What are my options regarding private car sale and fraud?
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What are my options regarding private car sale and fraud?
We purchased a car from Craigslist. Of course, a couple of days later the car breaks down, the cables were moved to hide the “check engine” light and the computer fried due to the electric overload. We went and checked the car history report after this since the guy never answered our calls. The report shows that the car has over 220,000 miles when the odometer only shows 140,000. I can’t get a hold of him and now I am stuck with a bill from the mechanic to fix it. What are my options? Are there any? We verified that the car is not stolen.
Asked on May 9, 2012 under Business Law, California
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If you can verify who the registered owner of the vehicle is with his or her last known address you can send a demand letter seeking the rescission of your purchase (cancellation) and request your money back. Assuming you get no response, then the next option would be to bring a legal action for the return of your money paid for the vehicle based upon fraud of the seller from what you have written.
From what you have written, the seller of the vehicle knowingly concealed a material fact about the vehicle impacting price and desirability from you to your damage. You may also want to consult with an attorney that practices law in the area of automobiles.
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