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Seller Responsibilities

flyxpl

New member
717
9
0
Location
Chatham IL
One thing I would recommend to sellers: if you're going to spray paint the tires, move the truck before you take pictures.

BUSTED !!! I asked this guy if he painted or died the tires . His reply was no we just clean them . I knew he was lying . Also told me they were sandblasted , but yet he post 30 or more pics , yet no pics of ANY work bein done to the trucks . He sure does rake in the cash selling this stuff though .
 

ranger.41

Active member
182
26
28
Location
Asheboro NC
If as a buyer you see that just leave. It is the same as when you lift the hood and see that a seller has painted everything under the hood the same rattle can color, and I don't mean military OD. The hoses and fan belt included. I would rather see it unpainted and do it my self paying attention to detail. The paint is a quick fix to aid apperance, you can see this one what about the ones that are not visible. Just leave!
ranger.41
 

kastein

Member
495
26
18
Location
Southbridge MA
The problem with this situation is you have no control over the person (or vehicle) after the sale is complete.

I've looked at and helped recover a lot of deuces in the San Antonio area and have had issues with both vehicles and drivers. While most of these were not my trucks I still felt obligated to tell them whether they were road worthy or not. The only time I inspected a truck and told the buyer specifically DO NOT DRIVE THIS TRUCK he completely ignored me, drove about 2 blocks, then had the truck towed to a crusher.

I also helped someone recover a truck that (and this I did not know until after we slaved it) had NEVER driven a standard transmission vehicle before. Luckily for that one he brought another driver so the recovery went okay but he later leaned to drive a stick with a deuce. Not my 1st choice for a training vehicle.

Yes we need to try and be responsible in our presentation of the hobby but we can not - and should not have to - be responsible for other individuals. I don't want to live in a "nanny state" and I certainly don't want to be anyone else's nanny.
I had never driven a standard more than half a mile when I bought my 5 ton - I "learned" to drive standard in my dad's 5 speed 4 banger civic for about 20 minutes back in high school, then he got in an accident a few weeks later and I never drove another standard till the 5 ton. Brought a standard-capable friend with me just in case (we were 500 miles from home), read as many op manuals as I could get my hands on before heading down, practiced a bunch in a mall parking lot (Macy's security was... bemused, but let us continue so long as we didn't demolish anything with it) then had my friend drive it out onto the highway so I could get some stick time with little to worry about instead of in city traffic. It was so late by then there was almost no one on the road and everyone else was going 20mph faster, so I had plenty of room in front of me. Having had brake lines and such fail on smaller vehicles I gave them a full inspection before purchase, the seller was an awesome guy and let us work on it a bit in his driveway before the test drive. We filled the tires, checked all the fluids, checked the steering (noted some stretched rivets on the steering box bracket, so we knocked them out and replaced with grade 8 bolts of the same size), checked the lights, etc etc. Took it for a test drive and it seemed solid so we headed out. We had a disaster on the way home, the belts all got shredded and it overheated, but we managed to patch it up enough to make it home and it even made it another few hundred miles before it popped the head gasket at the back of the #6 cylinder.

If as a buyer you see that just leave. It is the same as when you lift the hood and see that a seller has painted everything under the hood the same rattle can color, and I don't mean military OD. The hoses and fan belt included. I would rather see it unpainted and do it my self paying attention to detail. The paint is a quick fix to aid apperance, you can see this one what about the ones that are not visible. Just leave!
ranger.41
While this is true, I have seen crate motors on GL with OD paint sprayed over everything, hoses belts pulleys you name it. I scraped an awful lot of CARC off mine while doing the head gaskets, and the guy I bought it off of was a maintainer/restorer type, his deuce was absolutely beautiful.

If some chucklehead shows up and seems dangerous though, no way I'm selling them anything. If someone who is green to military vehicles but seems mechanically adept and intelligent shows up, I would make the sale and tell them anything I know that is wrong with the vehicle (as I would for any buyer.)
 

