Nissan Pathfinder - Did I get Scammed!!
RunnerAndy
02-28-2012, 11:48 AM
Yall,
I just sold my 2001 Pathfinder to some guy on Craigslist. He said he was a mechanic. We went for a test drive and he started complaining about the transmission, asking if it had been serviced, then it started to jump a bit and then the car, for the first time, broke down. He looked under the hood, there was some smoke and the trans was leaking a black fluid.
He said the transmission was blown but, because he could fix it, would buy it anyway at half price ($1,600). I agreed.
Now im worried that he was some kind of confidence man and was able to make the car break down. Is that even possible? He didnt get under the hood until after it had broke down.
Oh dear me! Did I get scammed!!!??
I just sold my 2001 Pathfinder to some guy on Craigslist. He said he was a mechanic. We went for a test drive and he started complaining about the transmission, asking if it had been serviced, then it started to jump a bit and then the car, for the first time, broke down. He looked under the hood, there was some smoke and the trans was leaking a black fluid.
He said the transmission was blown but, because he could fix it, would buy it anyway at half price ($1,600). I agreed.
Now im worried that he was some kind of confidence man and was able to make the car break down. Is that even possible? He didnt get under the hood until after it had broke down.
Oh dear me! Did I get scammed!!!??
MagicRat
02-28-2012, 10:39 PM
Possibly......
The timing, and the guy's offer to buy after the breakdown do seem suspicious.
Your description of the failure can be explained by a loose or leaking transmission fluid cooler line, which often can look horrendous but is actually a minor and easy repair
If this guy did not get under the hood....... did he crawl under the vehicle? If he did, he could have sabotaged it by loosening or damaging a cooler line, loosening the transmission pan bolts etc. If he has side cutters, he could snip a small hole in the line in seconds. Leaking oil could easily get on the exhaust pipe, making smoke, and the fluid would leak on the ground in a convincing manner.
If he did nothing except get in and test drive, then you had some bad luck that something broke at that moment. However, he may have scammed you by recognising the failure as something minor but he talked you into a believing it was major.
Since the vehicle is sold by a mutual agreement, there is little you can do. If there was no way for him to damage anything, you have no recourse.
If you are sure he had an opportunity to sabotage something, you can always file a complaint with the police. I don't think they can do much, except perhaps have a talk with him. Unless he scares easily, he likely won't produce another cent, though.
The timing, and the guy's offer to buy after the breakdown do seem suspicious.
Your description of the failure can be explained by a loose or leaking transmission fluid cooler line, which often can look horrendous but is actually a minor and easy repair
If this guy did not get under the hood....... did he crawl under the vehicle? If he did, he could have sabotaged it by loosening or damaging a cooler line, loosening the transmission pan bolts etc. If he has side cutters, he could snip a small hole in the line in seconds. Leaking oil could easily get on the exhaust pipe, making smoke, and the fluid would leak on the ground in a convincing manner.
If he did nothing except get in and test drive, then you had some bad luck that something broke at that moment. However, he may have scammed you by recognising the failure as something minor but he talked you into a believing it was major.
Since the vehicle is sold by a mutual agreement, there is little you can do. If there was no way for him to damage anything, you have no recourse.
If you are sure he had an opportunity to sabotage something, you can always file a complaint with the police. I don't think they can do much, except perhaps have a talk with him. Unless he scares easily, he likely won't produce another cent, though.
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