Auto Dealer Fraud

[ChrisJM981 924]

I need some help here. My wife bought a used car in Feb 2012. It was not disclosed that the car was in a major accident, had frame damage, and an airbag deployment. I learned this information when attempting to trade her car in. Do I have any recourse at this point?

[Pizza Bob 1,488]

No. Not unless there was a disclosure to you, from the dealer, in writing, that the car was never in an accident. Fat chance. Caveat emptor. That's how CarFax makes its money. The dealer may have been as much of a victim as you. If the car was totalled it should have had a salvage title - otherwise your SOL.

 

Sorry.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

[Shane45 807]

Did you buy the car from a new car dealer?

[DSD1026 48]

The other questions is, are you having trouble with that car because of the prior accident? 

[Babyface Finster 45]

If you could prove that the dealer knew of the damage and failed to disclose, you would have some kind of chance. 

[ChrisJM981 924]

She got it from a used car dealer "friend". I'm having her gather up the paperwork for it. I wonder if carfax keeps a log of orders on particular VINs...

[DSD1026 48]

Carfax can only have what has been reported.. if the accident and repair was not reported, it will be of no use. 

[illy 1]

If you could prove that the dealer knew of the damage and failed to disclose, you would have some kind of chance. 

 

^This.

 

The relevant section of the NJ Consumer Fraud Act states:

 

 

56:8‐68. Unlawful practices

2. It shall be an unlawful practice for a dealer:

a. To misrepresent the mechanical condition of a used motor vehicle;

b. To fail to disclose, prior to sale, any material defect in the mechanical condition of the used motor vehicle which is known to the dealer;

c. To represent that a used motor vehicle, or any component thereof, is free from material defects in mechanical condition at the time of sale, unless the dealer has a reasonable basis for this representation at the time it is made;

 

 

In other words, IF you can demonstrate that the dealer knew or should have known about the damage you can probably prevail in court.

 

Also, the statute of limitations is 6 years from when you knew or should have known about the damage, so you should still be good.

 

Lastly, in consumer fraud cases you can (not guaranteed) collect treble damages- literally triple the actual damage as well as attorney's fees.

 

[ChrisJM981 924]

I'll see if I can find the information. Thanks for the help.

[illy 1]

Some other things to consider:

It's standard practice for professional dealers to inspect a vehicle they're buying, or have it inspected, down to checking how thick the paint is (tells you of it's been repainted).

 

Something major, like a bent frame, should have been detected by the dealer's tech.

 

Also, if you dealer/friend bought it an auction, then he would have been a total idiot not to have it thoroughly inspected.

 

So it might actually be easy to meet the "knew or should have known" standard, even without much paperwork.

 

 

Your best bet would be to contact a consumer fraud lawyer* and have him/her look at your case.

 

*Meaning someone who's practice is mainly or only consumer law.

 

And the same goes for any other type of legal represntation you might ever need- Always hire a specialist and prefereably one who works a lot in the venue in which your case will be heard (meaning the particular county or fed district, etc.).

[illy 1]

In NJ, you can't really do better than Billy Pinilis. He's like the Evan Nappen of NJ consumer law.

http://www.pinilishalpern.com/attorneys/william-pinilis/

Full Disclosure: I don't work for, nor have a personal relationship with Pinilis or his firm.

I only know of him because he was an adjunct prof. at my school.

[Babyface Finster 45]

I'm going to make a practical suggestion here.  Has the dealer who evaluated this car as a trade refused to accept it or offered you a reduced value?

 

If he has done the latter, take the difference between that offer and the trade-in value had it not been damaged.  Add a few hundred for your trouble and go back to the dealer who sold you the car.  Ask him to reimburse you for the difference, or to buy the car back from you at full trade-in value.  He may decide to do that instead of dealing with a lawsuit and bad word-of-mouth. 

 

I'd take a shot at that before going the legal route. 

[illy 1]

^ That's a good suggestion. Of course we're dealing with a used car salesman who screwed someone he knew, so....

[BD104X 1]

IANAL and I'm am not looking for a huge debate here, but here goes: while you and I both would prefer a car that has not been in an accident, in the eyes of the law as long as the car was repaired properly there really is no fraud here (unless as other have stated, the vehicle was totaled or the dealer has specifically promised otherwise in writing). Most cars and small SUV's are unibody construction, so "frame damage" is pretty commonplace in an accident as is airbag deployment. I totally agree with you as far as wishing to steer clear of this when buying a used car, but I think in the eyes of the industry and the law, just because you discovered the car was in an accident before you purchased it does not constitute fraud as long as it was repaired properly. Dealers offer you Carfax to make YOU feel better - In the eyes of the law, the dealer sold you a vehicle that was repaired properly and is not obligated to tell you so anymore than he is obligated to tell you if it had a brake job or anything else.

[BD104X 1]

... And that's assuming you can even prove they knew it was repaired.

[Babyface Finster 45]

^ That's a good suggestion. Of course we're dealing with a used car salesman who screwed someone he knew, so....

How do we know that the dealer trying to sell the new car is not lying about the damage?

 

We also don't know that the used car dealer even knew about the damage. There's a difference between fraud and negligence.

 

All car salesmen are dishonest the way all gun owners are bloodthirsty murderers.

[Nac 3]

I went to trade in my Porsche for a truck at a Chevy dealer. It had 7,000 miles on it in mint condition. The salesman has his guy check it out and tells me it was in accident and was repainted an gives me a low ball number. I bought the car new from the dealer and was never in an accident or repainted. Some of these guys are full of it so they can make more money.

[Malsua 1,422]

Did you run a CarFax on it  yourself or did you see the printout from the dealer and/or can you see any evidence yourself that the car was damaged?

 

The second question...you bought it used in Feb 2012?  How used was it then and was it a "great" deal?   I'm always suspicious of cars that have way less than the average mileage per year, like a 2 year old car with 11k miles on it, specially when you consider that many models are 6 months old by the time the model year rolls around.  It suggests that it sat a lot...like in the repair bin waiting on parts and a paint job.   Unless of course it's my wife's car...which is a 2008 and has 22k on it.   We sold her 1992 in 2008 and it had 37k on it. heh.