Some background: last year my mother-in-law convinced us to sell our only car to save up for a work truck. She later returned the money, but before that, she managed to trade a piece of land we owned for a 7-seater SUV.
The SUV was a nightmare. 2012 Kia Mohave, 178k km (~110k miles), got about 10 MPG, AC didn’t work, reeked of cigarette smoke. One month I spent around $400 USD just on gas to get to work. Once the fuel pump broke and we had to weld it. I held onto this car for 8 months until I could afford something better.
When my MIL returned the money, I bought a more reliable car and the Mohave became a "backup" that sat with my wife (she works from home).
Last month I listed the Mohave for sale. A guy showed up wanting to trade for a 2007 VW New Beetle with 138k km (~86k miles). Local market value of the Mohave: ~$12,600 USD. Beetle: ~$9,200 USD. That’s a $3,400 difference.
I tried to negotiate at least $1,400 back. Nothing. He wouldn’t pay a cent.
The Beetle was in okay condition but needed some repairs: trunk wouldn’t open, glove box was broken, interior needed refurbishing. I accepted anyway because a smaller car would be perfect for me (I commute alone, my wife takes our daughter to school in the other car).
I took $1,000 I had saved, got the interior refurbished, planning to fix everything gradually. I am happy.
Then this morning the guy texts me complaining that the Mohave is "smoking" and had no coolant. Things I knew would eventually need attention, but that he didn’t bother to check or maintain.
Important detail: he drove the car 200km (~125 miles) on a Christmas trip and it was fine.
Now he seems to expect me to fix this.
AITA for thinking this is his problem now?