Car deal from hell

[Hocky]

Disagree.
He lied about the car being mechanically sound. I've been thinking about this. If we went to court, he would say I bought the car 'as is'. That's true. I bought the car 'as is' with his professional opinion being the car was mechanically sound. He had been servicing the car for 8-9 years and knew what mechanical state the car was in. I also have the the previous owners stating the car was not mechanically sound. I proved without a reasonable doubt he misrepresented the car.

Good luck proving that he knew that the car was not mechanically sound even if he was the service tech on it. Unless he personally wrote the estimate for major repairs that the previous owners declined AND you can get a copy of it with his name on it, you're probably SOL on that angle.

 

[lsiberian]

I think it's better to just put this behind me and go forward. I've been called worse by better.
Disagree.
He lied about the car being mechanically sound. I've been thinking about this. If we went to court, he would say I bought the car 'as is'. That's true. I bought the car 'as is' with his professional opinion being the car was mechanically sound. He had been servicing the car for 8-9 years and knew what mechanical state the car was in. I also have the the previous owners stating the car was not mechanically sound. I proved without a reasonable doubt he misrepresented the car.

Court is best left as a bargaining chip. Winning a case is tough. That's why you get everything in writing. Of course you should always get a 2nd opinion.

 

[psbfan9]

Even though I gave him two options, him paying the repair bill, or most of the repair bill, is what I wanted. Nothing more.
I admitted from the beginning I should have taken the car to get checked out. Nothing like a little Monday morning quarterbacking to help with the confidence. I still feel foolish, but lesson learned.

 

[j_garcia]

I don't know a single person who has bought a used car that hasn't run into something like this, so don't feel bad about it. I have been a car guy for many years and it STILL happened to me because the guy seemed honest. My mistake; from now on, everyone selling a used car is hiding something

 

[jonnythan]

Disagree.
He lied about the car being mechanically sound. I've been thinking about this. If we went to court, he would say I bought the car 'as is'. That's true. I bought the car 'as is' with his professional opinion being the car was mechanically sound. He had been servicing the car for 8-9 years and knew what mechanical state the car was in. I also have the the previous owners stating the car was not mechanically sound. I proved without a reasonable doubt he misrepresented the car.

I don't think you have any case at all. Besides the fact that you can't prove he said it's mechanically sound, he was just offering words and not his professional opinion as a mechanic. There's no way you can prove he knew there was a head gasket leak.

You got very lucky he offered you cash.

 

[gmichael]

All's well I guess. Lesson learned with just a small price to pay. Next time you'll know better.
Sounds like this guy is a real sleezeball. I'd bring a large friend with me for the check pick-up in case he tries something.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I haven't had a car for a while. My wife and I figured out ways to get along with just one. Since I have been laid off we've had to cut back and having one car was one way to do it. After saving, I had $4000.00 to finally buy a car. I found a 1997 Toyota Avalon with 141,000 miles for $4000.00. I test drove it and it ran okay. I went back and drove it again. I looked up reviews and of course they were all positive. "I love my Avalon" and so on.
Did I mention the guy I bought the car from is a mechanic? He told me it was a customer's car and he maintained it since it they bought it and, it was in perfect mechanical order. Yeah right!
I'm checking out my new car and realize the oil is a quart and the coolant in the over flow tank is dark. Now it hits me I should take it take to my mechanic and have them check it out.
Blown head gasket, desperately needs tune up, valve cover leaking, trans fluid is dark and sticky serpentine belts are cracked....$2400.00 in repairs. I told them to do the work. While the heads are off, they notice there is a considerable sludge build up. They called me so i could it myself. The sludge is so bad it can be scooped off the valve cover.
I'm feeling so foolish right now. I can't believe I didn't take the car to be checked out before I bought it.
Last night I decided that I would call the past owners of the car and see what they had to say. The first thing she said was "Yeah, we didn't want to spend the money to fix it" I felt sick. So I went to the guy I bought the car from and said I talked to the past owners of the car and he got a vacant look on his face like he was thinking "OH sh!$!" I told him to buy the car back or pay for the repair bill. He said he would think about it and call me tonight or tomorrow morning.
The thing that bothers me is that the guy lied. The thing that REALLY bothers me, is when it comes down to it, this is my fault for not getting the car checked out before I bought it.

That is a tough one

We have a '96 Avalon with 230k+ miles and none of these issues.
I wonder how small claims court would work for you. If there is not a written guarantee, you are S.O.L.