Selling or buying a used car can be fraught with problems. Some believe that buying a used car is simply buying someone else's problem, and the warning "buyer beware" applies to used cars even more than to new products.
Any seller wants to get the maximum price possible for his or her product; any buyer wants to pay the lowest possible price for the same product. Buyers are eager to spot bargains (when they receive greater value than what they pay), but there is often distrust between buyers and sellers of used vehicles, in part because there are so many different things which can go wrong with a vehicle.
The moral judgment that Ron faces involves the prima facie natural issue of honesty, as well as the role-based prima facie moral obligation imposed by being the seller of the vehicle. Although Ron needs money for school, and naturally wants the most money possible for that purpose, he also knows that there is a strong possibility that the vehicle he is selling will break down in the near future and necessitate $600 in repairs. He has recognized that he has some obligation to respond to this knowledge by reducing the price of the car by $300, and has justified this decision over reducing the price by $600 by calculating that someone purchasing the vehicle will be able to fix it and sell it for more than they will have paid (including both Ron's selling price and the price of repairs). However, he has also decided that, if queried about the mechanical condition of the car, he will respond only that he has not had difficulty with the vehicle himself. This can be considered lying by omission since he has evidence that the vehicle does, indeed, have significant mechanical problems.
Ron's position can be defended by noting that he has only one mechanic's opinion that the car will fail, and that it will cost $600 to repair. The car may run for some time without problem, or it could break down in the immediate future. Ron cou...