19th Oct 2020, 17:24
Pull the back seat. See if a cable is possibly loose. Clean all the cables and connections with a wire brush. Horrible place for a battery. I had a Corvette that the battery filled the cabin with acrid battery smoke when a starter stuck once.
20th Oct 2020, 02:19
Yeah, I'm sure that's what happened... someone "jerry rigged" it. Never mind that the car is almost 50 years old. "legal action"? LOL
20th Oct 2020, 18:50
The age of the good doesn’t matter. Legally, “misrepresent” is a key term. I doubt this car was sold as, “This is on its last legs, could blow up almost immediately, buyer beware!”
21st Oct 2020, 11:41
Always sell as is where is when selling a used car. Bill of Sale. I get it notarized too.
22nd Oct 2020, 01:46
Notarized or not, that wouldn’t protect someone who is misrepresenting what is being sold.
22nd Oct 2020, 19:56
When you buy as is, it’s as is. Can be a car, house etc. Take and have checked out it; bring a mechanic with you. Misrepresentation examples are odometer rollback, VIN change, claiming a car is a real Z/28 as an example vs a clone. Not actual owner unless you have legal right to do so as a broker. Then factor in attorney costs only to see notarized “as is” bill of sale. I sell cars and put time even when sold. Why? So they don’t drive it and breeze through EZ Pass lanes a half hour later. You buy private owner as is there’s no warranty or refunds as is. Even a dealer selling a clunker on a back lot can say no warranty as is where is. If you don’t like that, don’t sign in front of a notary. I sell really nice ones when I’m done. But have bought some real ambitious, nearly hopeless ones too.
23rd Oct 2020, 12:25
You assume a lot here. First, the reviewer does NOT state the car was not sold "as-is": an assumption on your part. Considering the reviewer cut the front latch off to get in the trunk, it does not sound like the car was in mint condition. Second, nowhere does the reviewer state the car "blew up". That is your fabrication. The reviewer states the car was running, until one day when it would not start, and the reviewer, who claims to be a "mechanic", has not been able to figure out the problem.
23rd Oct 2020, 19:11
“Blew up” means the car doesn’t run anymore. Like you said, the car is non-operational even after a close look by a mechanic. That’s not good. The buyer bought it I’m sure under the assumption it would run. The seller probably knew it wouldn’t run for long.
24th Oct 2020, 12:21
You’ll get over it. A buyer of a car nearly 50 years old should bring an experienced mechanic or take it to a shop on a sizable purchase. I’ve bought high end cars and done the same. We once bought a used shop van and missed that the rear doors were welded shut! Buyer beware. If that’s an issue, buy new or at least a 30 day warranty. With no warranty expressed or implied, you will have a tough time in court. Telling a judge the hood handle doesn’t work. You take a chance buying private especially. If you own a car that blows up after taking to a shop, you may have a case. But buying a used car you just bought and blows up, it's the chance you take. Let’s hear who won in a similar circumstance buying private.
18th Oct 2020, 19:13
While I don't presume to offer advice to a mechanic, and I have zero experience of Beetles; both times that I have had that electrical problem (once in a Lada, once in a Mini 1000) it was caused by the wiper motor having a fault and killing the battery in under an hour. Solution was changing the wiper motor, all the cabling on that circuit and the possibly-damaged battery. Good luck.