I sold a 1976 Jeep through Ebay, buyer says it threw a rod after 5 miles. Am

  • Thread starter Thread starter April
  • Start date Start date
A

April

Guest
I responsible for repairs? I advertised that it runs beautifully (for a 33 year old car) and that I don't know much about the history. I had the alternator replaced less than 200 miles ago by a Jeep-only mechanic, and he checked EVERYTHING before letting me leave with it, it truly was in perfect condition as far as he could tell, except that it does lose oil. I told the buyer to have the oil topped off often.

It was shipped from California to Florida. The shipper sent a tow truck driver who drove it up onto the tow truck, and commented on how nicely it runs, and my brother is a mechanic and says that it sounded really good and certainly wasn't making any kind of knocking sound that would suggest it was about to throw a rod.

The buyer received the car 5 days after signing the bill of sale and 12 days after the Ebay auction ended. He claims that after driving 5 miles on the day he received the car, the engine threw a rod and now the engine has to be replaced.

He is making a claim through PayPal to have the entire purchase price of $4500 refunded, while keeping the car and title, lol! I do feel terrible if that really happened, but honestly I've had a weird feeling about this transaction all along. He insisted on paying via PayPal so he would be protected if anything was wrong, but didn't want to use escrow.com.

It's a Chevy 304 V8 engine. I have a feeling he is either lying or it had no oil. It certainly will not cost anywhere near $4500 to replace. My brother said he could get a used engine in good condition for $100 or a rebuilt engine for $350.

I would like to be able to show Paypal and Ebay the specific laws that show that I am not liable if possible.

thanks for your help!
Just wanted to add that the buyer has not shown any proof that it broke down, no quote from a mechanic, didn't even contact me directly.. just filed for a full refund through Paypal saying "item was not as described" because I described it as "running beautifully"
 
You need to get signed statements, video of it running good, copy of the auction, copy of the buyer, copy of the title and an affidavit to your bank as soon as possible. Pay Pal can not be trusted. Get the retrieval of funds started with the bank your pay pal is associated with right away.
 
In a face to face transaction you would not be liable. But you went through PayPal and the rules there certainly favor the buyer. Sounds like you have documentation to back up your statement. Send it in and fight back!
 
Back
Top