Non-disclosed damage to a car?

[dbaker84]

I recently went to buy a car for my girlfriend, and we found one she really liked. It was a fews years old (beyond factory warranty), but in excellent shape. I noticed a couple gaps in the body panels, but I also knew that over time those do occur. I asked the salesman if the car had ever been in an accident, and he said "No, this car has never been in an accident." He even offered me a carfax report. During the contract process I repeatedly asked for the carfax report, he kept telling me that he would get it. About three days after owning the car, the sunroof stopped working. We took it to a shop and they said the car had previously been rolled and that many pieces had been replaced. Do I have a case if I want to have the dealer buy the car back or pay for the repairs? I figure that you can't tell me it has definitively never been in an accident when it clearly has. Any input will be appreciated.

 

[bla25s]

Don't know if you have resolved this or not, but i would contact your Attorney General's office regarding this matter. They "love" dealerships that falsify the truth

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I recently went to buy a car for my girlfriend, and we found one she really liked. It was a fews years old (beyond factory warranty), but in excellent shape. I noticed a couple gaps in the body panels, but I also knew that over time those do occur. I asked the salesman if the car had ever been in an accident, and he said "No, this car has never been in an accident." He even offered me a carfax report. During the contract process I repeatedly asked for the carfax report, he kept telling me that he would get it. About three days after owning the car, the sunroof stopped working. We took it to a shop and they said the car had previously been rolled and that many pieces had been replaced. Do I have a case if I want to have the dealer buy the car back or pay for the repairs? I figure that you can't tell me it has definitively never been in an accident when it clearly has. Any input will be appreciated.

bla25s makes a good point although it doesn't resolve your problem. Let me ask you this -- why did you take the car without the carfax report? Is this an issue where you can obtain money from the seller? Difficult to say. Is this a "latent" defect that could not be discovered without inspection? Was the deal predicated on the fact that the car was not in an accident? Would it have made a difference? Perhaps the sun roof not working had nothing to do with any accident? Unless you can even show that the sun roof problem was connected (the "proximate cause") with an accident, your case has no merit. Then you'd probably have to explain why the car wasn't sold "as is" as most used cars are. You did have the ability to obtain a carfax report and then, at the end, chose not to. It is possible you might win something in small claims but, for the above reasons, unless you could convince me otherwise I'm not sure that it is a winning case. Sorry to hear and wish you luck.