic that I did not have this issue as confirmed when I watched this video:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=12467835

The OP watched the same video and noted that his car sounds the same. The tick is very apparent at the end of the video.

It's a very loud, obnoxious tick. Someone would have to be very naive to pay full price for a car with an engine making this sound. I'm surprised it was safetied because pending engine failure sounds pretty unsafe to me.

If someone tried selling a Contour with that tick on the CEG for $5k, there would no doubt be a lot of negative responses and warnings.

Yeah, the kid made a dumbass mistake and is ultimately responsible, but that doesn't mean that the seller didn't pull a fast one with a naive buyer. And if this happened to the people responding here, I know half of them would be screaming about it. Please.

I'm not trying to demonize the OP, but yeah, I think it's unethical for a 30-something year old man to sell a Contour with a loud, abnormal engine tick for full price to a naive 17 year old kid.

Different strokes for different folks I suppose.
 
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