Honesty in Selling Car Is Still the Best Policy

Question: I am considering selling my 1976 Plymouth Volare, but I hesitate to do so because there are several things wrong with it and I am worried about liability. We replaced the engine a few years ago and that is still in good condition. But we never got the odometer hooked up, and we could never figure out how to hook up the emergency brake. The oil sensor is still disconnected, but that isn’t a problem unless a person doesn’t check the oil or the oil pump fails. The headlights are out of aim and cannot be adjusted.

Other problems include the radio not working when the temperature is above 85 degrees, the glove compartment door flops open unexpectedly, and half the front grill is broken off. In addition, the exhaust pipe is designed wrong; consequently, there’s always soot on the back bumper, so when you lean into the trunk you get a black line across your skin or clothing.

If I sell the car and the brakes fail or the oil pump fails and ruins the engine, would my husband and I be liable? I would feel a moral obligation to tell a prospective buyer about the emergency brake, but what about the other defects? Is it “buyer beware”? What are my chances of getting $1,000? --K.F.

Answer: It would be so easy to make fun of your poor Plymouth that I’ll refrain from doing so, but I will commend you for thinking through the problem. So many private sellers of automobiles engage in shabby ethical practices that it is good to know there are owners mindful of their obligations to the buyer.

Obviously, the car is not in tiptop shape, but that’s true of many of the used cars that people depend upon for transportation. The overriding legal and moral issue is to tell the buyer about the important problems. You should group the problems your car has into those that are either serious mechanical or safety issues and those that are merely cosmetic.

You certainly have a legal obligation to disclose any safety problems, such as the brakes and headlights. If a buyer of the car were to have an accident as the result of a safety defect that you knew about, you could face a civil fraud suit, according to Norman Taylor, a Los Angeles attorney specializing in “lemon” law suits and other automotive litigation. Another possibility would be a suit in small claims court, in which the buyer could seek recovery for repairs.

Once you disclose these problems, preferably in writing in the sales contract, you are legally protected. Any sweeping disclaimer in the place of disclosure that you attempt to insert into the sales contract, which would have the buyer accept the existing condition of the car, will generally not protect you from a fraud suit, Taylor said.

In addition, you should disclose any serious mechanical defects. It really isn’t good business to stick a poor unsuspecting soul with major problems. The matters you cite, such as the oil sensor light, are relatively minor, and it might be better to repair them. You want to get the best price, and sometimes it helps to fix a few minor things so that it doesn’t seem as though the car is falling apart.

Finally, the problem with soot on the bumper is something inherent in the car and visible to the naked eye. You don’t necessarily have to point out the obvious. Most bumpers get dirty, anyway. The broken grill is also a visible problem that the buyer should see in any event.

While state and federal “lemon laws” and consumer warranty laws often apply to used cars, private sales are generally exempted, according to Taylor. So, you probably could not be sued for selling a lemon.

As for getting $1,000, that’s questionable. It will depend somewhat on the visual appearance of the car and the mileage. Since your odometer is broken, you will have to disclose that problem as well. At any rate, it is likely to consume all your sales talent.