On Mon, 7 Oct 1996, George Procyshyn wrote:
> Thanks for your reply Greg.
> While your suggestion is ultimately the correct one, it does require the
> investment of a large chunk of cash and labor in a project that shouldn't
> have been necessary in the first place. I don't think it unreasonable that
> an automobile have the correct engine in it unless a disclosure to the
> contrary had been made at purchase. I do think this goes beyond buyer
> beware. It seems the installed engine is from a '58 Magnette Sedan. Not even
> the correct year.
>
> I mean, we base value on things like the condition of the components, but
> doesn't the correctness of those components effect the value as well? If an
> MGA had a Ford Pinto engine I'd expect to pay less, wouldn't I? Should I
> have to eat this expense? Should the DPO be asked to pay or take the car
> back. What line do you think I should take on this?
If the previous owner knew the engine was "wrong" then it certainly would
have been good practice to disclose it to you. However, they are
essentially interchangeable engines. What number was on the block may
simply not have been important to him, and he may not have imagined it
would be important to anyone else. He may not even have known the engine
had been changed.
You were content with the car before you knew the engine was not original;
what is bothering you is now mostly psychological it would seem. It
is like having the real estate values fall in the area where you
live--the paper value of your property has decreased, and that may
trouble you, but your house is still just as livable as before.
There's a lesson here--if having the numbers match is critical to your
enjoyment, then you should check them before purchase. I have made a
practice to check at least the engine number if I possibly can,
especially on cars where future smog regulations may pose problems for
cars with non-matching engines.
I guess if I were you, my action would depend a lot on the circumstances
of the sale. If I paid a reasonable price for the car, and the seller
made no special claims about it, I would chalk it up to experience and
enjoy the car. If I paid a premium price based on the seller's
representation that this was an original, unmodified car, then I might go
back and try for an adjustment. If the seller refuses, though, don't
blame the problem on the car--enjoy it for what it is.
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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