Vehicle suspected of Fraudulent Motor Vehicle Inspection.

[BenC1231]

Jurisdiction

New York

The purchase of a 2001 Ford Ranger was made on April 3 2015, with 121,XXX miles. On the day of purchase, the vehicle had been inspected for safety and emissions by the dealership, and had passed. From what I could tell from my own personal inspection of the truck, it was in satisfactory condition.

A few months later on July 16 2015, the bed had started to tilt on the passenger side. After further inspecting the cause for the tilt, we found that a patch had camouflaged a severe crack in the frame and a 7/8 Craftsman wrench had been welded intro the frame to reinforce it in a weak area. Other deficiencies are expected, but not yet verified by official inspection.

I feel that this vehicle was unfit for sale, and has endangered my life and all those on the road. I also feel that this vehicle should not have passed inspection at the time of purchase, and was wrongfully approved as passing.

I am seeking helpful advice from a professional, so that I may possibly take my concerns to court.

 

[army judge]

You bought the vehicle in April, allegedly noticed the defects in July, and now wonder what legal actions you can pursue to rectify what you believe to be "issues".

You need damages to have occurred from which you could be made whole.
You can't successfully sue on the basis that you could have been killed, nor can you ever sue for what harm may have befallen some other person.

The other problem for you is upon discovering the alleged defect three months after the purchase, how you prove that YOU didn't make those unusual repairs? You can't anymore than you can prove the dealer perpetrated a fraud.

 

[txls]

A safety inspection is for very specific things like brakes and headlights(for example).
It isn't necessarily a complete, detailed inspection of every aspect of the vehicle. Same with "unfit for sale", only certain things are considered "unfit for sale" to use your term. For example in Texas, a dealer cannot sell a vehicle with bad brakes. So you would need to know specifically what the New York rules are(or whatever state the purchase took place), but generally used vehicles with high miles are sold as is, and you could have had the vehicle thoroughly inspected by your mechanic before making the purchase.

 

[Betty3]

Generally when you buy a used vehicle, it is sold "as is" - it's buyer beware. It's generally the buyer's responsibility to have the car checked out before buying.