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What would you do? Combine breakdown

T

tbuzzard

Member
I'll try to keep this short and yet make it understandable.
I bought a used combine a couple days ago from a private party. Had to road it about 50 miles home, no big deal.
Left the sellers farm and headed home. A couple miles down the road I stopped for a stop sign and heard a small clunk. Pushed the hydro ahead, a couple loud clunks and no go. Hydro pucked. Here's the kicker, seller claimed hydro rebuilt 200 acres ago.
Went back to seller, told him what happened, and said I wanted my money back.
He said no, sold it with no warranty.
Then I called my bank and stopped payment on the check. Question? Did I do the right thing?
 
If that hydro was rebuilt 200 acres ago and he told you that then he was trying to sell you on the fact that the hydro wouldn't break. If somebody sells you a truck saying all it needs is a battery and the engine is blown I woud take it back. If it had gone 200 acres after you bought it, as sad as that would be on the rebuilders behalf, it would be your problem but to break 3 miles down the road and to not expect your money back is wrong. Many people will have a completely different view on this. If he told you it was "as is" it is your problem but otherwise call him and tell him not to bother cashing the cheque.
 

If he sold it AS IS WHERE IS, then it is typical caveat emptor (buyer beware) Both of you reached an agreement, and now you are breeching your end by stopping payment. The seller can't control what happens later to the machine.

Check your local laws, there may be some consumer protection clauses.

I do know I would be extremely angry if what happened to you happened to me!
 
Since you took possession of it,drove it off his property,and then stopped payment on the check for what ever reason,for all intents and purposes,you stole the combine. But you did make it easy for the law to find you,you left the seller with a bad check with your address on it.Depending on the state,you have now opened yourself up to a charge of grand theft,passing a bad check,plus whatever else the local DA wants to charge you with.
Here in Maryland,the seller can recover from you 3 times the amount of the check,plus whatever it costs him in fees to recover the funds. Your cheap combine probably just cost you about $30-40,000 in fines,legal fees and court costs if the owner of the combine wants to press it.
 
Since you took possession of it,drove it off his property,and then stopped payment on the check for what ever reason,for all intents and purposes,you stole the combine. But you did make it easy for the law to find you,you left the seller with a bad check with your address on it.Depending on the state,you have now opened yourself up to a charge of grand theft,passing a bad check,plus whatever else the local DA wants to charge you with.
Here in Maryland,the seller can recover from you 3 times the amount of the check,plus whatever it costs him in fees to recover the funds. Your cheap combine probably just cost you about $30-40,000 in fines,legal fees and court costs if the owner of the combine wants to press it.
 
I would call a lawyer to see what he recommends.
He knew there was something wrong before he sold it. That's probably the reason he was selling it. Hal
 
I would go back to the guy, apoligise, and write him a good check and claim you were overdrawn or somesuch and the first check wont work. Then dump the transmission in his driveway on your way out.
 
I purchased a tractor about 4 years ago from a local man. Wrote the check and asked if it would make it about 6 miles home. I knew eventually it would need rebuilt, but he said it would be okay. I was 3 miles into the trip, and it spun a bearing and busted a main. I called him, I was upset and so was he. I wanted the tractor, but didn't think that would happen. He held my check, and finally with the motor being junk, he decided that if I wanted to persue the tractor and get it fixed, it was worth 500 in scrap. We voided the original check and I gave him a 500 dollar check. We shook hands, and 2 years later I was able to afford to get it fixed. I wanted to do what was right, and so did he. By you voiding that check, you could get charges for theft. I would have talked to him, but not taken the money away for it.
 
Who "rebuilt" the hydrostat ? Many reputable hydro folks put 1 year warranties on their work...
Are you sure its the hydro and not the couplers?
 
