I need to get back at the bad private used car seller!

[themom]

We were looking for an inexpensive, but dependable used car for our daughter when we found a 1993 Toyota Camry on AutoTrader. She saw it and loved it so, well you know the rest. The seller wasn't willing to let us take the car to our mechanic (I know, first red flag), but said we could bring him to the car. Fat chance. We agreed and put a clause in the bill of sale that "Seller agrees if mechanic finds any problems with engine or transmission he will take the car back and return all funds". Well, of course our mechanic found $1500 worth of oil leaks, etc., even though the seller had steam cleaned the engine no doubt to hide them. When we called the seller to return the car the run around began. I spoke with the DMV who notified me that by law the car was to have been smogged before the sale and it was not so therefore the sale was illegal. The seller didn't care. The title said the car was actually a 1992 and not a 1993, the seller didn't care. In the end, infuriatingly, the seller just told me to do whatever i needed to do. Please tell me any and every way I can hurt this person.

 

[David_Staub]

First of all, don't think in terms of "hurting this person." It simply isn't worth the aggravation to do that, plus it can get you in trouble because your actions may be more likely to be wrong if your motive is wrong.

You should consider filing a small claims action against the seller. That is done without an attorney and just takes your time. However, if the seller just doesn't care, you may end up with a judgment that he also just ignores. If you are lucky, the seller doesn't want the judgment hanging over his head. If he doesn't pay, then at that point, if the seller has a job, you can enforce the judgment through a garnishment action. For most people, that requires an attorney because it is not an easy process to understand in a vacuum. Unless you are careful, you might spend more to collect the judgment than you get.

Good luck.