Overhaulin'

Can I sue a used car sale dealer ship for saling me a car with a bad transmission?

I purchased my 2005 Honda Accord in Jan of 2011 and here it is April 2011 and the car has been to the shop over 5 times. I purchased the car with 110,558 miles on it and as of now it has like 112,5smthn. I called the car company and of course they are telling me "no there is nothing they can do about it" because I purchased it as it. I called the lemon law ppl no luck there, but I was told that I can talk to a consumer lawyer and file a lawsuit against them as smthn like fraud, because the transmission was bad way before I purchased it. So what im asking is if anyone is having/had the same problems with used cars or if any lawyers can help me because im at my witts end. :( Thanks

Public Comments

1. No because it was your job too look over the car, ask questions, etc. Anyways it's a used car so you definately should've done those things.
2. used cars are sold as is unless there is a specific warranty and things like that happen to cars with 110k on them
3. I think your screwed you should always go with someone who knows about cars when purchasing a used vehicle so you don't get into situations like these
4. I'm not a lawyer, and it sounds like you could use some legal advise. However, to answer your question, if they knew it was bad and sold it to you in that condition they should be responsible. Did you ask them to fix the problem? Did you ask about the Tranny BEFORE the purchase? was their a warranty on the car? you can also file a complaint with the BBB; help others to avoid these issues. Hope this helps :-)
5. You can sue for anything, doesn't mean that you'll win. If sold as is, then it's your baby to fix. Lemon law "ONLY" pertains to new car sales, not used cars. If the transmission was" bad way before you purchased it", how do you know it was bad before you bought it? Then why did you buy it? When you bought the car, used, you assume all responsibility for the car. Sorry to say this, but you are responsible for the repair, not the dealer. If you feel you go taken by the dealer, the only thing you can do, and the most damage you can do is word of mouth, tell everyone you know not to buy a car from them. EDIT: for what it would cost to go to court, you could have the transmission fixed. Ken, I have no idea what court you were in, but I've never heard of a court awarding to a buyer of an "as is" used car with over 100,000 miles on it. The only reason, and only reason would be if you could absolutely prove fraud in the case. Then that would bring criminal charges as well.
6. Lemon laws only work for new cars, not used cars. If the dealership sold you the car "As Is, no Warranty" then they did not make any warranty on the car and are not responsible for subsequent breakdowns. You would have to prove in court that the dealership knew about the bad transmission and sold you the car anyway without making a disclosure. Even then, you are not guaranteed compensation. No warranty, means that. No warranty. Honda's are usually good bets for longevity and low repair costs. But, if the previous owner abused the car or you got one of the bad ones, the dealership still would not automatically be at fault. Even if you had bought the car from the previous owner, the previous owner knew about the car's faults and didn't tell you about them, most states follow an as is/where is/buyer beware rule for used car purchases.
7. 1. Lemon law is for cars less than 2 years old, and would require having the same problem 3 times or more in those 2 years. 2. The car ran out of factory warranty 74,000 miles ago. 3. You bought the car as-is. That means when you signed on the proverbial dotted line, if there was no mention in the documents that you suspected there was anything wrong with the transmission, and they didn't disclose there were any problems (which they are required to do), you agreed with the dealer that there was no problems. With any auto purchase, you have the right to pay an independent mechanic to inspect the car. If you didn't do that, that's a mistake you made. 4. If anywhere in the paperwork it said something about a possible defective transmission, and you just didn't read it, then it's your fault because you didn't read it. They told you, in writing, as required by the law. If that's the case, then you should read things more carefully before signing them. 5. Even if you did file a lawsuit, there's still the issue of "innocent until proven guilty" that you have to deal with. The burden of proof is on you to provide the evidence that they knew before hand about the faulty transmission and didn't inform you or try to correct it. 6. Caveat Emptor is in full effect at this point.
8. get written estimate for the trnsmission repair/take all the instances that you complained about the car and write them down with the dates and person you spoke to/take all that info and go to small claims court in y our county courthouse/file the claim and wait for court date/if you are renting a car include those times and costs/the dealer will get notice and have to come to court and settle it(been there and done it and won)
9. sorry to say, buyer beware. if they sold it with a warranty than they are obligated to fix it. If it was sold as is than it is your responsibility to cover the repair costs. Next time make sure you have the car looked at by a mechanic and even so, anything mechanical sooner or later will fail.
10. Follow the advice you were given: call about 10 lawyers who practice consumer law and ask for advice. Have all your documentation handy. Just because you have an As Is contract, doesnt mean you cant sue and win, altho crooked sellers try their best to perpetuate that myth and many buyers fall for it. Some state laws give the buyer an implied [not directed stated] warranty that overrides As Is terms. So you may have an implied warranty on you car that it must be fit for driving and free of major defects and not realize it. It it's not that way, the seller has to make it that way or refund your $. If I had a choice, I'd go for the refund. This is why you have to get informed on the laws in your state.