ethics of selling

I bought a truck ~5 months ago, from a dealer, I got done over by them. There is another post about that. I have fixed most of the things that I think are wrong with the truck but I just don't trust it and I don't think I want to keep it. There isn't anything bad wrong with it now but I think the variable valve timing is a ticking time bomb. What says the hive about selling it? I am conflicted, on one hand I fixed all the little crap wrong with it, on the other hand you are starting down a $1-2K repair (minimum to fix the VVT issue. $1-2K could switch to 5-6k depending on how deep the problem is. 

What truck/engine?    VVT hasn't been a real issue on many vehicles because of its simplicity.   
On the other hand if you aren't happy with something take the loss and move on.  

I'm confused on the ethics question here. Where is it? Nothing is wrong with the vehicle now, if it isn't giving you the warm fuzzies, go ahead and sell it as is. Buyer beware on any private party purchase, you don't have to disclose that you are worried about something that may or may not happen. And why would you? That is not unique to yours. 

I don't feel you have any obligation to report what you feel might go wrong.  If you know it's on its way out then yes.  I would.  I have come to the conclusion that people feel it's perfectly fine to totally lie when you are selling a car.  Even my boss lied to me about a car he sold me.  

Quick acronym check, is it VVT (variable valve timing) or DOD/MDS (displacement on demand/multi displacement system)?

If the latter, i think most people know of the issues on newer trucks with those systems.  If yours hasn't failed and you have no reason to suspect its on the way out other than "they all do eventually", sell with a clear conscience.  Doubly clear if you can sell it back to the dealer or carvana/car max/vroom/etc who would have the means to address any issues.  

I've been there too. When you loose faith in a vehicle it can be hard to get that faith back. That doesn't mean that there is really going to be more problems but if you're personally fearful, or maybe said, "no longer on love" with the car...move on. 

I ran it through Vroom and the price was terrible. I would pay 2x what they offered even though I don't trust it!. 

Yes there is nothing wrong, it has an intermittent stumble that is from the VVT (Variable Valve Timing). It through a code for "Intake cam position performance" I had a garage look at it, they flushed the oil, said it was very dirty and a little low, the symptom and code have gone away. So no codes, nothing "wrong" with it. I would feel better with it going to a dealer but I doubt I could get enough out of it to send it through a dealer. 

This has to be the most frustrated I have ever been with a vehicle purchase. The $ was too high and the ball busting just too much.

When I sold my TR-3 way back in 1986, I was telling the guy absolutely everything I could think of about the car that was wrong, hoping he would back out.  I could have just told him I changed my mind and paid him for the rental trailer.  But I shook hands with him and I am a man of my word.  It's about all I have left.    As a follow up,  I ran into his wife a few years later and asked if she was interested in selling back to me.  It didn't happen then and they moved to Alabama.  Found her again on the Facebook and she then offered to sell back.  It appears they had done a lot of work, but the car was finished.  It so happens that I had just bought another 3 for my retirement project.  

In reply to Flynlow (FS) :

yes I think it had a VVT issue, the DOD seems to be working fine and no issues there. 

So it had an issue, you took it to a mechanic, and they did work and then told you it was fixed?

Sell it with a clear conscience. It's fine. 

Thanks for the input. I get anal about cars and want them to be as close to perfect as they can be. When I see a gap it drives me nuts if it's mine and scares me to sell but I hear you, I'm not selling a known problem. Just the possibility of future problems. 

In reply to NY Nick :

Every car has future problems.  

You have to accurately communicate the condition of the vehicle. You have to disclose any current problems. You have to honestly answer questions the buyer might have.

You do not have to disclose what you suspect are likely to become problems down the road. It is on the buyer to research the make/model and educate themselves on known issues. The caveat to that is if you did a bodgy repair or juryrigged something to keep the car running for a while that the owner wouldn't have reason to suspect. *Then* the ethical thing is to disclose problems.

The VVT issues you're discussing are engineering problems known about the vehicle. That's not on you.

Vroom definitely offered lower on the cars I've checked with them - try Carvana, they offered much more.

Chevy can throw VVT codes for dirty or low oil. It can also be the VVT solenoids which are very cheap and very easy to replace. I had a friend panicking about her Equinox throwing a VVT code, and it was $42 for a new actuator and literally took me 8 minutes to do the solenoid, in my driveway, with only a simple hand tool kit because taking it out back to my shop would have been more time than just doing the repair. So don't panic over a VVT code; you may be tossing away all the work you did on it for something very, very minor. The VVT solenoids can fail due to being run with dirty or low oil. Not even "out of oil," just low.

BUT - if you just want out of it - don't feel any guilt over selling it.

In reply to dculberson :

I feel like I am getting to the I just want out point. I have done a lot of work and I thought I was there and then a kick in the balls. I think the VVT solenoid is cheap but the install requires removal of the water pump and a few other items. If you have to replace the sensor (which was done not long ago so I don't think that makes sense) then I need to pull the front timing cover (I think and a few other items).

In reply to NY Nick :

The trucks in better shape than when you bought it. It has no problems.  Nothing in the future is on you, except if you sell it to family,.. 

NY Nick said:

Yes there is nothing wrong, it has an intermittent stumble that is from the VVT (Variable Valve Timing). It through a code for "Intake cam position performance" I had a garage look at it, they flushed the oil, said it was very dirty and a little low, the symptom and code have gone away. So no codes, nothing "wrong" with it. I would feel better with it going to a dealer but I doubt I could get enough out of it to send it through a dealer. 

If you want a 100% clean conscience this is all you need to tell any potential buyer. 

All you need to do is be honest with them, not guarantee future outcomes.

In reply to CrustyRedXpress :

That is a fair point. 

How much do you want for it? 

I'm not sure yet. I am into it for over 20 so I am upside down, I just don't know how far upside down I am and at what point it isn't worth selling and you just take on the risk of what might break in the future,

In reply to NY Nick :

How much is it stressing you out? How much is being free of that stress and irritation worth?

In reply to Beer Baron :

I'm also not sure yet... I think it is going to come to a math event. If putting a new motor in the truck is a $6k event and I am going to lose that kind of money selling it then I might as well keep it and know that is a possibility in the future. I guess I am not terribly stressed about it, more embarrassed that I ended up here since I am supposed to know cars reasonably well. 

Most of the dozens of vehicles I have owned have either been brand new and gone in a few years (wife's cars) so they have never needed any maintenance, or cheap cheap cars that if they had a major issue you could just sell it as is and your loss is limited. This is the third vehicle I have had "in the middle". I know that is a subjective amount of money but let's say 15-20k. 1 of them was one of the best cars I ever had and I made money on it, 1 of them was a dog and I lost my ass. I'm not sure where this will end but it doesn't look promising. 

I'd just do a Afm delete and drive it. 

I'm a simple person with a few simple rules and core beliefs.  Honesty is one of those.  I know I'm our society people place a lot of things way above honesty.  Frankly, it's how you got worked over by the dealer too.  Two wrongs won't make a right.  However, you do you.  I personally hate it when I sell a car and a surprise issue pops up like a bad CV joint boot...  it makes me feel like I missed something I should have disclosed.  
 

Recently, I sold two cars with wheels I wanted to keep.  In one case, I know I will never get paid for those wheels.  The 2nd case, I might get paid or get to reclaim them someday.  We'll see.  I'd rather take a loss though than be deemed a dishonest seller.  

In reply to NY Nick :

Well, if you never sell it then you'll never lose your ass on it. But, I would just keep it and drive it as such and handle issues as they arrive.