Can you sue a person who knowingly sales you a bad car?

Question

I recently purchased (within a few weeks) a car from a private seller who promised me everything on the car was good. Since i bought the car, there is constant oil leakage, motor knocking and today the car wouldnt go into reverse (tranny issues). Is it possible to sue her in small claims court because i didnt buy the car on "as is" terms i bought them on "oh the car runs great; there are no problems with it" terms..
Can somone help me out?

Answer 1

Of course you can sue. Any attorney, law student, or greedy slob will tell you this. Will you win? Not a chance.



Every private party vehicle sale is "as-is" by law unless note in writing. As alluded to in a previous answer, a seller's promises or verbal statements are called "puffery". These are not admissible as evidence in a court of law. He could tell you the "car would last another 100K miles" and it wouldn't matter without it being on paper. It's not what you want to hear, but it's the law of the land.



You don't set your own assumed terms on a sale, the contract is what matters. If you wanted any kind of guarantee from the seller, you should have had them put these down in writing. You learned a very valuable lesson in this... a mechanic would have caught these issues. And the $50-100 or so would have been money well spent.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

There is no such thing as "oh the car runs great; there are no problems with it" terms. Legally there are only two ways used cars are sold. One is with a written warranty (no verbal agreement, it must be in writing) the other is AS-IS. There is nothing in between. So if you do not have a written warranty you purchased the car As-Is.



If you test drove that car and inspected it thoroughly you should have noticed the oil leak and the engine knock. Things like that don't just appear overnight.



By signing the Bill of Sale you agreed to accept the car in the condition it was in on the day you took delivery. Anything that happens after that is the buyers responsibility.



But you can always take someone to court. This is America and you do have that right but you would have to prove that they knew the car was defective and then defrauded you in some way. The burden of proof is on you. Their defense is going to be "It ran fine when I owed it" How are you going to prove otherwise? Especially after you agreed to accept the car as-is.

Answer 4

Buyer beware!! If you'd bought a house that had issues because you by passed the home inspection it would be your fault for not doing the research in advance.



The onus was on you to take the car for a decent test drive with the owner beside you and to ask for the paper work showing it's history of maintenance and repair and a recent inspection by a mechanic.



What does your receipt say? I very much doubt you can take the cars previous owner to court unless the car has issues that are life threatening. Even then you would have the onus of proving the issues were present before you purchased the vehicle and the previous owner knew about them.



It sounds like you got the bad end of a deal by not doing any research and taking the buyers word as gospel. Chalk this one up to experience and a mistake you won't repeat twice.

Answer 5

Do you have a bill of sale that expresses the car runs great and has no problems? If not, you will have a difficult time successfully suing this person. You can technically sue anyone for any reason, however getting a judge to hear you out, depends on whether there is any merit to the case or not. If you have not already talked to the seller, you should try that first. Ask him/her to trade back. If that doesn't work, take 'em to small claims court.

Answer 6

You may have a case if you did not sign a AS IS statement.



when buying car privately you should always:

Have a mechanic put the car up on a lift for a full inspection and to check for damage -- anything that might indicate a previous accident or possibly flood damage.

Run a Vehicle History Report to get a full history of the car. You can get a Vehicle History Report at CARFAX.com. It will include everything you need to know about the car including:

if it was ever salvaged, stolen or recalled the number of previous owners if it ever failed inspection

if someone tried to create a fraudulent odometer reading

Never sign an "As Is" statement. Many used car dealers will mix that in with the other paperwork you'll be asked to sign. As with anything that requires a signature, READ BEFORE YOU SIGN. You should have at least 30 days to make sure the car is in good condition. If you sign an "As Is" statement, once you drive the vehicle off the lot, anything that goes wrong is your problem.

Answer 7

I cannot believe that someone actually said "Lemon Law".... sigh.



