Auction misrepsentation

[leaddog]

What should I do? I went to an auction and there was a Ford cm274 Tractor including a 72 in finish mower, 52in snow blower and sweeper brush. They all looked in good condition and it ran good. It was a village machine and it was in the impound lot so there wasn't any place to run it. When they got ready to sell it the village manager says "We used this all winter blowing snow and have used it to mow this spring. It really runs great."
I bought it at what I thought was a great price as there wasn't anyone else there that really wanted it. In fact every one was telling me what a great deal it was. When I went to get it the next day and started to load it I discovered that the only way to make it move was to use the 4wd as the main drive DIDN'T. I'm not sure what is wrong yet but at best it is a broken shaft and worse a shot trans or rearend.
I talked to the auctioneer as I know him real well and he was as surprised as I was cause he thought it was sound also. I also know that buyer beware and know that you can get taken but I really feel that this was very misrepresented as that had to know. When I got it home I had a hard time just making it go up a VERY slight grade.
What should I do now. It probably is still a good by as long as I do the work and only have to by parts.
Leaddog

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Ouch, I feel your pain. I would think the tranny is ok if it drives the front wheels.

I love to go to auctions looking for good deals. I used to actually have a little spending money but married now, with a kid due anyday. You know the rest...

One thing I can say about auctions, if it is mechanical, you better know a bunch about what you're buying.

 

[leaddog]

This is one of those tractors that the atachments go on the front and the main drive( large tires) is on the front. That is what isn't driving. The back drive (small tires and steering ) is what will move the tractor if it is in 4wd. think of trying to power a forklift with the back wheels.
leaddog

 

[Ryno1]

Talk to the person who said it worked great, then to his superior or the board. Yes, it is pretty much buyer beware but at least in Missouri they can not completely misrepresent the condition. Sounds like this guy did.

 

[DHennet]

That is really a bum deal. I too would contact the village manager and his chain of command. It stinks to not be able to trust people...

 

[thcri]

If you already have paid for it I think I would have a New Holland Dealer come out to your place and try and determine what is wrong with it. Mark the date he came out. If he can not determine what is wrong with it at your place then have him take it to the shop. Once found out what is wrong them turn it in to the city/township and the auctioneer. Explain to them they mis-represented it. Now if it was "As Is", then maybe your SOL and may want to stop payment on check if you can until the issue is resolved. Even if it is "As Is" they said it was working when it wasn't. Do you have a witness helping you load it up stating that something was not working at that time?

murph

 

[leaddog]

I went to the village and tryed to talk to the manager and he was gone so the sent me to the maint. sup. and I talked to him. He said that they used it last fall until they got there new one and He would talk to the guy that ran it but as far as he knew it was ok. He called back and said that I needed to hold down that lever on the floor as that is how they drove it. WELL that lever is the differental lock. I can't believe they were that stupid. To nite I jacked it up and the wheel was loose so I pulled off the wheel wt. and I found the problem. The brake drum is splined and goes onto the axel. The spline was gone and the nut and washer was almost gone. They had been driving it that way for a long time and that is why they used the differential lock. Well when I came ina nd looked in the parts book for the pt. no. guess what. They were already maked and underlined. So much for not knowing, They haven't hear the last of me now. Luckily the axel shaft is ok so it won't be that bad but it makes me mad to know they lied .
leaddog

 

[jpm]

I can't believe it ,someone in govt. would lie or misled noo way /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Bird]

It sounds to me as if the village manager made a major error in saying what he did. I worked for the City of Dallas for nearly 25 years, sold thousands of impounded vehicles at auction, and while I wasn't directly involved in the other auctions, other impounded or confiscated property, as well as used City owned equipment was sold at auction. But it was made clear to everyone that everything was sold "as is; where is" and NOTHING was ever said as to the condition of them. The impounded vehicles we sold were simply lined up and the auctioneer walked down the line selling each one, so a visual inspection was all potential buyers had. When City owned equipment was sold, bleachers were there for potential bidders and each car, truck, tractor, etc. was driven up in front of them to be sold if they were driveable. If not, they were towed in front of the bidders, so at least they knew whether it would run or not. But I remember a deputy sheriff from another county who called me one day to ask about the mileage on two used police sedans he had bought. The odometers showed approximately 80k on each one, but he said, from the condition of them, he thought it might be 180k. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif The odometers were right, but the cars had been run 24 hours a day, much of the time slowly in heavy traffic, idling a great deal, etc. I don't think I've ever been to an auction where there was any guarantee of any kind; what you see is what you get.

 

[Golfgar4]

I too, am sorry to hear about your problems. Like Bird, I've been involved in municipal government for over 30 years, and have had to occasionally deal with a unhappy auction buyer. However, the complaints have never been that the equipment/vehicle was misrepresented. The complaints have always been that the buyer didn't take the time to find out what condition the item was in before bidding, and they wanted us to accept lower bid. We did the same thing with driving or towing the equipment/vehicle in for viewing. But we also made sure that everyone present knew that they were buying everything as is by posting those statements clearly on signs all over the facility, by requiring the buyers to read the statement when they registered, and by the auctioneer making the statement before each and every item was offered for sale.

However, I believe if we were to find out that a piece of equipment was auctioned off that someone in our organization had intentionally misrepresented, then I think we might try to do something to remedy the situation. It would depend on what kind of evidence was available to determine exactly what had happened.

Good luck. I hope you will get some resolution to your problem.