Liability Considerations in selling Old Cars

As the frequency of manual labor-induced aches and pains increases with my advancing age, I'm thinking of thinning out my fleet. While most of my cars are unmodified, I have worked on all of them to one degree or another, and have wondered if any liability would accrue to me for any post sale problems encountered by the purchaser of one of my cars. I realize that, in this increasingly litigious world, one can be sued for almost anything, but I'm concerned with the possibility of increased vulnerability to lawsuit due to having performed extensive maintenance/repairs on most of my cars.

When it comes to value, my cars are at the low end of the scale, and I could probably craft a bill of sale to reflect the vehicle's "As Is" condition, plus a few more caveats that I (or a member of this forum) might dream up. For example, wording such as: "The subject of this sale is not to be considered a "vehicle", but merely an assemblage of parts and is not fit for transportation of humans etc." A little tongue-in-cheek there, but I think you get my drift.

I may be overly concerned about a non-issue here, but has anyone encountered a liability situation as the result of selling an old car, or one on which they may have performed extensive maintenance or repairs?

Don't wanna get sued,

Grog

Rule of law is pretty well established in the sale of used cars, which, admittedly, is what our collector vehicles really are in the eyes of the courts. As-is, where-is, no warranty is pretty solid ground provided you are not concealing known defects or misrepresenting the car as something it's not. There are cases of guys getting in trouble for selling cars they represented as "matching numbers" but actually weren't, there are cases where VINs have been altered, there are cases where obvious problems that an owner/seller should have known about were not disclosed, but if you are a private individual the bar is much lower than for a dealer. Unless you're trying to pull a fast one, the risk of being sued is pretty slight when you're just a hobbyist selling an old car. Yes, if the frame is broken in half and the car is unsafe to drive, you should probably make sure buyers know about it. But if the radio doesn't work or the carburetor is out of tune, it's unlikely that someone will try to sue you because you botched the job.

There is no bulletproof paper you can make a buyer sign, but you should provide a bill of sale with the car that clearly states that the car is sold as-is, where-is without any warranty or guarantee of fitness and that the buyer has satisfied himself using his own judgement (that's a very important phrase) that the car was satisfactory. Don't go overboard on the legalese, just two or three sentences. More isn't necessarily better, because every word you include can be used against you. Better to leave it vague. The bill of sale my dealership uses is only five sentences long and three of them are for the buyer name, seller name, price, and date of purchase.

Don't be afraid of this. Unless you're passing junk off as something it's not or your cars are dangerously unsafe and you don't tell the new owners about it, you don't have much to fear. The courts pretty well embrace "caveat emptor" as standard operating procedure where used cars are concerned.

Uh, oh. Here's something I just saw on my Yahoo home page: http://www.autoblog.com/2015/04/20/automakers-gearheads-car-repairs/

This article is about the technologically advanced vehicles of our age, but it looks like the vultures, errrr, lawyers are circling.

Layin' low,

Grog

"... the buyer has satisfied himself using his own judgement ( that's a very important phrase) that the car was satisfactory. "

Thanks for the reply, Matt. I particularly like the way you place the onus on the buyer to have performed a pre-purchase inspection and to have understood the findings of his inspection. I'll modify my Bill of Sale form accordingly.

Cheers,

Grog

Uh, oh. Here's something I just saw on my Yahoo home page: http://www.autoblog.com/2015/04/20/automakers-gearheads-car-repairs/

This article is about the technologically advanced vehicles of our age, but it looks like the vultures, errrr, lawyers are circling.

Layin' low,

Grog

That particular article is poorly written. The actual issue concerns hacking the software in new cars. Given how many safety and emissions control functions are controlled by the software, this is not surprising.

On the original question, I suspect that any maintenance properly done to factory specs using factory equivalent parts is a non-issue. Modifications from factory do have the possibility of becoming a problem, especially if these mods involve changing the brakes or suspension. There is a lot of poorly-engineered aftermarket crap out there.

Of course, in today's society, it's ALWAYS someone else's fault.

If I had installed seat belts in a car I was going to sell, I'd remove them before the car left my possession and they would NOT go with car....I can see a huge liability there....

Doing trim work, I've had people ask me to either install or modify (cut and resew) seat belts, it's an adamant NO, due to future liability.

That's the main item that I can see would be an issue.....

Sounds like a non issue to me. It goes without saying that any old car has had work done on it and how could anyone prove who did what?

Around here, before a car can be registered for the road it must be inspected by an authorized garage or mechanic and given a safety certificate. This puts the onus on the mechanic who did the inspection.

I have never heard of anyone being sued or getting in trouble for the reason you mention.

There are millions of used cars sold every year. Unless you offer a guarantee in writing I don't see how anybody can hold you responsible once it leaves your posession.

Having bought and sold dozens of cars, I am careful not to lie to anyone or deceive them in any way and have only had one come back. That was for a battery that failed a week after I sold the car. I gave the buyer a used battery and he went away happy.

It's appropriate to be wise, but don't let fear keep you from living.

It's appropriate to be wise, but don't let fear keep you from living.

^^^THIS!

^^^THIS!

Indeed.

It is so ... aggravating (not even sure that's the right word) ... how today's society seems always focused on someone else being "at fault" ... with most people not taking responsibility. *shrugs* Or, maybe that's just me.

At any rate, good luck in thinning your fleet, Greg!

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

"Something's wrong in the world today" __ Aerosmith __ 'Living On The Edge'