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Sold item on craigslist question

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en4239

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Hi,
So I had an ad on craigslist to sell a set of rims that came off my 2004 Ford F150, so they are used rims. The interested person contacted me by text asking about them. One of their questions was would the lug nut pattern on the rims I have fit on their vehicle which was a GMC Sierra, but did not tell me what year it was. So I did a little research online and saw that they would work on specific model year Sierras. So i said that yes they would probably fit. We then agreed on a price, $600 and met the following day. They looked at them, paid me for it and we went our seperate ways with no paperwork being done at all. They did not try to put them on their truck at this time to make sure they would fit. So the next day I get a text from the buyer saying that the lug nut pattern does not fit on their truck.
So my question is, am I legally obligated to give them their money back and take the rims back because they do not fit on their truck when I said they probably would in previous texts? Even though they did not give me enough information (year of the truck) to verify 100% that they would fit and I did not ask for the model year. Or are they stuck with them because there was no contract made and sold as is (although it does not say "as is" in my craigslist ad at all) and they did not verify at the time of sale that they fit on their truck. And if i refuse to give their money back and they take me to court, do they have a case at all?
 


justalayman

Senior Member
depends on how you worded the "they will probably fit". I would suggest making this easy and rescinding the sale. If a court reads your statement as a recommendation they will fit, the court will rescind the sale anyway.

things not to do in the future:

tell somebody what vehicle rims will fit unless you are willing to stand behind the statement. Let them make their own determination.
 

davidmcbeth3

Senior Member
Technically, they were sold as-is ... so you could keep the cash w/o refund.

I would give a refund if they guy wanted, but that's just me...
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
Even though he would probably lose in court if he sued you, I think you should refund him and next time don't answer questions like that. If you had told the buyer "that is your responsibility to verify" you would have been in the clear. It sounds like you told him something he wanted to hear to make the sale and it came back to bite you.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Technically, they were sold as-is ... so you could keep the cash w/o refund.

I would give a refund if they guy wanted, but that's just me...
if they were sold as fitting the buyers vehicle, the "as is" claim would not apply to that as it is an express warranty as fit for a particular purpose. The as is would apply to them being bent, leaking, or any other non-addressed issue.

that is why I say it comes down to what, exactly, he told the buyer.
 

davidmcbeth3

Senior Member
if they were sold as fitting the buyers vehicle, the "as is" claim would not apply to that as it is an express warranty as fit for a particular purpose. The as is would apply to them being bent, leaking, or any other non-addressed issue.

that is why I say it comes down to what, exactly, he told the buyer.
Maybe but the seller can always say "that's not what I said"...then the buyer is stuck anyway
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Maybe but the seller can always say "that's not what I said"...then the buyer is stuck anyway
and so it gets to the veracity of the parties as determined by the court.

unless the OP really wants to go through all of the hassle and risk losing (and I admit, OP could win also) or just rescind the sale and get them back on Craig's list, it is up to the OP. The OP knows what he said, exactly. I don't. I just don't see fighting it as a winning situation, even if he wins in court.
 

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