I've recently decided to sell my 1996 Scrambler 400. Today I had a father and son look at it, this would be purchased for the boy who is 13 years old. The boy test rode it and he seems to handle it well. But after they left I got to wondering about the way lawsuits and liability cases seem to go against common sense, if they were to buy this thing and the boy would be hurt on it would there be any case against me for knowingly selling an ATV that was going to be used by someone under the recommended age stated on the warning labels on the ATV. I know common sense would tell most of us that the father would be making the ultimate decision but with the way lawsuits work I'm not so sure. I'm curious if anyone has any experience with a similar situation. Thank you.

 

I would "think" you would be ok. I would make sure my bill of sale shows you selling it to the dad, not the kid.

 

Scrambler 400 is a big and potentially fast machine. Sounds like even if there was no lawsuit, YOU would feel bad if the kid were to get hurt. At the end of the day you need to be happy with the sale, not looking over your shoulder for pissed off parents out for $$. If you do sell it for them, I would write into the bill of sale "ATV is for riders 16 and older only, blah blah blah, have a nice day." I actually refused to sell a Banshee to a few people because I just knew they would get hurt on the thing.

 

Legally, as long as all your sales transactions are between you and the adult you will be fine. Morally, just make it clear to the dad that you are selling an adult quad. Keep in mind that nothing will stop some parents from putting their kid on an adult sized quad - or the fact that some 'kids' are large enough and experienced enough to safely handle something larger than a kids sized quad.

Jaybee

 

You could say something like, "i cant sell this to you, if i know the boy is going to be the driver. So tell me....whos the driver?"
If the guy is smart, he'll say he is, ....and then youre covered. And I'll bet the dealerships handle this situation in much the same way.
Once it leaves, it no longer belongs to you, and you have no say in how itll be used. And youre in the clear...legally.

 

Not being a lawyer I can't offer legal advice. I can, however, tell you what happened to us at a dealership.

We were looking for a smaller quad to use on our own property and for our , big for her age, 13 year old Granddaughter to ride. We were looking at a 250 Bayou when I mentioned her age. The salesman said he could not sell us the machine knowing it was going to be ridden by anyone under the age of 16. When I said it was going to be used on our own property and not on public areas he advised that made no difference and the machine was not right for our needs. I ask him about buying it for my wife's use and he agreed to sell us the Bayou with the understanding that our granddaughter would not be riding it. I lied thru my teeth but bought the quad. All kinds of warnings on the sales papers and on the machine about any rider must be at least 16. Lot's of boiler plate legal stuff to protect the seller.

You can glean from this what works for you. For my part I would be very sure to have my ducks in a row and marching in step.

 

A friend of mine, bought a 250r, from his boss. The guy owns an internationally known ring and pinion business. When he bought the quad, he had to sign a release saying he was aware that ATV's could be dangerous. It stated that in no way could the seller be responsible for any accidents or injuries. At first I thought that was a crock, then I thought wow thats a good idea.

 

Thanks for all the reply's all of the them had good information. I haven't heard back from them and I'm sort of hoping that particular situation goes away on its own. I'll still try to sell it but I've got better information on how to handle it now. Thanks

 

To enter a contract the buying party has to be at least 18 years of age. =]