Can i request vehicle maintence reports on my car from the place i bought it from?

Question

Ok, i took my car into a shop today to get a oil change, i usually do it myself but felt 'lazy' so I just took it in. I've never had any problems with it until recently, so they gave my car an inspection to see what is wrong..

The mechanic informed me that i do not have a catalytic converter on my car. Its illegal. I didn't know about this. I talked to the mechanic and we came to the conclusion that I must have purchased it like this- that's illegal too. So what do i do? Those parts are expensive and now them doing that have caused problems with my car. I've had the car a couple years.

I want them to send me copies of service records of my vehicle from when they got it to when they sold it to me, like what they had to do to fix it and what they did do etc, do they keep those kind of records? and what can/should i do about this?

Answer 1

If you bought it from a dealership, even if it was used, they are supposed to give it at least a minimal inspection. However, if it has been a while since you bought it, it'd be hard to argue that you did not modify the vehicle in the meanwhile. And they could always point to the bill of sale that you took the car "as is".

On the other hand, depending on the car, the cat could be placed elsewhere other than under the car. Some cars have "pre-cats" inside the engines as well. As long as you pass the emissions test (if required), you are fine.