Ford Maverick I (1993 - 1997) - Problem with a car i've just sold

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Mon 11 Feb 2008 21:48
Problem with a car i've just sold - bigbarry
Hello everyone,

I'm "honest" Barry!

I sold a car a couple of weeks ago which to my knowledge was perfectly mechanically fine, (pointed out usual things that were wrong with it e.g. rust appearing, could do with an oil change soon as is due, etc.) MOT also due in March.

The new owner performed an oil change last week and has just noticed that there is lots of oil in the coolant and is understandably a bit gutted about this, and apparently some brown sludge in the expansion tank. This is all news to me as I had not noticed it in the year I owned the car (i'm not especially mechanical though....). I obviously feel a bit bad because of the short time between selling the car and him experiencing problems, however it was an old car and only sold for £1000. The car runs perfectly fine, does not show any blue smoke etc.

I have a receipt signed by both myself and the new owner for the car listed as "sold as seen", would I be in anyway liable for the problems the new owner is experiencing?

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Mon 11 Feb 2008 21:57
Problem with a car i've just sold - bathtub tom
"Trying it on" is a phrase that springs readily to mind.

Did the prospective buyer not notice any of these problems when inspecting it before purchase?
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Mon 11 Feb 2008 23:06
Problem with a car i've just sold - decky75
in my experience in selling cars the only people liable are traders.
In extreme cases he could go to small claims court but as he checked it over and drove it and the reciept states sold as seen cant see it being taken on.
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Mon 11 Feb 2008 23:10
Problem with a car i've just sold - Billy Whizz
Barry, how old was your Maverick? Have you seen the oil in the coolant yourself (since the new owner mentioned it)?
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Mon 11 Feb 2008 23:11
Problem with a car i've just sold - stunorthants26
If you are a private seller and i can only assume you are as a trader would know where they stand, then you have nothing to worry about aslong as you didnt intentionally deceive.
'Sold as seen' generally is taken to mean that whether they saw it or not, they had the chance to decide to buy the car as is, if they missed anything their problem, not yours.

You are not liable, its the new owners problem and you shouldnt feel any guilt in this case, you sold a used car, not a new one.
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Tue 12 Feb 2008 20:58
Problem with a car i've just sold - kithmo
Caveat emptor is the correct phrase I believe ;0)
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Wed 13 Feb 2008 07:37
Problem with a car i've just sold - doctorchris
A £1000 Maverick is an old car now. Brown sludge in the expansion tank is pretty much normal and to be expected, just needs a good cleaning out of the tank. Oil in the coolant just doesn't ring true for either the diesel or petrol Maverick. I think this is a try-on, you have no legal or even moral obligations here and should quitly ignore this issue.
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