I have a question. Does the three day law only apply to dealers? Just a thought. Hope you get your money back. rw
 
Where is the combine now? What model? How much did you pay? Are you sure it is the Hydro? Who rebuilt it? Him? Did he show a bill, any warrentee from the rebuilder? How long ago was it rebuilt, this year? If it is at his place, you may have a case because he said it was rebuilt and any reasonable person would think it would make it to your place. If you have it you may be in trouble. Talk to him and see where you both stand. I know I would not be happy if I bought it, but I wouldn't be happy if I sold it as a as-is deal. But if he is honest he will talk to you and try to make it right....James
 
Of course you done the right thing. That's why the crooked farmer sold it, he knew it would fly to pieces. Just make sure you get it back to his place.You might to contact a lawyer.
 
No, you did the wrong thing. Unless he gave you some kid of warranty you're SOL. You should have had a mechanic look at it first and even then it's your judgment on whether or not to buy it.

You better call a lawyer first thing Monday morning. You're in trouble if your State laws work like ours. Scheme to Defraud is a Misdemeanor in my State, and if the dollars are up there it can be a Felony.
 
If you have a bill of sale stating that it's sold 'AS IS', you best get him his money.
The thing with buying used gear is that you better know what you're buying and how to evaluate what you're buying because the seller could very well sell the thing to you in good faith and it blow up on you down the road. Sometimes, $hit just happens.
If I sold it to you 'AS IS' I can tell you now that I wouldn't want you coming back with it.
I would tell you anything that I knew to be wrong with it at the time, but 5 minutes down the road it's your problem.
I'm sure you probably just made that guy wish he sent the damn thing to an auction and got rid of it. Then 'AS IS, WHERE IS' means exactly that.

Rod
 
At wha tpoint would you have been happy. If you made it home or maybe one day latter it broke. You bought what you thought wqs a bargain AS IS
so you have to live with that. In most states you are in trouble if the seller pushes it. Try and talk to the guy , it will be hard to prove he had knowledge that the unit would fail.
 
You were wrong. I've sold vehicles, etc. and they are sold "as-is, no warranty expressed or implied."

Unless you have a warranty or guarantee in writing, you've got nothing.

I would go talk to the guy, explain what happened, and see if you can work out an agreement. For sure, call ASAP before your check bounces and he has grounds for a lawsuit!
 
You did what was right. He knew the hydro was junk and mis-lead you into thinking it was good. All this as-is stuff is correct, but there used to be a time when a farmers word was good as gold.
 
Ask to see the repair ticket for the hydro.I'll bet that there isnt one,but if there is one it may still be under warranty.
 
Did he tell you it had been rebuilt on his own or did you ask him about the hydro? Lots of people offer up information like that knowing it is bad but they try to throw you off. When you buy used equipment you take a chance. If he actually said the words "As Is" before you closed the deal then I would say you are stuck with the problem. Just like buying at an auction when those words are spoken by the auctioneer, you buy it and it breaks when you drive off the seller is not responsible.

Tough call, but in my opinion you now own a combine with a hydro problem.
 
I believe that in my state, you would be guilty of the Felony crime of Unauthorized Issuance of a Bank Check unless you make the check good. It is against the law to write someone a check and then put a stop on it. But it may not be in your state. I would suggest talking to a lawyer, since you soon might be talking to a cop about the problem.

The lawyer also can tell you if you have any possibility of recovering any money if you sue the seller in civil court.

You didn't say what you did with the combine. Did you tow it to your home, tow it back to the seller's place, or leave it where it quit?

I have bought things that broke fairly soon after I bought them. It didn't make me happy, but I fixed what broke and went on with my life. I probably would not buy something else from that seller though. You take your chances when you buy used equipment...and unless you were given a written warranty in the sales contract, I don't think you have much of a chance.

To the question: Did I do the right thing?, I would answer NO, in my opinion. Good luck!
 

If you have the combine in your possession you stole it. If you left it on the road and he had to fetch it but has it now, then you two have a civil case.
 
Apparently you bought it 'as is' which means
NO GUARANTEE.When the DA brings the bad check charge up against you and you start in about the combine breaking down the judge will ask to see the guarantee if you can't produce one then he'll hand down his verdict.Also consumer protection laws do not apply to farmers because they have been ruled businesses in such cases
 
Seems to me, these days it dosen't matter if you bought it from a private party or a dealer, if it's a used machine, its your machine and nobody wants to be responsible for it.
 
