Opinion Requested

[Green with Envy]

As you know, Green sold. I'm sure many of you read my Craigslist posting; factual and straight forward.

Here's the story:
The owner took posession, admitted to putting 87 octane, unleaded fuel in it and proceeded to operate it for 25-30 mins at high rpm.  He now claims that there is a potential spun bearing in the engine. The fuel is probably not related to the alleged engine wear/damage.

Here are the facts:
I offered a test drive on Lake Elmo for serious buyers.  He declined.  We ran with muffs for 15-20 mins in my driveway going in and out of gear and revving to about 2500 rpm.

Last night, he admitted to not hearing any knock while testing in my driveway, but is evident in his driveway with muffs.

This is a 38 year old boat and I sold it with no promises or warranty.  I was as forthcoming as I could be with all the work I put into it and what I didn't do to it.

He thinks this bearing should be my responsibility.

I am struggling with what I should do.

Any thoughts?

[Jason]

As with any used car, boat, whatever, under MN law, it is sold AS IS even without writing. So unless agreed to some kind of warranty there is no warranty. Well, I think a new car sold for more than 10K and less than 7 years old comes with a 30day warranty, and that might even be for dealers for cars only.

It was his responsibility to check everything out before buying it. He had the opportunity to test it out before buying it.

It's old, old things brake, heck, just about every time i take one of my old cars or boats out something brakes!

Just try and be polite but basically tell him it was sold as is and if he would like to take you to court to settle things then to go right ahead.

[dorelse]

Unfortunately, those are the risks of the AS-IS game.

Your responsibility towards "Green with Envy" ended when money changed hands. 

I'm assuming you have a signed Bill of Sale.  I have one that I've used on all my car/boat purchases (even when I'm the buyer) that states specifically, "As-Is, no warranty is implied or given"...

Honestly, I get that you feel bad for the guy...but he declined the test drive, and agrees it ran fine when he purchased it.  Its too bad for him, but its his problem.

[Bayflite73]

I offered a test drive on Lake Elmo for serious buyers.  He declined.  We ran with muffs for 15-20 mins in my driveway going in and out of gear and revving to about 2500 rpm.

Last night, he admitted to not hearing any knock while testing in my driveway, but is evident in his driveway with muffs.

These four sentences sum it all up. You're off the hook and have nothing to worry about.

When I bought my boat in 2007 it was cold enough out still (April) that we didn't do a muff test and there was still ice on Forest Lake so I bought it without even starting it up. The PO and I did type up a letter stating that if I had any engine trouble before the end of June that year he would pay 50% of any repair cost. We printed out two copies and each signed it.

Your guy didn't do that.

Go to bed with a clear conscious tonight. You did everything right.

[75starflight]

I agree, sold AS-IS, you do not owe him a thing. For all you know, he could have ran it low on oil. And now is whining and doesn't want to admit that it was his screw up. I have seen that before.

[fireman24mn]

I would agree you could have taken it out and the same thing would have happened to you. Would you have done something different did you know of any problems? Did you follow him around to see what he did the entire time. Did he change alter or modify and then change it back claiming to have done nothing. You just dont know if he could have done something that caused it. As is no warranty its used and old.

[WetRaider]

You have no further responsibility.  Unless it's a personal morals issue.

On the bill of sale for my GT 150, it said that the boat and motor were in top working condition and provide no safety concerns to the buyer ... turned out I had a spun prop that was misdiagnosed as a bad gear case.  I told the PO about it and he felt bad, volunteered to refund my deposit ($300) to offset the cost of a new gear case.  I didn't argue.

At this point, I have a GT150 that I am about $6,000 into - with a motor that may not give me much more than another season or two.  Purchase a used motor and I'll be nearing $10,000 for a boat that I probably can't sell for much more than what I bought it for originally.  All that said - I know a lot more now than I did then - I'm happy to buy a project boat and do the work myself, or buy one that is well documented.  

It's a tough thing to do, especially when you're just a nice guy.  You don't owe him anything.  He declined the test drive on his own, and it was offered.  If he had declined delivery service on a new tv and dropped it trying to get it out of his car, he couldn't take it back and blame the store for not delivering, right?  

[Green with Envy]

Thanks for the advice. I forwarded the link to this thread to him. I hope he realizes this is part of boating  Unfortunately this happens to all of us at some point in our boating lives.
Hope to see everyone on the water real soon.
Allan

[OleRed]

You have no further responsibility.  Unless it's a personal morals issue.

Allen  I've been in the boat business a Lot of years, and in the beginning when one of my customers had an issue with one of my boats I felt responsible in some respect, even though I took them out on the lake and demonstrated the boat, but things have changed,  I got a different out-look now, once beginning, I sold the boat, took the guy out for a test run, he ran it through the limits, paid me and took it home.  Two days later he called me up from different lake, he was dead in the water, motor shaking, popping thru the carb, then died, swearing he had Not had it in the water since the test run we did ... well, quess what, another friend of mine told me that he and the new owner ran the boat for 4 hours on the lake, full throttle, jumping waves, racing other boats, for a whole tank of gas the evening I sold him the boat, and too, that he demonstrated the motor to several friends on a hose in his driveway the evening befor he had an issue, taching it up to 6000 rpm. that being responsible for bending push rods, breaking two rocker arms, and a blown head gasket.

You should Not feel bad about representing your boat, it ran perfect, a beautiful boat, what ever happened to that boat when it left your care is Not known.  You did your part, and you gave the responsibility to someone else, it's their proble, and they also probably created the problem.

[Green with Envy]

I would like to say that the purchaser of green, Travis, is a great guy. He is planning to become a member and do outings with you guys as a Glastron owner. I think once he gets green up and running well, he will love the boat and enjoy the club.
Allan

[ChfBrianB]

I agree with everything that has been said.  The other thing that has not been said is that stuff breaks.  I have learned that I should never borrow something that I am not willing to pay for.  The main reason is that stuff tends to break when I touch it.  I borrowed a $200 drill from my father that died the first day I used it.  He had been using it for several years, but it chose to die when it was in my hands.

The reality is that once he paid for the boat, anything that happens from that point forward is his responsibility.  It could have just broke...  It's part of the risk.

When I sell things, I often make a list of the things that I know could be fixed.  I've stopped trying to make things look as good as possible, and represent them exactly as they are.  I even send pictures of every scratch and blemish.  This way, I know that I'm not doing anything that would make me look or feel like I've been dishonest.

Your willingness to help is commendable, but the reality is that it is not your responsibility as long as you know you did everything to provide full disclosure.

[Jerry]

It all comes under the Murphy's law "S%$t Happens"

[Hyperacme]

Allen
The boat is almost 40 years old ...
Your taking your chances with a boat 10 years old !