"As Is" Bill of Sale

[agrieder]

Is an "As Is" bill of sale form legally binding if there were outright lies told during the sale that I have now uncovered?

 

[Theresagail]

Yes, used cars are sold As Is, A matter a fact most of the titles have "as is" when you transfer the title over-

 

[ndragon]

If misleading or false information was used to sale the vehicle, couldn't that be used to dismiss the contract?
I am pretty sure that in Utah, if you ask the dealer "has this vehicle been involved in an accident," and they knowingly lie about it, that is grounds for breach of contract. I don't know about other states though.
My brother is actually in the process of sueing a dealer for this exact problem.

-Nick

 

[dee_dub]

It depends what the lies were and how crucial they were to the decision to purchase.

 

[Theresagail]

Usually when people purchase a used car it is implied that they will have a mechanic look over the car before they sign on the dotted line-- If a dealer Knows it has been wrecked and sales it as if it was not-- then there is a issue, but is he did not know it was wrecked ie.. clean title and clean carfax-- there is no liabilty for him

 

[agrieder]

Thanks for you input you guys. This was a private party purchase and he said it never had any body work. Then a friend noticed a few things and now he admitted to the left passenger door skin being replaced. Now I found out the front left fender is after market so obviously something else happened. His excuse is it was his wife's car so he doesn't know anything about it. I guess that's the out he's going to take. I had it taken to a garage near where he lived that I chose and it turns out he knew the guys personally. I've asked for a print out of the evaluation and have yet to get it. I'm going to have it put up on a rack tomorrow to see if it's been in a major accident but so far this guy hasn't been completely honest. He also said he always took it to the dealer for maintenance and work. I called there and they had no record of him bringing the car in other than buying it. If I do find out it was in a major accident I'm just going to write him a letter and ask for a certain amount of money back dependent on the severity of the damage. If he denies it or ignores me I'll take him to small claims court. Another thing I found strange is I brought two bills of sale with me that I printed off the web. We each filled one out but I just noticed the VIN no he put on the copy he wrote is completely wrong and belongs to another car....?

 

[agrieder]

By the way, I have another question if you guys would be so kind. Isn't it a matter of he said, she said at this point? Since his claims of the car never being in an accident, and the fact that he's saying it was his wife's and he didn't know about it make it impossible for me to have any recourse? Isn't it basically his word against mine in proving a breach for not being forthcoming with the fact that more body work was done than he claims? I don't have anything in writing that he said there were no accidents....

 

[ndragon]

Small claims are usually a matter of he said/she said. File a small claim and let him defend himself.
As far as it being his wife's car... I don't know about you, but if my wife was in an accident that required the door skin to be replaced on her car, I am sure she would tell me about it. Furthermore, I am sure I would be the one taking it to the body shop. That is a ridiculous claim and just proves how stupid and desperate this guy really is.
Your defense is that if given accurate information about this car, you would have not purchased it based on it's history.
Good luck in small claims.

-Nick