Selling at auction

AFAIK there's no legal comeback if you bung it through an auction and the buyer decides he's not happy- it's a case of 'buyer beware'.

However, someone will end up with the same problem you have now. Whether that's an issue for you is entirely down to your own concience, and whether you fancy a bit of aggro if the unfortunate buyer decides to pop round for a chat, so to speak. The most honest way to get rid is probably to advertise it spares or repair and take a loss.

How old is the Fiesta, what model and condition? It might be worth getting it fixed with parts from a scrapyard- they're one of the most common cars on the road.

Morse

Who recommended changing the oil cooler? Had they properly inspected it to confirm it was cracked in some way? If they did, and it was, then did they

And by doing so you'd be paying way over the odds for a base spec complete pile of s*it, and ever so marginally lumbering them with a knackered old Fiesta. Don't.

At auction you can state that it is sold as seen. No comebacks. Sellers fee, commission and the low prices at auction, you will loose allot of money.

Sell on Ebay and declare the oil in coolant and any other problems and you may get a better deal. You will not have to declare that you cannot fix the problem or what you think is causing it. People go mad bidding.

Sell in the newspaper and declare it needs work. Tell them the problem when they telephone. You may get a mechanical minded person making an offer. On the receipt make sure you write 'sold as seen', and keep a signed copy yourself and you have no comebacks.

Its a 2002 metallic blue Zetec in excellent condition. I went to a local independent car repairer yesterday. He quoted £475 to replace the head gasket. He said that he'd also replace the cam belt while he's at it. I think I will take this option although it seems like a lot of money to pay out. Does it seem a fair price? I am in the Maidstone area, Kent

Thanks for the replies.

Pete

Well, in addition to the head gasket being changed, the garage will need to ascertain where the issue lies, ie straightforward HG failure, warped or cracked head etc. If he's offering to do the job for £475 and guaranteeing that it will cover whatever it needs (unlikely), it's not a bad price. However, bear in mind that the cost may well escalate if the garage finds cracks or other major issues.

Morse

Peter ( snipped-for-privacy@thanks.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

So a good few grand's worth, then. Worth doing properly.

And quite right too.

I don't know this particular engine, but it sounds perfectly reasonable to me, especially in the SE.