Ok well last saturday I sold my 2000 Impreza R.S. 2.5 automatic. It had 133,xxx head gasket was replaced at around 110,000. This car was very clean and ran great when i had it. The day before i sold the car it was inspected by a legit subaru dealership and everything turned out clean. The day it sold it was full of oil and never leaked or burned before. Anyways now today I get a call from the guy saying it threw a rod and spun the bearing and wants me to help with the costs. I have been digging around and also with everyone I talked to they say that this never happens just because which I am no dummy with cars either but has anything like this happened to anyone or has anyone heard of anything like this. I would like to try and help somehow if this is just a bad luck deal but if this was something he caused well that just tells me he is oughta luck obviously. I called the dealership he brought it to and they didnt have a whole lot of info. If anyone has input please share.
He bought the car used, you legitimatly didnt know it had any issues, for all you know he could have been bouncing it off the rev limiter for 3 hours straight. I would walk away.
What he said, walk away. It ran fine when he drove it away from you, he could be trying to scam you or could have been abusing he car.
I would walk away, of course that being said if there is something that you aren't telling us that you KNEW, I would let your conscience be your guide. Used cars are anyone's guess, buying one a person should keep this in mind. HE had a bad stoke of luck, sometimes life is like that. Frogy
Do you have any paperwork from the dealership that you had check it out? How about even the name of the tech who checked it out? That type of info would be perfectly legitimate to give to the new owner while saying "sorry not my problem." I agree with the sentiments of those who have already posted. Assuming you're sharing the whole story, you owned the car for while without problems, and I'd say you even went above and beyond to get everything checked out prior to selling.
they musta had some fun running it hard. Heck my car ran just fine when I drove it in the summer. It only took like 1min of riding the RPMs at 6500-7500rpms before the rod bearin died; after all the hard driving all summer. "Sorry, she drove fine all the times I've had her. It's your problem now."
thanks guys for all the input and yes I am telling the full story 100% and this car really was perfect and he was the one that requested it to be inspected and he talked to the dealership as well. I wouldnt and couldnt sell a car that i would think was bad. Also yes everyone of my friends i have talked to said the exact same thing. I just think of how I would feel if i had to throw a couple grand give or take into a car I just paid 5 for but also I dont think that this type of thing "just happens".
This happened to me also a while back. But it was just 1 day later.I also said it is not my issue anymore. It ran really good when I had it. As long as you dont bring it over 7500rpms.
I agree with Bullwinkle, if you have paperwork from the dealership you brought it to you should be set if he/she tries to involve the law. Otherwise, be nice about it and let him/her know that you're not going to pay for it.
I made it about 30 miles after I bought my car before the timing belt skipped a few teeth and ended up bending a few valves. I called the guy and long story short, he fixed it for me for the cost of parts. Now my situation was a little different because the guy I bought it from actually worked in the shop at a dealership, so he was able to stay late a couple nights and fix everything for me. I understand I got lucky in this case, and I tipped the guy very generously because of his kind actions. Now I'm not saying you should fix the car for this guy, but don't be a dick about it. maybe help source new parts for him if he's a newby. Just my opinion.
The funny thing is if you came into this thread from the opposite side complaining that you just bought a used Subaru from someone and it spun a bearing, people would be telling you to fight it. :biggrin: Anywho. All I can suggest is to be diplomatic about it. Have good communication, good understanding from both points of view. I would sure not ignore him or his situation. Realize that are both legal and social rules to follow here.
Hmm, maybe. But there'd be a lot of people asking what you did to break it too. I can't count how many times someone has come in here and started complaining that something just broke while they were driving along all nice and perfect, and in the end it came out that they (or their brother, or girlfriend, or dog) was abusing the car either when or right before it happened.
mmm I had a deal like this happen with an old pickup truck. I sold the truck and he drove back like 20 minutes later and threw the title at me and said he wanted his money back... He was a real winner. But if I were you I would say sorry man, it ran fine when you bought it.
knowing the guy who bought this very car in question (unless there's someone else who just paid 5k for an RS in detroit lakes to have it spin a rod bearing a couple days ago....), I can say with confidence that he's not trying to scam or anything. and I feel bad siding against him.....but in all reality, not much else can be done about it. He had his chance to check over the car, and did so very thoroughly... BUT, he is a great guy. I drove down last fall to help do a timing belt on his son's 2.2 impreza. He was extremely nice, made dinner, and gave me a $50 gas card. more than paying for the trip. If you have a connection to get a new shortblock, or for labor, I would help him out. If I had more time this year, I would have already accepted the inquiry to help. what I'm trying to say, is you're certainly not obligated to help. But if you have any way to help, he's worth the favor.
Have you heard the car run? are we sure its not the awefull piston slap that goes with the SOHC 2.5? did it actually THROW a rod out of the block? or is it just knocking really bad....?
i sold my leg 2.2l wgn a couple of months ago and the guy put to much oil in it and blew the seals out. i got a call telling me the engine was smoking badly. i wish i could have helped but i already did him a favor getting him a working car in exchange for a non working car. walk away
Alright I weighed it, looked at both sides, did research and got opinions, and decided that I had to tell him I'm sorry but I cant help. In the end I sold him a car that i drove ALOT and put my share of miles on it up to the day I sold it and had no sign of any issues. Everyone I talked to said that the only way that could've happened was excessive rpm or oil loss. So in the end though I wanted to help I could only think that this was his fault and there was no way I sold him a bad car. He was irritated but we were both respectful towards each other and we ended the call disappointed but on good terms. Thanks for the input guys.
for a $5k car you made the right choice. Its not a service where you made money. You sold the car for a very fair price, and allowed the new owner to do as much investigative work before the purchase as was possible. Honestly, props to you for being an honest seller, having a conscience, and for giving the new owner a firm-no BS answer quickly. Too many people would have beat around the bush and never come back to the plate to bat in a situation like this. The "As long as I don't answer his calls or respond to voicemails the problem doesnt exist" mentality sucks. Good on you.
I think you made the right decision. You definately went over and above by getting it checked out a dealer before you sold it on your own dime. Its too bad for the buyer that this happen but you never know what can happen buying something as-is.
Hey Guys, I'am the guy that bought it. We don't blame the seller, he seemed like a good guy. We both did what you should, had a third part check the car . . . As the saying goes, "Stuff happens" And we did not run it hard! We have had great luck dealing with folks we have meet through this site, and intend to use a mechanic recommended on another post to do the needed repairs. It's only money . . .
For this exact reason when I am selling a car me and the buyer sign and date a piece of paper stating what car is being sold/bought, for how much, and that there is no warranty. Both parties get a copy.... It helps avoid sticky situations.
it sounds like everything is sorted on this but I just wanted to adding a tid bit. Years ago I bought a S10 pickup from my girlfriends dad (now father in law) and on my way home it spun a rod barring (with in 10 miles)! I knew that truck was well taken care of before I bought it and I didn't drive it hard in any way, but I was still the problem in the end because I was driving it differently then my father in law had. I really believe that older high mileage vehicals get "used" to they way there owner drove it and when someone else gets behind the wheel and changes up the way it runs, It kills it fast.
Basic Contract Here is a basic contract I keep for "private" car transactions. May save some people the time of creating something to CYA.
