etc Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I got a 2001 Subaru Legacy Outback, 4-cylinder automatic. It was more or less a parts car. I paid $550 for it plus some gas for towing. I mainly got it for the transmission. I figured I could part out the rest of it. I removed the tranny. I have never seen it ran and had it towed. I don't know what the problem was, it turned over but refused to start. Ended up selling the rest of it to a guy for $600 or about what I had in it, with the understanding that it is a parts car and is missing the tranny. He contacts me a week later, saying the 2.5L engine is no good. He says it knocks. I asked him to produce a video and send it to me. He is 1.5 hours away and it's not practical to go see it. He than said it has a span bearing or bent valve and that he has already removed from the recipient vehicle. I ask for proof and he says his word is good enough. He said he feels screwed that it's a $300 car and not $600. I don't really question his credibility but my question is this, how much is a parts 2001 Outback worth, with missing tranny and potentially bad engine? Does the 2.5L develop a knock, and how would a bent valve manifest itself? If the root cause of the car not starting was broken timing belt, this might explain a lot. Furthermore, he refuses to show any proof the engine is bad, and removed it from the vehicle he had it installed in (I am assuming a different car) with no way for me to verify it's no good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Was he informed that you had no way of knowing the condition of the engine before he handed you the money? If so then it's on him, I wouldn't have paid $600 for it personally with no way of knowing. I recently bought a running legacy parts car for about $325 after towing and all that fun stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etc Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 Yes, I explained that I never have seen the car run, I assumed the engine was probably good but had no way to verify it. Does this parts have enough in parts to cover $600 price? Forgot to say it had leather seats and glass was good. One door was dented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pginter96 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) I am in a very similar situation as your buyer, and I will be the first to say it is the buyers fault. I bought an EJ22E that I had never seen run but was told it was good, and after a week of engine swap in my garage I start it up to find it knocking and ticking and leaking and... Overall, just unhappy to be living again. As long as you told the buyer that you had not seen the engine run, and you gave no guarantee of it running, its all an assumption on his part. Did you offer any warrenty/exchange/guarentee/promise? If not, its all on him. Rotten deal and it sucks to be in, but it is what it is. More importantly I'd assume, Theres the legal side. was there a bill of sale written and if so what did it state about matters such as this? Edited January 3, 2015 by pginter96 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Depending on what the person needs from the car I'm sure there is more than $600 dollars worth of parts there. Seats and doors alone at junkyard prices around me would be close to $400, plus other parts like lights and suspension parts. Rule of thumb I've always stuck with on parts/parts cars is to assume it's all junk unless proven otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 You took a risk on it, too. The 00/01 transmissions have the whole not engaging into gear issue. Regardless, someone bought a parts car as is where is without having heard it run/drive and you provided no warranty the engine was good. Because you never heard it run/drive, either. Anyone who knows subarus should know buying a randomass ej25 is a crapshoot. If he overpaid it's honestly his fault. You didn't lie to him, he didn't have to buy it. You're in the clear on this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ford'ssubaru's Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 You sold a parts car and he got a parts car..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 You sold a parts car and he got a parts car..... LOL we don't know the conversation and who said what or what implications or qualifications or guesses were or were not made - so third party comments are limited in scope. i agree though - it's a parts car, end of story. $600 is steep for an unknown parrts car but $600 is cheap for an EJ25 so sounds like he took a gamble and lost. you can't buy eery $600 EJ25 you see and expect them all to be amazing. the car was a cheap parts car for a reason - why was it so cheap when you bought it? certainly you had some inclination? if the trans was good - i'd almost guess the engine is bad. a car with a missing trans can be assumed (rightly or wrongly) to have had a bad trans. i've bougth them like that before (and currently drive one of them) in which case one would expect the engine to be good.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Loyale Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Parts car AS IS. Caveat emptor. You told him it was a parts car. You never promised the engine would run. How do you know it wasn't a good engine and HE did something to ruin it? He won't be out too much anyway even if he just scraps it. You shouldn't engage him any more on this because it is leading him to the belief he will get a refund. Just politely state it was an AS IS sale. Wish him luck and bid him adieu. Folks, in the future always mark AS IS on the receipt. Edited January 3, 2015 by MR_Loyale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Folks, in the future always mark AS IS on the receipt. x1000 on this. Always write a bill of sale marked "AS IS - NO Warranties" with a description and VIN of the vehicle - have the buyer sign it and keep a copy for your records! this also works for major components such as engine or trans - there will be an identifying number on either that can be written down on the bill of sale to avoid problems down the road. Edited January 3, 2015 by heartless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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