If I sold a truck but thought only the water pump was bad yet there was supposedly something else wrong that I didn’t know about, can I be sued?
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If I sold a truck but thought only the water pump was bad yet there was supposedly something else wrong that I didn’t know about, can I be sued?
I sold a truck that had a bad water pump. I told the buyers that I only knew the water pump was bad and gave them the replacement water pump. I asked the buyers if they wanted to look over the vehicle before buying it they said no. I delievered it to their house. The next day they’re messaging me saying I tricked them into buying a bad vehicle. They said the head gasket was blown and told me I had to pay for it or they were going to sue me. When I had someone look at the vehicle they told me it was only the water pump that went bad. Can they sue me even though I didn’t know of the problem?
Asked on February 28, 2015 under Business Law, Illinois
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
If you gave them any sort of a warranty or guaranty, you are bound by its terms.
If you did not, then legally, you would not be liable if you neither knew or had no reason to know (e.g. there were no "symptoms" that would have put you on notice) there was a problem: if the seller does not know or reasonably should have known of the problem and did not offer a guaranty, then the seller is not liable.
Practically, it is impossible to stop someone from at least filing a lawsuit and forcing you to respond to it; and if they do sue you, if they can convince a judge or jury that you *must* have known of the problem because there's no reasonable way you would not have known, they could win.
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