Ripped off on Marketplace with a car purchase. What can a person do?

[777funk]

My 19yo son bought a Duramax truck on Facebook Marketplace. He said the seller was nice and professional and quick to answer any questions. The truck was sold as a good running driving truck, but needs a radiator. He had a friend with a towing business drive a couple hours with his rollback and pick it up. Batteries were dead, no way to crank it. My son just took the seller's word.

Turns out the seller's word isn't worth much. My son gets the truck home, charges the batteries. And yes, no coolant. But also... there must be a couple pistons with holes in them. Compression is ZERO on a couple cylinders and low on the rest (280 psi was the highest with most under 200).

What can my son do in this situation? He has contacted the seller but... the seller is not responding.

[engatwork]

Hate to hear that for him. Did he take a look at it before going to pick it up? Was a bill of sale put together on it stating "as is, where is"?

Sounds like an expensive lesson for your son.

[savas]

If he has saved all of the correspondence then there is the possibility of small claims courts. It’s fairly easy to do on your own.

[Sugar Bear]

If it can be shown that it was misrepresented that has a good chance of voiding the "As-Is" terms of the sale. I'd document my attempts to contact the seller and after a week of no response send a registered letter to them via certified mail requesting that you be contacted, I wouldn't go beyond requesting to be contacted. If no response then weigh out whether or not it is worth involving an attorney.

[Idle]

Hoovie, of Hoovie's Garage fame, when through with with a Superbird he picked up on Bring a Trailer. He chalked it up to bad luck and took it to the car wizard to fix, just making it a part of his program.

The Wizard did a great job but found after getting into it the seller had misrepresented a great deal on the car. He finally had to get BAT to step in and help him get his money back.

This is all up on YouTube so a search of his back programs might turn up some helpful info on your problem.

[Hatterasguy]

I hate to say it but he bought an old project truck buyer beware.

[Mxfrank]

If the price was low enough, best chalk it up to bad experience. A "good running vehicle" doesn't need a radiator. An inexpensive check by any mechanic would have turned up the rest. People sometimes sell great cars, but usually not.

[qualified-merc]

Interesting discussion, I have been thinking about car deals for the past month or so...

I can't count the number of times I have heard people talk about car/truck/SUV deals that went south. It is truly amazing. As mxfrank said, a simple check by a mechanic BEFORE making an offer usually turns up the real mechanical issues with the car/truck SUV.

I rarely hear about house deals going south. Maybe it is because there is a lot more money on the line so the buyer orders a house inspection FIRST? I dunno....

All that said, in today's climate, we all need to be more careful with our car/truck/SUV dealings.