No, you DID buy the car as-is. It has no written warranties or guarantees of any kind. Therefore you bought it AS IS. Verbal promises are worth the paper they are printed on. You cannot take a verbal statement to court. If you did, all the seller would have to say is "I'm not a menchanic, What I told her was truthful to the best of my knowledge."



This is why we preach - daily - to take a car to a mechanic before you buy. Once you buy, you own.



All the problems with the car were either present the day you bought it, or occurred after. You own the car and those problems. Its entirely your responsibility to look for, and find, those problems before handing over your hard-earned money.

Answer 8

The absolutely free reverse vin check sites generally provide fake information. To get real information, money will have to be paid. The free searches provide fake information so they can get your email address to send spam.



Stay away from shady reverse vin check sites, most likely you won't get any information after you make the payment. Not to mention you won't get a report and you won't get an answer if you try to call for a refund. Stick with a reputable reverse vin check site like http://www.reversevincheck.net that has been around since 1995.

Answer 9

How To Sue A Person

Answer 10

All private party sales are assumed to be As-Is unless there is a WRITTEN warranty to the contrary. This is why you should have any used vehicle checked out by your own mechanic prior to purchase.



You have no case. The seller said that the car was in good condition, and that is not a specific warranty. What I consider to be good condition, you may not. You bought the car, and you have to pay for anything it needs

Answer 11

If you have a bill of sale that's states the car is in good working condition maybe but it has to be on the bill of sale if not then it is an as is sale. A judge would probably say as is because when entering this kind of sale it is your responsibility to have the car inspected by a qualified mechanic before you purchased the car. An expense yes but so is a car that has serious engine problems.

Answer 12

I sold a car to buyer as-is. After 2 days buyer left car on my driveway without informing me and now threatening to sue me in small claim court. He was aware about the all issues and inspected for more than 30 minutes and agreed to take it as-is. Car is still in my name as he did not transfer in his name. He did not return me second car key. What should I do?

Answer 13

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Answer 14

Can you sue a person for selling a flood car

Answer 15

2

Answer 16

The person sold me a Saturn wagon. he oil burning, needs struts, the noise coming from power steering unit, the gas pedal sticks, when opening the door; it doesn't stay opened, the front strut makes a noise while driving,etc., and he has been in business for thirty years, and he told me there wouldn't b any problems. I'm a senior citizen, and a handicap woman.

Answer 17

Saying it runs great, I trust it with my life, it will run forever does not mean they gave you a guarantee. This is called fluffing which is legal and nonbinding.



Unless she gave you a specific guarantee such as if it breaksdown within 30 days I will refund the money it was an as is sale.



You can sue her but you will lose and waste everyones time. Next time have it inspected before you buy instead of trusting someone you met for all of 10 mins.

Answer 18

"oh the car runs great: there are no problems with it" isn't going to do it. It could have run great that day, that minute, whatever.



This IS and as-is sale in every state. You have absolutely no recourse unless the seller offered you a written guarantee or warranty.

Answer 19

once you drive off with car, it is yours. If oil was leaking, why did you get the car? you got it AS IS anything happens to car after you buy it, it is your responsibility. I tell you this from experience, save your money this will not hold up in court.

Answer 20

What if the person is a mechanic and he sold a car that was "formally abandoned?"

Answer 21

Oh man. The best think I think you can do is call Mohammed at



http://www.carhelpcanada.com/



It's a non profit organization. $60 membership fee, but you'll get free legal advice. Well worth it.



Too bad you didn't have the vehicle inspected before you bought it.

Answer 22

Yes you can, for example if the dealer told you the car was never in an accident while it was. He lied to you which is considered unprofessional. Therefore, you can sue him. Just make sure you can prove he knew he was lying. Try consulting a lawyer to see if you can build a case.

Answer 23

Did the Bill of Sale say As-Is, because it should have been right next to FU.

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Answer 25

Depends if you have a lemon law in your state .

You should have taken it to a qualified mechanic ( 75.00 ) and had the whole thing checked out.

Did you tell her there were problems? If she ignored you, I would get a lawyer and try to get your money back.