Moral Dilemma and Selling a Vehicle

Rderdall

I bought a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 w/ 5.9L V8 in the summer because I needed a truck to do some household hauling and other activities that required a pickup truck. I rushed the purchase and didn't fully inspect what I was buying and now I'm in possession of a dud. (Lesson learned, I know, I know . . .) It has either a blown head gasket or a cracked engine block because it is leaking a large volume of coolant into the engine oil. There is no way to determine what the cause is without trial and error of replacing the head gasket first. This is a weekend worth of labor and about $300 worth of parts. I need to sell this vehicle because I don't want to waste money and time replacing the head gasket only to find out that the engine is hopeless.

Now to my dilemma.

I need to get the most money out of this sale as I can. The devil on my shoulder is telling me to change the oil, top up the coolant and sell the truck under the assumption that everything is fine.

I don't know if I can this without harboring some crazy guilt that a nice guy like me is going to wind up with a truck with a potentially blown engine. But if I come clean about the engine troubles, the truck won't sell. Period.

Trading the truck in to a dealership isn't an option either, because we can't afford a monthly payment on a new vehicle.

Have any of you been in a similar situation? What should I do?

Esh

Rderdall wrote: »

I bought a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 w/ 5.9L V8 in the summer because I needed a truck to do some household hauling and other activities that required a pickup truck. I rushed the purchase and didn't fully inspect what I was buying and now I'm in possession of a dud. (Lesson learned, I know, I know . . .) It has either a blown head gasket or a cracked engine block because it is leaking a large volume of coolant into the engine oil. There is no way to determine what the cause is without trial and error of replacing the head gasket first. This is a weekend worth of labor and about $300 worth of parts. I need to sell this vehicle because I don't want to waste money and time replacing the head gasket only to find out that the engine is hopeless.

Now to my dilemma.

I need to get the most money out of this sale as I can. The devil on my shoulder is telling me to change the oil, top up the coolant and sell the truck under the assumption that everything is fine.

I don't know if I can this without harboring some crazy guilt that a nice guy like me is going to wind up with a truck with a potentially blown engine. But if I come clean about the engine troubles, the truck won't sell. Period.

Trading the truck in to a dealership isn't an option either, because we can't afford a monthly payment on a new vehicle.

Have any of you been in a similar situation? What should I do?

You shouldn't lie so that you can put someone else in a shitty situation so you can make a few more bucks.

TychoCelchuuu

This isn't a "moral dilemma." A moral dilemma is when you don't know what the right thing to do is. This is a dilemma over whether you want to be moral or screw someone over with no justification so that you end up better off.

Seattle Thread

There are many organizations that accept vehicle donations, and some of them will take anything. You can then write off the value from your taxes. This is the only ethical way to unload your heap while still getting something back.

Connor

Tycho nailed it. Don't do the shitty thing. Take it as a lesson learned in this crazy life.

MushroomStick

Makershot wrote: »

There are many organizations that accept vehicle donations, and some of them will take anything. You can then write off the value from your taxes. This is the only ethical way to unload your heap while still getting something back.

That was a nice idea back when they'd give you market value for the car. Now its capped at 4 or 5 hundred bucks.

Maybe you could part it out or perhaps put it up on craigslist as "for parts" and see what kind of offers you get.

Macro

Do you have a lemon law that might help you recover your money where you are?

Pel

If you have the skills to change a head gasket, you have the skills to change the engine. Just replace the whole engine, pay someone else to do it, or sell the truck as-is. You won't be able to pass the truck off as operational to anyone but the most neophyte of buyers since after 3-4 miles, there will be oil in the coolant and coolant in the oil again, along with, most likely, some strange smelling exhaust.

Unless the vehicle is in very bad shape, its worth doing the repairs. If you're lucky, an entire used engine might only cost twice as much as a head gasket rebuild and youll be able to resell or recycle the old engine when you're done. The project itself is a bigger one than the head gasket, but it's easier in many ways.

Newton

I agree with Pel. Start calling around to some junk yards in your area and see if you can find a used engine for the truck. Don't try to hide a problem like this from a potential buyer. That just makes you an asshole, not someone with a moral dilemma. If you don't want to put in the effort to swap the engine or replace the head gasket, part it out. That will maximize the value you're going to get for it in this condition.

Slider

Macro9 wrote: »

Do you have a lemon law that might help you recover your money where you are?

I don't think those laws extend to private party sales, but I may be mistaken.

MushroomStick

Slider wrote: »

Macro9 wrote: »

Do you have a lemon law that might help you recover your money where you are?

I don't think those laws extend to private party sales, but I may be mistaken.

That's going to vary from area to area.

Donovan Puppyfucker

How much to get an exchange recon-ed long block?

'Cause that's what I'd do.

Then detail it and sell it.

You learned a lesson the hard way.

And the next guy will have a good car.

Regina Fong

Lemon laws are for new cars. Sometimes (more in the past than now) brand new vehicles suffer one problem after another practically from the moment they drive off the lot. That's a lemon, it's a vehicle that was flawed horribly somewhere in the assembly process and simply doesn't behave like a typical new vehicle by the same manufacturer.

Javen

Some people buy fixer uppers. Some people look for cars with decent bodies on the cheap, specifically with bad engines, because they want to rebuild them. I'll bet it sucked when you found out you bought a dud, don't do that to someone else. Donating is also a good option, especially if they pay to haul it away for you., which most do. Most junk yards take duds too, though tend to pay less for ones that don't really run, and it's a crap shoot whether they'll be willing to pick it up for you. You could also try showing it to a mechanic to confirm if it's really the head gasket or not, and if you can get some kind of confirmation, 300 bucks isn't that much if it then makes it suitable for resale.

Will you get a full return on the money you paid? Not a chance. But there are options available, and being intentionally deceitful so you can dump the problem on someone elses lap isn't one of them.

NailbunnyPD

MushroomStick wrote: »

Slider wrote: »

Macro9 wrote: »

Do you have a lemon law that might help you recover your money where you are?

I don't think those laws extend to private party sales, but I may be mistaken.

That's going to vary from area to area.

They usually restrict the age of the vehicle, but its worth looking into your state laws.