What are a buyer’s rights if a previous wreck on a used car was not disclosed?
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What are a buyer’s rights if a previous wreck on a used car was not disclosed?
I just purchased a car from a used car dealer. The car is less than a year old. It was a rental, then the used car company, a big dealer, bought the car at auction. The car runs great but I noticed once I got it home that the door creaks. As it is still under warranty with the manufacturer, so I took it to a dealer. They noticed that the door had been in a wreck and fixed by a body shop. It was not visible until the door was being looked at. It was also not on the CarFax and we asked before purchase about wrecks and was told there were none. Do we have any recourse with the dealer?
Asked on August 13, 2012 under Accident Law, Indiana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
You *may* have recourse IF you can show that the dealer knew about the wreck but deliberately did not disclose it to you--that could be fraud, which could give you the right to seek monetary compensation. However, this is obviously not an easy showing to make, especially if the CarFax didn't show any accidents--i.e. it could easily be the case that the dealer did not know of the accident, in which case there would be liability.
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