What are my legal rights with being sold a used car that was in an accident?

Question

I was sold a car in 2006 from a dealership. After 2 years of having it break down every 4-6 months, and putting out $4000 in repairs I finally discovered that it had been in a major accident before it had been sold to me. The dealership had never informed me of the accident when they sold me this car.

I contacted the dealership and told them about the situation, they told me i could bring it in for a trade-in towards a new car, not acceptable as far as I was concerned.

I filed a complaint through the better business bureau stating my case and asking them to take back the car, forgive the rest of my loan and compensate me for the repairs. I was soon contacted by the dealership to fix this complaint. They realized that the vehicle was in an accident and is willing to take it back and help me find a car to replace it. It sounded like they were going to apply the amount I've paid so far to a car of equal value of the one I originally purchased at the time of purchase. Now they are telling me that they will only give me what the car is worth currently minus any damage from the accident.

Here's my thought process: Aren't they supposed to run this as a refund and not a trade in? Shouldn't they be giving me a car that is $14,000 since that's what I bought the car for and apply what I've paid so far towards that? Also shouldn't they also be applying the money I paid in repairs to this car since it is now in better condition then when I purchased it from them?

I want to know what steps I can take in this situation because I feel they endangered my life for two years by knowingly allowing me to drive a heavily damaged vehicle and spend thousands of dollars to keep it running.

Answer 1

You have no rights in this matter.  Sorry to say, but buying a used car is ALWAYS caveat emptor.  You had the opportunity to run a carfax before you bought it.  You had the chance to get a mechanical inspection before you bought it.  You did neither of those things.

There is no law stating that the dealer has to disclose any accidents.  In fact, many times we do not know ourselves.  Cars get traded to us every day that were in accidnets, and those salt-of-the-earth honest-as-angels customers never tell us sneaky car guys.  We get lied to 100x more often than our proported transgressions.

They don't have to do anything.  Your right of return is over the minute the bank cashes your conract.  There is no three-day return, much less 2 yrs.  You want them to pay for all your repairs for 2 yrs?? No.  They will not be doing that, nor shoulf they.  

You can trade the car in, that is about it.  I know that is not what you want to hear, but its the truth.  Your choices are to keep it, sell it, or trade it.  Then on the next car take precautions to ensure that you are getting a quality vehicle.

Answer 2

Unfortuntely it is up to you to find out about a used car and any accident it may have been in before you buy the car.  It is not the responsibililty of the seller to tell you this.  It's nice if they do.  When I sold my Saab I did disclose that it had been in a wreck, but it was still bought, and any problems that the people had after they bought it, it was their problems.  There are several services, like Carfax that you can go to, to check out and find out if a car has been in a crash, and you should do this before you buy a used car.  I'm sure you have seen the ads on TV.  But, it's one of those, buyer beware points.  If they are willing to give you the credit of the money you spent you are doing well.  But actually each state has different laws about this, I would get in touch with Better Business Bureau or State Dept of Consumer Affairs if your state has one and check what the laws are in reality.  As they do change from state to state, I just found out that there are some states that will come down on the side of the buyer, especially if the car was bought from a dealer, and they were supposed to tell you about the accident, and as they didn't they may be liable for the cost of the repairs.  So, make the calls to the state, it can't hurt, just take a little time, and you never know, but, I can't promise anything.  Good luck

Answer 3

Depends what state your are from.  Usually they only have to disclose if it is a salvage title car.  If it is, then you can get everything back.  If not, you have nothing.  The dealer at the time of sale may have NO knowledge of it being in any accident.  So if the dealer at the time of sale has NO knowledge of a major repair, how can they disclose this to you?  So if it not a salvage vehicle they do not have to do anything.  Now in some states such as South Dakota, if the repairs happened during the dealer's possession then they must disclose it on the back of the title.  How are you going to prove the dealer had any Knowledge of a previuos repair?  Carfax or Autocheck will mean nothing because the dealer is not required to run a report.  And about 1/2 the time carfax is wrong anyways. How did they endanger your life? If the car had $4000 in repairs and was put back to manafacture specs, it did not endanger your life.  A $4,000 repair bill is not that much anymore, that could be a scrape in a door and a fender.  Now when frames are bent and airbags are deployed then we are talking, but those accidents are usually over $10,000 worth of repairs.

Answer 4

You filed a complaint through BBB when they did nothing wrong.  Many times the dealers don't even know it was hit, and the dealer has absolutely no responsibility to make sure you did all of your homework.  There are mechanics, body shops, and carfax all available to help you in deciding if a USED car is in good shape.  

You allowed yourself to be endangered, not the dealer.  If you bring the car to them, they will treat it as a trade.  They will not just replace a care, especially after 2 years.