where do i stand legally with sold as seen?
by admin on Wednesday, September 29th, 2010 | 6 Comments
i sold a camper van,as far as i was concerened it was mechanically sound,it had a new cam belt last dec,a respray also then,we had no known probs with it,they now say it is unroadworthy.it wasn`t it was T&T.they also say it is over revving on idle,we had it running on idle for 20min whilst they looked over it,before any money was exchanged.
of you legally sold a car /van as sold as seen then all or any problems detected after is soley down to buyer .
you have sold you car / van on the understanding that as far as you are aware there are no problems, and if you have had engine running prior to the sale and all was ok especially after 20 minutes then all and any problems incurred by buyer is of their own making .
It was sold “as is” another term that you can associate with it is “buyer beware”. They buyer tested it, and I’m pretty sure you disclosed everything about the van, repairs and such. As far as you were concerned the van was in working condition. If it is starting to have problems, it is no longer your issue.
The buyer would only have a case if you had misrepresented the vehicle in some way. For instance, if you said “mechanically sound” and it wasn’t, then you misrepresented, even if you did not know what was wrong. Always best to stick to things you know for a fact when describing something for sale, eg “no mechanical problems in last 2 years”. Review what you said, and what the buyer is now saying, and if you realise that you did misrepresent in some way then be prepared to admit it and do a deal, even take the vehicle back, because if the buyer takes it further you could end up doing it anyway with legal costs on top.
some states do not recognize a “AS IS” sale….I know that in my state if the vehicle was sold for $600 or less it can be sold as a AS IS…but it has to be noted that way on the title and bill of sale….sell it for $601 or above and there is absolutely NO as is….private sales are not any different from dealer sales in most states…I recommend doing some research and finding out what your states laws are governing the sale of used vehicles.
you are not in trouble if they purchased it like that . if money and title were exchanged and they come back later with problem . you don’t have to give them nothing back . it was sold as is . being as you being a private seller you have that right to either take it back or refuse to take it back . i wouldn’t . you sold it . the deal was done and that is all she wrote.even if they take you to court ,you will walk out a winner as long as you got your paperwork right
private buying is buyer beware–they should have taken it to a mechanic for a complete check–you did not marry the car–once you sold it it became theirs.They learned a tough lesson