delete
Re: sold car, new owner wants me to help pay for repairs/smog?
I sold my car to a new owner that was smogged within 90 days of purchase. The new owner goes to DMV and they tell him he has to re-smog because he is the new owner. I called the smog tech and he tells me smog is good for 90 days regardless who owns it. On the BAR website, it shows the car passed smogged and it was within 90 days of selling the car. Who is right here? He's asking me to smog the car if the DMV won't let him transfer the smog certification. If **** hits the fan, what kind of legal issues can I come upon with this new owner?
Secondly, he test drove the car, loved it and came back the next day to pick it up. Since the test drove, I didn't even drive the car. So he drove back home on a 80 mile commute and tells me the car over heated, oil level low and has possible mechanical damage. He wants me to help him pay for repairs if the car will need any. He wasn't sure what repairs are needed and insisted taking it to a shop. IF something did go wrong with the car, do I have to legally help the new buyer pay the repairs or is it assumed "as is" in the state of California? I don't know what to tell the guy in a professional manner that hes responsible for all repairs.
Based on my opinion, I have reason to believe he was racing his friends Si on the way home and/or taking it up to redline. Hence the coolant temp rising and oil level low (burning). The only documentation I have is the bill of sale with basic info and signing the title over.
Secondly, he test drove the car, loved it and came back the next day to pick it up. Since the test drove, I didn't even drive the car. So he drove back home on a 80 mile commute and tells me the car over heated, oil level low and has possible mechanical damage. He wants me to help him pay for repairs if the car will need any. He wasn't sure what repairs are needed and insisted taking it to a shop. IF something did go wrong with the car, do I have to legally help the new buyer pay the repairs or is it assumed "as is" in the state of California? I don't know what to tell the guy in a professional manner that hes responsible for all repairs.
Based on my opinion, I have reason to believe he was racing his friends Si on the way home and/or taking it up to redline. Hence the coolant temp rising and oil level low (burning). The only documentation I have is the bill of sale with basic info and signing the title over.
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 5,365
Likes: 2
From: 60ft garage, CA, USA
Re: sold car, new owner wants me to help pay for repairs/smog?
AFAIK, your smog tech is correct, the smog check is good for 90 days regardless. People smog their cars all the time prior to selling, so it should be a non issue. Perhaps the DMV employee didnt bother to verify smog status and simply assumed it needed to be done, due to the transfer of ownership.
Hopefully on your bill of sale, you included the words "as-is." This insures you wont be held liable for anything after the title is signed over. I always write up a bill of sale that includes a bunch of specifics when i sell a car.
Hopefully on your bill of sale, you included the words "as-is." This insures you wont be held liable for anything after the title is signed over. I always write up a bill of sale that includes a bunch of specifics when i sell a car.
Re: sold car, new owner wants me to help pay for repairs/smog?
As long as you made up your own bill of sale that said "as-is" and both you and the other person signed it, you don't have to worry about nothing even if the smog was over 90 days...Even if you didn't sign a secondary form as stated it would be hard for him to prove that the car was trash when he bought it...Lemon laws don't apply to private parties so it is up to the buyer to have the car checked out before purchase by a independent mechanic or by himself...Just make sure you go to the DMV website and fill out the transfer electronically...!!!
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/online/nrl/welcome.htm
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/online/nrl/welcome.htm
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 673
Likes: 0
From: LA, ca, usa
Re: sold car, new owner wants me to help pay for repairs/smog?
innocent until proven guilty. he would have to prove that the car had unspecified damage when it was sold to him and that the damage wasnt from racing his friend.
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,883
Likes: 4
From: CT
Re: sold car, new owner wants me to help pay for repairs/smog?
i'd tell him to suck it. but i don't see the problem with taking it to redline? if the motor is in good shape there shouldn't be any issue.
Thread Starter
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 709
Likes: 1
From: Bay Area, East, CA
Re: sold car, new owner wants me to help pay for repairs/smog?
well, the car is boosted. i would think it needs time to circulate the cooling system after that many miles of high revving on the highway. i dished out $1300 on maintenance alone to get it running daily-able. new rotor/cap, timing belt, alt belt, plug wires + spark plugs, the full blown major tune up.
i dont have any "as-is" documents. however, i do have receipts of the maintenance done to the car to show it was well taken care of. if all else goes wrong, can the buyer take me to court and argue i sold him a crap car? will keeping records of maintenance help me out here?
i dont have any "as-is" documents. however, i do have receipts of the maintenance done to the car to show it was well taken care of. if all else goes wrong, can the buyer take me to court and argue i sold him a crap car? will keeping records of maintenance help me out here?
Trending Topics
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,590
Likes: 1
From: Ohio
Re: sold car, new owner wants me to help pay for repairs/smog?
they might, it all depends on the judge and the mood he is in. bottom line, I would tell that guy as politely as possible that the car was in good running condition when he left with it and it is no longer your problem. YOU abused YOUR car and I am not paying for your negligence" might be a good line. Record the phone call if at all possible and start keeping a log of all future phone calls and interactions with him (date, time, summary of what was said, etc). If he threatens you with a lawsuit, just inform him that his lawyer can contact yours and that you will not be speaking to him personally again. Even though it would probably be a small claims, that should be enough to shut him up
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 960
Likes: 0
From: MS, USA
Re: sold car, new owner wants me to help pay for repairs/smog?
I always sell vehicles "as is, where is, with no express or implied warranties". This statement saved me in court once. I have had 136 cars(20 years since I bought my first) so I have sold 129 cars and am not a dealer. I just like cars. Anyway I sold a EF Sedan years ago(97) to a lady and it sent #2 rod out of the block 6200 miles after I sold it to her. I felt bad for her. I had no knowledge of the problem when I sold the car 12 weeks earlier. I told her if she would pay for a motor I would put it in for her for free. My moms meighbor so I thought I would be nice. Well , when I offered that she said I shoud just give her the motor too. Even though I could have, I refused just on principles. Long story short she sued me for the value of the car. The included statement on the bill of sale was the sole reason the judge ruled in my favor. In this litigation nation that we live in you must CYA(cover your ***) Srmofo has good advice. Be careful what you say to him b/c he just might be recording you too. This is a good example of buyer beware. So, be careful.
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,543
Likes: 1
From: Ben Lomond, Ca, USA
Re: sold car, new owner wants me to help pay for repairs/smog?
As far as the smog repairs you are responsible as the seller for it passing smog. Since you had it smogged within 90 days it should have been a non-issue but obviously something got screwed up. You said the car is boosted, how did you get it smogged? Is it a CARB legal system?
As far as the new owner blowing the engine you should have no liability. The car ran when he drove it away and that's all that matters unless you specifically put a warranty on it.
As far as the new owner blowing the engine you should have no liability. The car ran when he drove it away and that's all that matters unless you specifically put a warranty on it.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ShiftDown
Acura Integra
8
Jun 2, 2003 02:12 PM
