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I recently sold a car that had a recent WOF approval. The Airbag light had been on for some time and a potential buyer viewed the car and pointed out the it may be a WOF issue. We agreed that I would take it to the auto electrician, however I pointed out that the guy on Waiheke Island (where I live) would likely have a fairly generic computer and it may not be able to read it. The potential buyer agreed with this and said that if the Waiheke based guy couldn;t read it, then he would deal with it. The auction completed a couple of days before I could get the auto electrician to look at it and the potential buyer pressed the buy now on the auction a day before the auction expired. I agreed with him that I would still take the car to the auto electrician as a condition of sale, and did. However, as feared, the electrician's computer was not compatible with the Peugeot and I informed the buyer. He agreed to proceed with the sale, but now money has changed hands he is now raising it as a safety issue, that I falsely advertised the vehicle, and he wants me to cover repairs/or refund his money.
Where do I stand?
I'd be very grateful to assess my position so I can respond appropriately.
I have offered to refund $250, but he is not happy with this. I pointed out that he knew about the airbag light prior to him deciding to press the buy now button, and he was aware that the mechanic on the island may not be able to read the computer.
Many thanks
Ian
If the buyer knowingly accepted the car in this condition then we fail to see how you could have possibly misrepresented the car at the time of sale.
When cars are sold in this condition however, it is always best to make sure the seller puts in writing the conditions under which their car is being sold and gets the buyers acknowledgement by way of a signature. Copies of this selling agreement should also be kept by both parties.
As a slight aside, the operation of the airbag warning light is a WoF check item and in theory, the car should not have passed its last inspection if the warning was on at the time of the inspection.
Based on what you are saying, the offer of $250 is reasonably generous however, it may not go anywhere near paying for this repair.
You may want to remind the buyer that they had the opportunity to seek potential repair costs before agreeing to buy the car.
At the end of the day, you and the buyer are the only ones who really know what was said leading up to the sale. If your conscious is clear then you do have the option of doing nothing more than repeat your offer of a partial refund as a gesture of goodwill only.