Bought a used car in poor condition....

[rusty567]

I bought a used classic car from Craigslist that was advertised as "everything works" and "no rust." I paid cash for this and now have discovered that the stereo, AC (disclosed prior to purchase after I asked), and electric mirrors do not work. There is a tear in the driver's side seat although advertised as having no tears (however, I saw this at the time of purchase). I did pay for a prepurchase inspection, but it was worthless. In Virginia, the car did not pass inspection or emissions. There were missing parts, including the catalytic converter. The biggest factor is that there is way too much rust, and the autobody person told me that the car was unsafe because of all the rust. What are my options?

 

[txls]

Used cars in a private sale are sold as is. You should always inspect thoroughly before you pay. You can contact the seller and tell them you want your money back and they can have their rust bucket back. They will most likely tell you "sorry, but that's not going to happen." Then you can spend money on a lawyer and try to sue them, or possibly try to take them to small claims court, possibly win a judgment, but then you still have to try and collect.

Your only hope will be if the State of VA has any law about selling vehicles that do not pass inspection. Your local DMV may be able to answer that, or point you in the right direction to find out. You will still probably have to get a lawyer involved if the seller is uncooperative.

 

[rusty567]

Thank you for your response. I paid for the car to be inspected prior to the purchase, but they obviously did a poor job. If they advertised the car as having no rust, I am assuming this would be fairly straight forward if I hired a lawyer...right? The amount is too large for small claims court.

 

[txls]

You can usually get a free consultation with an attorney and they should be straight forward with you about whether it's worth pursuing. Sometimes just a strongly worded letter from an attorney will get a person's attention.

 

[army judge]

You live in PA, and your potential defendant resides in VA, as does the inspector (I assume).
Your options, should you decide to pursue them: sue in VA state court, or a federal district court somewhere in VA.
You can attempt to sue in PA, but expect to receive strong resistance to any such lawsuit by your potential defendants.

Never buy anything off of CraigsList, as it is primarily trolled by scammers, killers, and other criminals.

 

[Betty3]

Generally buying a used car you buy as it - definitely in a private sale. It is "buyer beware". You can discuss your situation with a lawyer though. Good luck.

 

[rusty567]

Private sales are more risky for sure. But I am relying on the fact that his ad said "no rust." In reality, it has so much rust that an auto restoration owner called the car unsafe, and it did not come close to passing inspection by a long shot. The seller didn't have to say this at all, and I would be stuck I suppose. But it is mentioned clearly in his ad. Isn't this worth something?

 

[army judge]

Private sales are more risky for sure. But I am relying on the fact that his ad said "no rust." In reality, it has so much rust that an auto restoration owner called the car unsafe, and it did not come close to passing inspection by a long shot. The seller didn't have to say this at all, and I would be stuck I suppose. But it is mentioned clearly in his ad. Isn't this worth something?

Even IF he lied, and you have "proof" of the lie, your remedy will be extremely hard to pursue.
It will also be expensive.

You might have a remedy against the inspector you hired.

The remedy will be elusive because you'll only be able to pursue in in teh state where the scammer and the inspector reside.