I don't think you gave enough info. The price you paid should have some bearing, ie/ If you paid $30,000, you should get a pretty good machine; if you paid $1000, it probably needs some work. I think that although it may have been sold as is, it is possible that it was misrepresented. If someone sold you a vehicle as is, that was was a write off and fixed it themselfs without getting it re certified, and you didn't find out until you went to register it, I think qualifies as being misrepresented. I'm not sure if this is the best example but I have heard of things being misrepresented and the buyer has some recourse. Might be worthwhile to see how much it will cost to fix and go from there. Maybe you can split the cost of fixing it with the seller? I don't think it qualifies as theft in the normal sense, but depending on several factors, you might have to end up paying for it. Hydro fixed 200 acres ago, could have been 5 years ago. See if you have a lawyer referral in your area. They usually give you the names of 3 lawyers that will give you a free 1/2 hour consultation. If you do go to court with a lawyer won't be cheap for either party. Dave
 
If it was intended to be sold "as is" but that is not listed on the bill of sale, it's his word against yours. While honest people, of course, would always state everything a used machine needs fixed, most other people don't. Most people trying to sucker buyers will always put "as is/where is" on the bill of sale. If this seller forgot to include that, and after the problem, tried to claim that, as well as that the hydro was rebuilt, may help the buyer. I'd do some checking with the local authorities for sure. Dave
 
You have committed check deception. You knowingly and intentionally stopped payment on something agreed upon for goods or services. You have a good civil case for repairs or reimbursement depending on what you have in writing. But you provided a method of payment which released the item to your possession. I can't tell you about your state laws, but ours allows for collection of up to 3 times the value of the check plus all cost involved to collect on it. Though you don't want to hear this, you screwed up big time legally.
 
I think you can make the argument that the seller deceived you, if in fact the transmission was not overhauled. The fact that the combine stopped dead in its tracks after going a couple of miles indicates to me that the seller probably did NOT deceive you and had no idea that there was a problem with the combine.

Now, since you stopped payment on your check, the seller can probably have you charged with a felony. Whether or not he does depends a lot on what you did with the combine (I hope you didn't just abandon it in the middle of the road) and how you behaved towards the seller. At any rate, once you stopped payment on that check, you went from being the victim to being the villian.
 
I think you're in legal trouble. Unless you got something in writing from the seller about anything being covered under any warranty, I think it's safe to say you bought a used machine. Used machines are like used cars. They break down and unless the seller feels like being nice, you get to pay for the repairs.
I'm a tech at a Chevy dealer. When you buy a used car, you sign a statement that says you know you're buying a used car and if it needs repairs, you pay for them unless specifically stated otherwise. Sometimes the sales dept will help with repairs, most of the time not.
I bought a used Onan engine for a lawn mower recently. It was supposed to be good, but after mowing 3 times with it it started knocking. It's a used machine. Used machines can and do break. I just took the 2 engines I had, used the best parts between the 2, replaced a few more, and have a good one now.
You better talk to a lawyer PFQ.
 
Without knowing what was exactly said during the sale we cannot assume either of you were cheated. Can you now go to the seller and agree one of you pays for the parts the other for the labor to repair the machine?You sound like a honest man who took a chance on buying this machine.The owner sounds like a honest man who took a chance on selling this machine.If both of you can bend a little the problem will be solved without legal help.
 
It's yours pay for it! Buy new or at dealer and pay more if you want a warranty! Did YOU get written warranty and check the oil and other fluids before you drove it that far??
 
Just incase it isn't resolved yet tell him to prove that it was rebuilt 200 acres ago. If he did not tell you specifically that it was sold "as is where is" take it back and tell him it's his problem.

Hal (WA) It is against the law to write someone a check and then put a stop on it.

If that was agianst the law why would the bank stop the check??? Would the bank not then have broken the law?
 
Farmer Boy,

It is generally illegal to stop payment on a check simply to stiff someone out of their money. When you stop payment, the bank will always ask you for a reason. A lost check is the most common reason. Maybe Mr. Buzzard told the truth to the bank about why he stopped payment, but I doubt it.
 
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