How can I legally get out of a contract to buy a used car?
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How can I legally get out of a contract to buy a used car?
The odometer read 89,389 miles but the purchase agreement states 89,000. Is this technicality enough to get out of the contract? Not just for this reason but the car broke down last week and I had to have it towed to a mechanic. Upon looking at the car the mechanic told me that it should not have passed inspection because of all the corrosion around the motor mounts. If a car should not have passed inspection in the first place should I beable to return the car or does the dealer get the option to reapair the damage? I purchased it 2 months ago.
Asked on March 26, 2012 under General Practice, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
1) A material misrepresentation or lie about a car, such as about its mileage, can provide grounds to rescind the contract...but the key is that the misrepresentation must be "material," or important. An error of 389 miles out of 89,000, or a less than 1/2 of 1 percent difference, would not be considered material.
2) It does not matter if the car "should" have passed inspection or not: if it did in fact pass inspection (i.e. the dealer did not lie about it passing inspection), then the dealer did nothing wrong--he sold you a car which is road legal and passed inspection.
From what you write, you seem to have no grounds for a claim or cause of action.
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