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If you sell a car (private sale)to someone and it breaks down a few hours after they leave, are you legally responsible?
Anonymous3 views1 answers
Buyer came to look at our car for his son. He test drove it twice and also took it to his mechanic. CarFax came back clean. They were happy with the car and bought it. The buyer and his son picked up the car and the son literally "peeled" down the street. We received an irate e-mail from the buyer six hours later that his son drove the car only 30 miles and it broke down and was being towed. Are we legally responsible in anyway? We have a feeling the son, who is 18, is a irresponsible driver, as he cracked up his previous car a week ago and drove away unreasonably fast from our house after buying it.
Did you have a written contract? Was the sale "as is," meaning the buyer assumes all risk of the quality of the purchase and it's being sold without any warranty from the seller? Usually used cars are sold as is, and the fact that this buyer took it to a mechanic and did a Carfax check seems to indicate they assumed this risk. From a fraud standpoint, the question would be whether you made any material factual misrepresentations that the seller reasonably and justifiably relied on in buying this car.
Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship
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