Sold a car in working order but 2 days later..

[POLSKI 10]

Miztasee, don't worry about anything. The only thing you're guilty of is being honest. You've sold a Cupra (which I understand to be a "nippy" vehicle) and by the sound of it (only my opinion) the buyer has caned it, overheated it and blown the head gasket him/herself. Yes it might have been down to a slightly furred up radiator or a weak mix of coolant that exacerbated the problem but if the vehicle was running fine when it left you and the buyer KNEW it was NOT brand new, and KNEW you were NOT offering a warranty, then as stated by earlier posters.....you've NOTHING to be worried about.

 

Danny128 you'd best swot up on "motor vehicle mechanics".

[Cyclone 10]

Depends on the car. My 2005 diesel 307 with nearly 100,000 miles on the clock managed to fetch £2600 a few weeks ago. But it was pretty immaculate inside and out, I cleaned it once a month.

 

Before I sold it I took it to the car wash, gave the interior a hoover and the dash a clean with "Back to black" but it only took an hour, which is all it needed because it gets done one a month.

 

Its no different to a house - do a bit of polishing and hoovering and it only takes half an hour a week. But leave it for a few months then you have to dedicate 6-10 hours on it.

 

Or do a really good job of detailing it and it takes 6 hours full stop.

[Cyclone 10]

One little trick that's not often mentioned when buying/selling used cars: if the buyer has looked under the bonnet then legally that counts as them inspecting the mechanicals of the car, so the buyer is accepting the car whatever condition it is in. If the buyer doesn't look under the bonnet and the seller is advertising the car as a runner, then if it breaks down the buyer can go back to the seller and demand that he pay for the repairs.

No they can't, not if it actually runs and they drive it away.

People might think you're a mug for buying a car without looking under the bonnet, but the truth is that unless you really know what to look for you're actually weakening your legal position.

You basically have no legal position unless the seller actually lies about what they are selling.

[Obelix 11]

You're not coming across very well, but I do agree with you. All the oil must've gone somewhere. If the head gasket had gone in such a way that an oil channel was exposed to the combustion chamber than it'd burn a bit of oil through there. Although the pressure of the combustion chamber would prevent LOTS of oil being pushed through. It'd also produce massive clouds of smoke - you'd notice that and stop driving.

 

If the gasket had gone and connected an oil way to the external of the block/head then it'd be making a mess everywhere it drove. You can't loose ~4l of oil in 2 days and not make a mess.

 

The most likely culprit to dump a load of oil on one of those engines would be turbo. If the oil seals in that failed then it could quite easily spray oil mist out the back at high pressure. Still messy like.

 

Maybe the buyer didn't mean it was empty/bone dry, just that it was low.

 

edit; just read that they said there was oil in the coolant res, but none in the engine. Not likely. You can't dump the entire contents of an engine's sump into the cooling system - there just isn't the space!

 

If you overheat and warp the head, leading to a failed gasket you can get oil and water going both ways sometimes.

 

I had a Citreon CX - the head went on that for reasons that were not clear but I drove for three minutes and then the oil pressure light came on. The coolant was stuffed full of oil and there was a blown coolant hose and the inside of the engine bay was full of mayonnaise.

 

A positive displacement pump can generate hundreds of PSI if you let it - a cold engine with closed up tolerances and thick oil will easily get close to that on a modern system. There are few cooling systems designed to accept that sort of pressure without something letting go.

[danny128 10]

One little trick that's not often mentioned when buying/selling used cars: if the buyer has looked under the bonnet then legally that counts as them inspecting the mechanicals of the car, so the buyer is accepting the car whatever condition it is in. If the buyer doesn't look under the bonnet and the seller is advertising the car as a runner, then if it breaks down the buyer can go back to the seller and demand that he pay for the repairs. People might think you're a mug for buying a car without looking under the bonnet, but the truth is that unless you really know what to look for you're actually weakening your legal position.

 

As for the six hour valet, my car was given a full valet after its service on Tuesday and looks immaculate, but if I wanted to go the whole hog I'd give it another wash, remove all the tiny tar spots (it's a white car), clean all the sills, door frames and the tops of the windows, give the paint two coats of polish, wash and polish the wheels, shampoo the upholstery and polish all of the glass. I reckon I'd be lucky to get change out of 12 hours for all that and that's on a new car. For an older car I'd T-Cut/Mer it as well, which would add another couple of hours. I do that a couple of times a year, in addition to washing it normally every week or two, and I'd definitely do it if I was preparing the car to sell. Do it right and you can polish pounds back into a car!

 

Thank you as i couldnt think of a way of explaining it to those dumb people and for them to understand, you done job job there

[danny128 10]

If you overheat and warp the head, leading to a failed gasket you can get oil and water going both ways sometimes.

 

I had a Citreon CX - the head went on that for reasons that were not clear but I drove for three minutes and then the oil pressure light came on. The coolant was stuffed full of oil and there was a blown coolant hose and the inside of the engine bay was full of mayonnaise.

 

A positive displacement pump can generate hundreds of PSI if you let it - a cold engine with closed up tolerances and thick oil will easily get close to that on a modern system. There are few cooling systems designed to accept that sort of pressure without something letting go.

 

Is a seat leon one of them? i didnt think so either, A simple i am sorry i am wrong and you was right all along would be nice

[Cyclone 10]

Thank you as i couldnt think of a way of explaining it to those dumb people and for them to understand, you done job job there

 

The problem here is that despite nearly everyone telling you that you're wrong, you remain convinced that you're not. Why is that do you think?

[danny128 10]

The problem here is that despite nearly everyone telling you that you're wrong, you remain convinced that you're not. Why is that do you think?

 

A head gasket failure over 2 days , the oil cant disappear from sump. some yes but the lot no. if you dont know please google and stop pretending you know like obelix as you get found out sooner or later

[RutlandFlyer 10]

No they can't, not if it actually runs and they drive it away.

You basically have no legal position unless the seller actually lies about what they are selling.

 

But if they're advertising it as mechanically sound when it has something, like a blown head gasket, that wouldn't actually stop you driving away, then surely the car isn't as described?

 

It's the example they used in my business law course. I've never tried to use it, but I don't think sales law has changed much since.

[danny128 10]

i dont think its the head gasket, sounds more like the turbos gone to me, i dont have enough detail to be sure

[Obelix 11]

Is a seat leon one of them? i didnt think so either, A simple i am sorry i am wrong and you was right all along would be nice

 

I refer you to the answer I gave you further up the thread. If you can't understand that I refer you to the answer given in the case of Arkell vs Pressdram

[Cyclone 10]

But if they're advertising it as mechanically sound when it has something, like a blown head gasket, that wouldn't actually stop you driving away, then surely the car isn't as described?

That's true, but is there any evidence that the head gasget was blown before it was sold?

 

It's the example they used in my business law course. I've never tried to use it, but I don't think sales law has changed much since.

If the vendor knew about a mechanical fault and sold it without mentioning it then it's misrepresentation.

If they sold it and it unexpectedly blew up before reaching the end of the road then that's just tough luck, it comes with no warranty in a private sale.