91W350

Well-known member
4,414
57
48
Location
Salina, Kansas
How about one that you know has water in the gear boxes? No windshield wipers? No turn signals? No horn? Steel brake line repaired or extended with copper tubing? Regular nuts on a four link system, no lock nuts, keyed bolts, thread locker, wired nuts? Some major gear box leaks..... knowing the buyers intended to go 600 miles in it. That truck should never have left the shop, much less been sent out on a 600 mile recovery. Glen
 
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kastein

Member
495
26
18
Location
Southbridge MA
How about one that you know has water in the gear boxes? No windshield wipers? No turn signals? No horn? Steel brake line repaired or extended with copper tubing? Regular nuts on a four link system, no lock nuts, keyed bolts, thread locker, wired nuts? Some major gear box leaks..... knowing the buyers intended to go 600 miles in it. That truck should never have left the shop, much less been sent out on a 600 mile recovery. Glen
holy crap. Were you the victim of this or a bystander? Was the buyer aware of these issues?
 

salt6

Member
363
0
16
Location
B'ville, OK
When I bought my deuce as a nubi I had only driven one once befor and only for a couple of miles,i jumped in and drove my new toy home 200 miles,of course i had read the manual for safe operation but with a little common sence these things aren't to hard to figure out.i did however check for proper brake function, all fluid levels, tire pressure, light switch function and so on.If I had been the seller, I would perform this inspection myself and required proof of insurance before the truck left my yard,i agree that there is some seller responsibility when it comes to disclosure,:driver:but it might be hard to turn down the money.
That's a PMCS, you should have at least the -10 with you when you pick up the truck.
 
A

A/C Cages

Guest
The guy I bought my M109 from almost didnt sell me it when I said to him,
Uhmm where does the key go in to turn it on?
Then he realized I was joking with him when he called it a M35 and I corrected him it was a M109 due to the shop truck on the back.
I was glad that he woulndt sell it to someone who didnt know that they dont use keys.
Alllllllll thoughhhhhh We did have a couple of fuel truck deuces that had key ignitions, doors, and PTO lockouts due to people kept stealing them. lol
 

fuzzytoaster

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
4,303
3,136
113
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
Just selling my deuce I played it by the books. Express every details of the truck, both good and bad, making sure the buyer knows exactly what he is getting into. The truck is sold AS-IS once the paper work is signed. This round I could have been selective in choosing a buyer but the first looker seemed to know what he was doing and came with tools. Granted he didnt touch the TM before coming :doh: he was an AES mechanic and knew the shifting pattern. I took time out of my day to show him what's what and specifically what the truck likes and doesn't like. I chipped in to make sure he was ready and safe for the trip home and when I felt he was ready enough I let him go. He made it home with no problems on good time.

Can we foresee what people will do with these trucks? No. Can we prevent what people will do with these trucks? No. Chit happens and we try our best to overcome it. That being said, I really dont appreciate being thrown under the bus by members because its convenient for the topic. If you wernt there then dont comment.
 

Oldfart

Active member
1,063
26
38
Location
Centennial,CO
I hauled one to the buyers place, but I admit it was more to close the deal and less because I was worried about his driving skills. This guy was fully capable anyway and I could tell that by our phone conversation. If a 16 year old came over with a carload of drunken buddies and had the cash to buy, I would refuse that sale
Don't know about other states, but in Colorado a sale to a minor is not a binding contract. Must be 18 or older to make the deal stick. Not to say a 16 year old can't buy a vehicle on his own, but under 18's can buy it, drive it home and trash it or what ever and then demand their money returned (and get it). Solution is a co-buyer over 18 and preferably over 21. I too, would refuse to sell to anyone under 18 drunk or sober. If someone is under the influence, then they need to tow it away for the seller to avoid responsiblity. As is where is avoids lots of pitfalls. In Colorado if you deliver or close the deal at the buyers residence, he has 3 days to back out of the deal. At your location it is done deal when it leaves your gate.
 

