Ethical Question

To post number 7, which I won't report but maybe should, a belief in God should not be a factor unless a person considers that only those who believe can be ethical. 'Nuff said on that, and I hope this thought doesn't go viral.
For those who base their answer on whether you can sleep at night with your decision, you must remember that the used car dealers of the world have no trouble at all going to sleep, and in fact are likely to giggle themselves to sleep.
For most everyone else, this is a question that need not be asked in the first place, as we all have our own personal code of ethics built in, there being no puzzle as to which course of action to take.
For those that have a need to justify that decision to himself or others, that person is simply a hypocrite trying to fool himself, because those who hear his reasons are forewarned of his ethics.

 

Dealer - zip lips
Private party - disclose

 

Process of elimination: It's points directly to the source of the issue: success or failure.

Disclaimer: I have no idea if the ECU is involved in controlling the starting process on my Tacoma. I suspect it does but I haven't paid particular attention to it. However I'm certain that on my 2012 Buick I previously owned, the ECU was definitely part of the show on that vehicle: once the the key was turned and cranking started, you could let go of the key and it would continue cranking until it started. Slick.

 

As one guy posted nuetral safety switch out of postion/lose. Those are cheap. Second imo it might be the solonoid. And thirdly.......what I would do.......take every wire/contact lose to the safety switch/starter/ignition switch. Keep the truck......the minute I got rid of my s10 that I'd had for 26 yrs I regreted it. And yes I would disclose it........I've bought problamatic cars in the past.....

 

This is exactly what happened to my GF's corolla recently, same symptoms. It was intermittent for a while then increased to where it would not start at all. The test is to whack it with a hammer to loosen the contacts. There was no rebuild kit available so I swapped in a rebuilt one for $110.

 

You phrased this thread as an ethical question, so I'll just address that.

Ethics: a set of moral principles; a theory or system of moral values.

The easiest way to answer this is to consider how you would feel being on the receiving end of the transaction. Would you be okay with someone selling you a truck with an issue they knew about but didn't tell you about? Would you be okay with the purchase if they disclosed the issue?

Personally, I would consider selling it with a known problem but not speaking of it unethical, but it depends on each person's moral principles or values.

 

And to your point, this is more of a question of individual morals.

 

I'm sure it's already been said but if you sell to a dealer (or THE dealer you've already gone to) they should be in the 100k used Toyota section of coverage and attack the problem accordingly if it rises again.

 

if you're selling private, ya you have to disclose it. If you're trading it in to the dealer, you tell them nothing, it's on them.

 

Not disclosing your issue to a buyer who's stoked to own your truck would not be cool. Personally, I would've replace the starter just to see if it fixes it.

 

I don’t buy any of that space karma stuff and have no affiliation with any group that has similar beliefs. I just go with my own code these days. If you feel like it’s wrong then it probably is. So instead of asking all of us what our view of ethics is ask yourself instead. Selling something to someone without telling them it has a problem is absolutely an a hole move. No question about that. Is the universe going to punish you for it? I highly doubt it but that’s just me. So if your ok with being a greedy dirtbag then go for it I’m not buying a truck anytime soon so what do I care. The world is full of a holes one more isn’t going to change anything. If you believe yourself to be a decent person then do the decent thing and fix the problem or be honest with the person you sell it to.

 

Here is another way to look at it. Let’s say you do believe in karma. How do we know that the person buying it isn’t the one that deserves the bad karma and you are just being used as the tool to maintain balance? Plot twist.

 

It's hard to believe it's even a question. Some poor bastard comes along and spends his last bucks on an overpriced pile of galvanized bamboo that has intermittent starting issues and you think this is acceptable? How would you feel? Treat others as you would like to be treated, don't be a douche-nozzle.

 

See this is what I meant by my last post. How do we know the person buying it isn’t a total shit bag and this is karma giving him a taste of his own medicine? If you believe in that karma crap how do you know this isn’t how it works? Maybe this guy will get a reward like a winning lottery ticket or something for teaching the prick a well deserved lesson. We are all just assuming the buyer is a stand up guy but maybe not.

 

List it for sale on here and hope no one sees this thread. Then wait for the buyer to post they are having a problem starting their new used truck and refer to this thread for help.

 

Anybody think to check the electrical portion of the ignition switch?

 

In my experience, there's no such thing as karma..agreed.

I think that it was asked shows that it isn't a wise idea to play stupid..and as I noted earlier, perhaps a COC thing here

 

I’m still mind boggled by the fact 2 places have suggested an ECU problem.
How? I really want to know how they came to that conclusion?

Based on that. I would have to say, No.
No one has checked much of anything.

I’m betting they checked the battery and that’s it. I don’t why it’s so hard for people to admit that don’t know what the problem is. Nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you don’t know what the problem is, until there is a problem.

 

I can agree to a point. My previous truck (2006 Chevy Colorado) developed the infamous cylinder head issue within the powertrain warranty and the "secret" one too. The dealer actually said they would need to be paid in cash upfront, or maybe they could turn off the CEL and I could run to another place and trade it before the light tripped again. Dead serious..