Originally Posted by
32krazy!
i think a few things need to be brought to light. i see more than a few posts referring to "do the right thing". what many don't know is
1. this guy approached john not the other way around.
2. he wanted to buy the car with the misfire issue unresolved and john wouldn't sell it in that condition
3. he spent his time getting a second key for the guy as he was to busy
4. he had the headliner redone at the buyers expense and john's time
5. he had the car taken to atl. for the misfire diagnosis and retune and paid in excess of 1000$ so he could sell the car knowing any issues were resolved
as a 10 yr old car john has "done the right thing" many times over. i have told him to have him contact b/i and let the shop handle it. as is were is sale and bad timing. its sucks at times but thats what it is
Thank you, Steve. Only points of correction are on items 3 and 4... Regarding the key, I volunteered that as a cookie for the sale... they key was procured at my time & my expense. As for the headliner, he offered to pay to have the headliner replaced, and was willing to cut me a check for that cost ($190), but I refused it on the day I sold him the car, and told him I would absorb that in the name of "making the car as perfect as possible".
Aside from those two details, you're spot-on.
Originally Posted by
pizzaguy
That is pretty profound. On the one hand, I could see the guy thinking that "I'm sure not going to have that problem" so he is quite surprised. On the other hand, I could also see him being upset, and thinking that he bought someone else's problems. Which he kinda did - that is what we do when we buy a used, out-of-warranty, car.
Again, it's worth reiterating that the "problem" the car was having (when I was approached by him to buy it) was completely resolved three weeks prior to the final sale. For that reason alone, I would be shocked to learn that this most recent issue is a continuation of the previously fixed problem. I intentionally delayed the sale until I could have a professional shop find (and fix) the recurring issue I was having. Buckhead found it, fixed it, and charged me $1,000+ to give myself (and the buyer) peace of mind. So, my buyer didn't necessarily buy my "problems"... he
did buy a used, out-of-warranty car that is loaded with Mercedes electronics and sensors. He never requested to have an inspection done on the car... most buyers choose to do so as an extra measure of certainty. If the car was destined to fail again, it could have just as easily done so a week earlier with me behind the wheel. And of course, had that occurred, I would not have sold the car.
Originally Posted by
grip grip
Personally I think he's looking for direction more than compensation. Do the right thing by steering him in the right direction to getting the issue resolved, but as adults, neither of you should expect your wallet to be affected in any way by future or present breakdowns.
I was hoping you would chime in, Anthony. And direction, I will gladly give him. I want nothing more than to preserve a friendship, and I wanted him to have many, many trouble-free miles of ownership. Unfortunately that last bit didn't come true, and it truly does make me sad about the whole situation. With that being said, you're absolutely right -- I shouldn't be expected to cover the costs of a post-sale breakdown on a car sold w/o warranty. I will gladly give him pointers, contacts, and referrals to this forum... which is what I relied on the entire time I owned the car.
I have lots of history on this forum, and you guys all know that I try to conduct everything with utmost respect and integrity. This sale is no different... and I truly can't think of anything else I could have done to make the purchase more painless for this guy. New key (my cost), new headliner (my cost), a trip to Atlanta to have it professionally repaired and given a clean bill of health (my cost), tons of documents and the big repair manuals were included, and all remaining OEM parts were included with the sale (my cost). He paid my full asking price, but I gave him nearly $2,000 in
courtesies.
All of those things were done for the sole purpose of giving the buyer confidence that he wasn't dealing with a swindler. I'm not sure what more I can do to "do the right thing".