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May have sold boat with cracked block..

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jaxson

Junior Member
Washington. I may have accidentally sold a boat with a cracked block, am I liable? We owned the boat for a few years, always winterized it, and it always ran great, and I said as much in the ad when we had to sell it. The buyers contacted us the day after buying it saying the block was cracked and would cost several grand to fix. We offered no written warranty or guarantee, but said it ran great because it always had for us and did last time used. If we end up in small claims, are we the sellers liable?
 
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N Nartin

Guest
Assuming that you told the buyers what you said here; then yes you may get a judgment against you.
 
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sandyclaus

Senior Member
jaxson said:
Washington. I may have accidentally sold a boat with a cracked block, am I liable? We owned the boat for a few years, always winterized it, and it always ran great, and I said as much in the ad when we had to sell it. The buyers contacted us the day after buying it saying the block was cracked and would cost several grand to fix. We offered no written warranty or guarantee, but said it ran great because it always had for us and did last time used. If we end up in small claims, are we the sellers liable?
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Did they have a boat mechanic look inspect the boat before they bought it?

If YOU didn't know it had a cracked block, and they didn't have a mechanic look it over first to see if the engine was mechanically sound, then who could have known about the problem?

AS-IS sales are just that. Unless you take the time to have whatever you are buying inspected for mechanical fitness or to ensure the condition of it, then you take your chances with what you get. That's why these kinds of sales are considered AS-IS, unless the seller provides a specific WRITTEN warranty or guarantee of fitness for a specific purpose. No warranty, then it's "Buyer Beware", with no recourse against the seller unless you can prove they withheld a material fact that affects the item.

Tell the new owners to enjoy their new boat.
 
P

Philxxxx

Member
swalsh411 said:
This is not even remotely true.

OP please disregard this post.
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Do you think you can tell someone that the engine runs good and sell it and then the buyer finds it has a cracked block & is not able to run?

Good luck in court with the argument "caveat emptor" on that one.

The buyer will sue & the seller will have to testify to what he told the buyer before the sale.
 
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sandyclaus

Senior Member
Philxxxx said:
Do you think you can tell someone that the engine runs good and sell it and then the buyer finds it has a cracked block & is not able to run?

Good luck in court with the argument "caveat emptor" on that one.

The buyer will sue & the seller will have to testify to what he told the buyer before the sale.
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The engine may very well have run fairly well, and the seller may not have even had a clue that there was a cracked engine block. It's even possible the buyer wouldn't have known there was a problem unless he decided to have his boat mechanic look over the boat AFTER the purchase.

And as the seller said, it always ran great. There's nothing about when he used the boat last, and the buyer clearly did not have the boat inspected for mechanical condition before the purchase. And I most certainly did not hear the seller mention that they GUARANTEED that the boat was in perfect shape.

"Caveat Emptor" most definitely applies here. The buyer had the responsibility to verify the condition of the boat BEFORE completing the sale. The buyer cannot assume the condition of the boat without asking the right questions or having it inspected. He failed to do so, and purchased the boat as they found it - with all of it's problems.
 
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Philxxxx

Member
sandyclaus said:
The engine may very well have run fairly well, and the seller may not have even had a clue that there was a cracked engine block. It's even possible the buyer wouldn't have known there was a problem unless he decided to have his boat mechanic look over the boat AFTER the purchase.

And as the seller said, it always ran great. There's nothing about when he used the boat last, and the buyer clearly did not have the boat inspected for mechanical condition before the purchase. And I most certainly did not hear the seller mention that they GUARANTEED that the boat was in perfect shape.

"Caveat Emptor" most definitely applies here. The buyer had the responsibility to verify the condition of the boat BEFORE completing the sale. The buyer cannot assume the condition of the boat without asking the right questions or having it inspected. He failed to do so, and purchased the boat as they found it - with all of it's problems.
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So, do you see the buyer making a civil case out of this? We don't know the $$ amt so its hard for me to say for sure but I am leaning to yes (since they must have announced their displeasure as the seller "now knows" about the issue.
 
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swalsh411

Senior Member
Philxxxx said:
So, do you see the buyer making a civil case out of this? We don't know the $$ amt so its hard for me to say for sure but I am leaning to yes (since they must have announced their displeasure as the seller "now knows" about the issue.
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You're not doing very well grasping the concept of an as-is sale.
 
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Proejo

Member
To the OP -

As a boater, if you sold me a boat that had a cracked block, didn't disclose it and you gave me your word that there was nothing wrong, that it worked fine, yaddy-yadda, and then it turned out you had lied (maybe unintentionally, maybe not), whether I would win or lose in court wouldn't matter. Whether or not I should have tested the boat and not taken your word wouldn't matter. Whether it would cost me a bunch on court costs and attorney's fees wouldn't matter. I would find me an attorney that would drag your butt into court so fast it would make your head spin. You'd get a demand letter to refund the purchase price of the boat or the cost of repairs and if you didn't... well... we'd be seeing each other soon enough.

Unless you are a morally deficient person, you should do the right thing and don't put these people through the misery and costs that they shouldn't have to deal with. You sold a boat with a cracked engine block, knowingly or unknowingly. If this person had tested it before buying it, you still would have had to pay for the repairs in order to turn around and sell it, right? Of course I'm right.

Not legally being required to pay for the repairs and not doing it because you can get away with it are two entirely different things but certainly not mutually exclusive. Sometimes, though, the court comes down in favor of the moral right so I would take my chances. You should do the right thing and either pay for the repairs or refund them the purchase price because really... you should (but you already knew that, right?).
 
P

Philxxxx

Member
Proejo said:
To the OP -

As a boater, if you sold me a boat that had a cracked block, didn't disclose it and you gave me your word that there was nothing wrong, that it worked fine, yaddy-yadda, and then it turned out you had lied (maybe unintentionally, maybe not), whether I would win or lose in court wouldn't matter. Whether or not I should have tested the boat and not taken your word wouldn't matter. Whether it would cost me a bunch on court costs and attorney's fees wouldn't matter. I would find me an attorney that would drag your butt into court so fast it would make your head spin. You'd get a demand letter to refund the purchase price of the boat or the cost of repairs and if you didn't... well... we'd be seeing each other soon enough.

Unless you are a morally deficient person, you should do the right thing and don't put these people through the misery and costs that they shouldn't have to deal with. You sold a boat with a cracked engine block, knowingly or unknowingly. If this person had tested it before buying it, you still would have had to pay for the repairs in order to turn around and sell it, right? Of course I'm right.

Not legally being required to pay for the repairs and not doing it because you can get away with it are two entirely different things but certainly not mutually exclusive. Sometimes, though, the court comes down in favor of the moral right so I would take my chances. You should do the right thing and either pay for the repairs or refund them the purchase price because really... you should (but you already knew that, right?).
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Folks want their pound of flesh !! And performance guarantees would apply as I think that it would in this case. The OP will find out; hopefully one completed he'll post back with results.
 
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