Would you sign this waiver to sell a used car seat? Risks?

[Bliss]

I regularly participate in consignment sales for kids clothes, toys and gear. I'd like to sell my used car seat -- infant carrier & base -- and was asked to attest to the statements listed below on a sellers checklist, which is common for selling a car seat. The car seat was just under $200 new and I expect to sell it for about $35. My child grew out of it so that's why we're getting rid of it.

Am I opening myself up to any liability if the buyer has an accident with injuries later down the line?  I'd hate to open myself up to any risks. However, the consignment organizer is calling this a "waiver" but this word does not appear on the document itself.

The only other option is to throw the car seat away as any other sale/donation would require the same sort of document.

-   Original owner of car seat
-   It has never been in an accident
-   Has not been broken
-   Has all of its parts
-   Contains the ID label
-   More than 1 year from expiration
-   Has never been recalled, to best of knowledge
-   Has all harness straps/clip/seatcover/padding/shield/bolts
-   The locking mechanism locks securely

Thanks for your comments!

[shelivesthedream]

If it's all true, then I would write at the bottom "To the best of my knowledge, this is all true, but I cannot accept any liability for any accidents which the car seat may be involved in once I have sold it" and then sign away. And keep a copy!

As the recent buyer of a used car seat (OMG RITE!!! BABY DANGER!!!) then this is all stuff I would want to know but then I can't expect to come back to the seller in six months and say "You hurt my baby!" That would be ridiculous. Because how is the seller to know what I've been doing to it after buying it? I could have been using the thing as a football and then complaining that it was dented.

[TVRodriguez]

The only other option is to throw the car seat away as any other sale/donation would require the same sort of document.

I've donated several infant or convertible carseats (3, to be exact), and I've never been asked to sign any sort of document.  Maybe that's a new thing.  Or, hmm, maybe DH threw them away?  It's been a couple of years, and I honestly don't remember.

But if all you're signing is a statement that those things listed are true, then I don't see how that could make you liable for anything down the line unless you're not telling the truth.  I'm not a PI attorney, but what I remember from Torts is that to be liable for negligence or an intentional tort, you have to have Duty, Breach, Causation, and Damages.  Your only duty here is to tell the truth; you're not the manufacturer of the product.  Who could be liable?  The manufacturer?  Well,  I'm guessing that the manufacturer's warranty will no longer apply upon resale and that they limit their liability to the original purchaser.  I think the liability for any future accident rests with the purchaser of the consigned goods.  But don't quote me, as this is not my area of practice.

[MDfive21]

i would not sign it.  it is almost definitely not going to hold up in court, but the only way to find out for sure is if you get dragged into court.  that will cost you way more than the $35 you're going to get.

by signing it, you're creating a paper trail back to yourself that could get you dragged into a law suit.  however rare that may be, it's not worth $35. 

sell it to someone else.  i bet you can get $50 on craigslist for a good condition $200 seat.

[ABC123]

I personally would not buy from or sell to anyone I did not know extremely well.  Whether that signature would legally hold up in court or not, I just can't imagine the guilt if a child died in a car accident in the seat I sold them.  I did accept a used infant carrier from a friend for my youngest kid, because I trust them to tell the truth when I asked if it had been in an accident.  I would not trust someone who told me that if they are making money off of me buying it. 

[Plugging Along]

I wouldn’t sign nor sell a used seat.  However, many charities will take used car seats, and will have car seat technicians check and recertify they as being said.   However, they will not recertify for it to be resold, but only to give to charity.   I asked why that was, and they said if a car seat is sold for money there is a higher liability.   To me, it wasn’t worth it, but I hated throwing the great seats out,s I always donate.

[MayDay]

Give it to a friend.

[Thegoblinchief]

In my area it’s basically impossible to do anything but throw used car seats away

[Bliss]

Thank you for your thoughts and replies.

In the end I did end up signing the document because all of the statements were true as of the date of signing it. We took really good care of the car seat. I couldn't find a place to donate it and I felt bad putting a perfectly good piece of baby gear in the trash.

If we were going to have another baby, which we're not, I would have used it again without a second thought.