mrburns1984
New Member
My uncle just purchased a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am GT. The car was advertised in the local paper for $3000. The car was said to have 37,000 original miles. My uncle and I went to go look at the vehicle the same day. The owner had a complete carfax report confirming the 37,000 original miles. Every oil change, tire rotation, inspection, etc. was documented on the carfax report. The car was serviced every time at the delarship the car was originally purchased from. The gentleman we purchased the car from was the second owner. My uncle drove the car briefly and talked to the owner for quite a while about the maintanence records. The car was immaculate, no rust, no dings or dents, brand new tires, very well maintained. My uncle decided to purchase the vehicle, he ended up paying $2500 cash. There was a bill of sale written, nowhere in the bill of sale did it specify "as is". He took the car to his mechanic to get it inspected after the purchase and the mechanic refused to inspect the vehicle. Apparently the lower control arms on both sides were nearly completely rotted. We feel that the previous owner knew about this problem based on the last repair documented on the carfax report. Less than a month prior to this sale the car had new front brakes installed (pads and rotors). The car was also in need of inspection within the next month. We believe that the dealership that did the repairs informed this gentleman at that time that the car would not pass inspection and advised him to sell it before the inspection expired. My uncle has owned the vehicle for almost a month at this point and is not sure what the next move should be. The car cannot be inspected so there is no way to register or insure it, so at this point it is a $2500 paperweight. Should he try to take this case to small claims court? Could he do the repairs and bill the previous owner? Is there no legal action that can be taken, should he just cut his losses and have the scrap yard take it? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Michael Burns, Schenectady New York.