Overhaulin'

bought a car private sale what are my rights?

A car was listed as perfect condition with new engine no problems. it was paid for and delivered by a private dealer less than a week after it was delivered it died and the engine is dead. is there anything i can do? he obviously lied about the condition of the vehicle and it seems like there should be something that protects the buyer. i dont need dumb comments or rude remarks i need serious answers only. thank you heres the kicker, we took it to a mechanic-and he said yea its perfect great buy- found out AFTER we paid that this guy was friends with the guy who was selling it and getting 1/2 the money...we picked hte mechanic just a small small area with limited places to go. we got F'd

Public Comments

1. What does your bill of sale say about how it was sold ? If it says "as is" you have no rights. If it says warranty, the dealer MAY be responsible for some of the repair costs. Even if he put on paper "car is in perfect condiditon", and a week later it blows up you cant prove he knew anything about it. Is he a mind reader ? Do you think car dealers can magically keep cars running just long enough to sell them ? You bought a car and you own a car. You either didn't check it out well enough before you bought it, you tore it up or it just happened. Regardless, its your car & your problem. You can ASK the "private dealer" for help but he is not under any legal obligation. You are likely to catch more flys with honey than with harsh words at this point.
2. The only thing that really protects the buyer is you taking the time to inspect the vehicle. If you can prove that he claimed it had a new engine and you can prove that it didn't have a new engine, you might be able to get it fixed. You need to list your state to get the exact laws on it, I know some states have a two week return period for private parties. Most cars are sold "as is," and it sounds like "new" wasn't defined so it could be interpreted as a 200k mile engine rebuilt, it could mean a 100k mile engine, it could actually be a new engine. You just don't know. Odds are you won't be able to do anything about it... see if he'll take it back and talk to him about it
3. Lots of states have lemon laws, check here for yours. http://www.carlemon.com/lemonstat.html Next time make sure you take it to a mechanic before you fork over the cash for it.
4. Sorry, I bought a car for 6k and it was fine for the first 5 months. Now the tranny is no good. No warranty and I lost. There is nothing I can do .. Unless I put something in the tranny to make it seem ok.. And be a RAT and sell it. I won't do that.. I'll spend the money to fix the tranny. And carry on.
5. First thing is to ignore the person who says "lemon law". Those are only for NEW CARS, not used. Unless you have something in writing stating the supposed condition, you are pretty well out of luck. There is also no such thing as a "private dealer". They are either a private seller, or a dealer. Did you take their word that the car was in good shape, or did you do the smart thing and have a mechanic check it over before you bought it? Used vehicles are sold as-is unless you purchase protection offered (only in some states).
6. The other responses offer good opinions and advice. When you say "it died and the engine is dead" what do you mean? The car may have actually been in perfect running condition when it left the previous owner; the one critical part that left you high and dry may have run it's normal life span ....and ended it under your ownership. It happens ...and when you're dealing with a used vehicle, no matter what shape it's in, it's a crap shoot. Have you investigated what is actually wrong with the car and what it would cost to fix? Something basic like a battery that no longer holds a charge or something slightly more complicated like a crank position sensor going bad can all bring a car to it's knees ...make it drop dead in it's tracks. And both are common failures on cars and neither is all that expensive to repair. Even if you'd done your homework, had taken the car to a mechanic and given it a pre-purchase checkout and any other due diligence on your part there's no guarantee somethings not going to go bad on it the first time you take it for a drive. And if you didn't get any type of warranty in writing from the seller ...well, just suck it up and press on ....and learn.
7. Check with your states "Consumer Affairs Dept." if there is a lemon law or any other protection they will know about it. Look in your Yellow Pages phone book , blue government pages. "Lemon Laws" vary by state,some include used cars,some only cars sold by dealers.
8. Used car sale, in particular, private party car sales are presumed to be "as is" transactions. Your only hope is if you can PROVE there was collusion between the seller and the mechanic in court. There is very little buyer protection in a used car transaction. The rule of law is "caveat emptor".