Advertising a car going/sold but it won't go

trogedon, Oct 6, 5:32am
Hypothetically. If someone advertised a really cheap car as going but possibly needing a major repair. It sold. The problem was found that needs $$ to fix to get it going again. The buyer came to get it. The seller (mechanically able) told them re the problem and attempted to get it going again and told the buyer it needed the major repair done. The buyer went away after telling the seller to get it going and they'd be back to collect it.
What is the ideal outcome there!

edangus, Oct 6, 5:33am
Ideally!
Seller. - Buyer walks away and says forget it.
Buyer. - mint repaired car for sweet fa

trogedon, Oct 6, 5:46am
Ok, ideally in this imperfect world.

edangus, Oct 6, 5:52am
I see it ending badly for the seller unfortunately. These things do happen, Perhaps offer the Buyer a sweetener to walk away! $100.00 and a Bottle of Beam! Who can say no to a bottle of Beam!

franc123, Oct 6, 5:58am
Well in a sense the buyer has been misled a bit if they agreed to buy a vehicle that was a runner, and it turns out it is not. I think they have every right to ask for it to be sold as advertised or else walk away from it. And even seek a pro assessment of what this other major problem might be.

franc123, Oct 6, 6:09am
You also never ever hint that you might have mechanical knowledge when selling cars, even if you have. Used car buyers these days, even in the dunger one-step-away-from-the-wrecker-
s private market for some weird reason have a misguided interpretation of consumer rights and expect long warranties and cheap or free aftersales service if problems show up in the future.It pays really to tell them as little as possible, don't make claims that its been a reallygood runner or imply that it will be into the future, and invite independent inspection. If there are problems, disclose them up front and give them a signed receipt stating them and its being sold as is where is and make them sign it. No sign no deal.

msigg, Oct 6, 8:19am
No, unless money has changed hands then Don't sell simple as that. There could be more hassels down the road, just cancel the sale. No law stopping you doing that. Then you could sell it as a wreck, not going.

carkitter, Oct 7, 8:13am
Bait and switch is unlawful.

greateft, Oct 7, 10:19am
(I'm not a lawyer, this could be complete crap) - Ideal outcome is a cancelled sale as msigg says - but there is a law against that, as an auction is a binding contract voidable only by mutual agreement. However, one would be very hard pressed to get that enforced from either end as it is a civil and not criminal matter (The buyer has not paid anything, and has not suffered significant disadvantage in an incomplete sale, and the seller had a reasonable expectation that the description in the sale was true and did not intentionally mislead the buyer). It would be dicey for either party to take it to small claims court, I'd expect a few angry words either way to be as far as it goes. Changes entirely if its an LMVD selling, because a professional sale is subject to the Consumer Guarantees and Fair Trading Acts, under which the seller could get nailed for, as carkitter put it, a bait and switch.

sifty, Oct 7, 7:08pm
Me.
I'm not a hillbilly.

Now a bottle of Bunnahabhain or BenRiach and it is a different story

smac, Oct 7, 8:04pm
Only sensible outcome is the sale (as it was) gets cancelled. Goods as advertised are no longer available. It happens, no big deal.

The buyer and seller can then renegotiate a new deal if they so choose, or not. Nobody gets hurt, no one has any reason to feel slighted.

trogedon, Oct 8, 6:01am
Thanks guys. It wasn't me buying or selling just asking on behalf.

edangus, Oct 8, 6:14am
That is a very fair call. I was just being a cheap and nasty westie.

chebry, Oct 9, 3:40am
Nothin cheap about a 4litre beam bro

sifty, Oct 9, 3:48am
just 4l of nasty.