AceHigh

Well-known member
2,175
30
48
Location
Princeton WV Lake City FL
The original poster is making a great argument for the Feds to stop sales to untrained persons (and how many of us went thru a military driver's school?).

I believe the seller has a duty to completely disclose all he knows about what he is selling, be it a truck or mower or real estate. I also believe it is up to a buyer to be aware of what he is buying. I recently went to Budget and rented a truck close in weight to a deuce, but automatic. It was easy and they did not delve into my knowledge of trucks. Just sayin...
 

91W350

Well-known member
4,414
57
48
Location
Salina, Kansas
holy crap. Were you the victim of this or a bystander? Was the buyer aware of these issues?
It came to my place to refill the obviously leaking gear boxes. I sent a lot of equipment and supplies along with the buyers on their trip, to make life easier if the common break downs occurred, belts, filters... that type of thing.

I was not involved in the sale or purchase and was not there when it was picked up, so I will leave all that alone.

I would not be able to send out a truck, after telling the buyers that I had checked all the fluids and topped them off, when the differential and transfer case lube was closer to a vanilla shake in color than a glass of tea. When I checked that fluid and it was milky, it would have been drained. I wanted to keep the truck here for a couple of weeks to fix a lot of the problems, especially the hazardous ones. The buyers wanted to get it home and I can appreciate that. I was really disappointed to see it rolling though. I must admit I was nervous in my deuce with it following me so they could pick up a set of filters.

Shortcuts were taken during the build that should not have been taken. The seller was not the builder, the buyers are new to the hobby and it got them home with a little help. Nobody got hurt and that is the main thing. Now it is the buyer's responsibility to clean up the mess and I believe they will.

The bulk of the truck is good stuff and I would love to have it, but man oh man....

Glen
 

mkcoen

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
5,637
381
83
Location
Spring Branch, TX
Who said I was talking about you? I didnt mention your name either. Strange how things work out.
I wasn't inferring that you were talking about me. I was just making an observation that you felt slighted yet had not seen your name mentioned prior to that nor was I pointing out where you might have felt slighted. You chose to draw attention to yourself.

Trust me, if I wanted to point things out I know how to add links to the appropriate threads.
 

zout

In Memorial
In Memorial
7,744
154
63
Location
Columbus Georgia
As payment has been exchanged - bill of sales made out - the buyers inquires
"How do you start it "

Reminds me of folks buying motorcycles - it was disgusting to see what the dealership did. I bet per year I saw many new owners on new motorcycles not even make it out of the lot before laying them on the side taking off. Or take out of the lot and not know how quick the throttles were and smash into the curbing right outside the driveway. This was a Harley Dealership - now out of business.

Yes I believe they should know up front everything that is wrong or needs work on a vehicle so the sale is honest for the price.

That is all. If they wish to pay for my time if I have nothing else planned for after a sale - fine - but doing it for free is not in my vocabulary - I can count on 3 fingers of whom I would do that for.

The web is full of knowledge to walk into a purchase to learn something and if they are not grownup enough they should not be looking in the first place - its their responsibility.
Just put my jon boat up for sale on craiglist this morning - if its sold or inquired about the process is the same. This is not a pitch here to sell it before you get on my case about it)

2cents2cents
 

dittle

Well-known member
1,582
72
48
Location
Albia, IA
Take it easy guys. FT, you don't get cabin fever in TX so you can't use that excuse as to why you're snapping at people. I on the other hand am **** tired of winter up here, cabin fever is starting to run rampant.
 
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wilber

Member
149
24
18
Location
olathe kansas
As a seller I have a responsibility to tell the new owner everything that I know or suspect is wrong with the vehicle or part. I don't want anyone thinking I would screw them over money. I would rather have my integrity than a few more dollars.

On the other hand I don't feel responsible to make sure someone can drive something home. Once money changes hands, that is their responsibility. I don't mind explaining to someone what the knobs and gizmos are, but unless they asked me, I wouldn't plan on driving it for them.
 
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