What would you have done?

Thanks for the encouragement. I just hate the idea of being the bad guy, but I can't let his mistake become my problem any more than it already has.

And yeah, PBR, even after all this I got more than three times what they offered me for the trade-in ($800!). New car dealers apparently don't have much use for dinged-up cars that smell like a decade of wet dog.

 

If that's some of the stuff his mechanic is telling your guy, he probably is getting taken for a ride. I worked in the auto repair business for a short time, and I've seen many mechanics look for the slightest leak in the front axle boots to try and sell for an easy commission. Did you hear a clicking when you made turns? If not, I'd bet everything is fine.

As for the water pump, unless the car is leaking coolant and/or overheating, the mechanic is full of it. If the muffler was truly bad, you wouldn't have passed your last inspection. If there is a hole now, tough. That shit happens. Not unusual and hardly the end of the world.

And there's a great, inexpensive cure for slow oil leaks. It's called buying more oil and re-filling the engine periodically. Hell, when I worked at a Jiffy Lube back in the day, they topped you off for free if you got your oil changes there.

I feel for you here. Sounds like you did tried to do the right thing and someone's putting a lot of fear in this guy's mind. Like others here have been saying, he should of taken the car in beforehand.

 

Either the buyer or the mechanic are pulling a fast one. Do not fall for it. He can already sense your guilt and is maxing out on the tears. Do you know he's got a wife and kid? Were they with him?

And you are under no legal obligation to pay him $300, unless you have it in writing. Someone had a great suggestion ... take it to your mechanic before you hand over $300. You need to document each point of contact, especially after you've told him the situation is done, because you may be able to file a harassment report.

I know these suggestions sound ultra-cynical and extreme, but based on what you've written the red flags are going up in my head.

 

I'm a pretty compassionate fellow - really - but I wouldn't have even offered the $300. It's fucking common sense to have a mechanic look at it before, not after.

And Spnited, every mechanic I've had who looked at a used car before I bought it did it for free.

 

I'm not sure on the exact things the mechanic says are needed, because the buyer doesn't speak very good english and is tough to understand. I have no doubt that there's plenty of stuff wrong with the car -- it's an 11-year-old car that's had virtually nothing but oil changes. Of course it needs work, which is what I assumed and why I sold it on the cheap to begin with, putting the onus on the buyer to figure out what it needed.

I don't think he's trying to scam me, I think he's just a naive guy who screwed up and is now trying to get out of it. And yes, the wife and baby were there when they test drove.

I'm going to leave him the $300 in my mailbox tomorrow, with a copy of the bill of sale with the section highlighted where it's an as-is sale and I have no more responsibility, and a note wishing him luck. And then I'm going to stop answering his phone calls. End of transaction (unless he and his brothers come slash the tires on my new ride).

 

Don't leave it in your mailbox. Hand it to him, preferably in a neutral location. You don't want him claiming that the money was gone by the time he got to the house.

 

Listen to Cadet. She's a smart one.

Get a receipt. Otherwise, you're asking for trouble.

 

Nah, I'm just neurotic and cynical. But sometimes that leads to good ideas!

 

The only other thing I might do is pass him the name of a reputable mechanic, because it sounds like whoever he took the car to is trying to take advantage of him.

 

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That's probably not a bad call, though him claiming I didn't give it to him wouldn't really mean anything. I have no obligation legally to give him a dime.

I was just hoping to avoid another sob story confrontation.

 

In that case .... don't leave it in the mailbox and say you did.

 

i'd take the car back AND give him the $300 for wasting his time.