Question: We just found out that the car we bought was in an accident, and the car dealer didn't disclose this to us. What can we do?
January 10, 2006
Hi Tony
I was reading on your web site that a car dealer not disclosing an accident to the vehicle to you was "serious." We recently discovered this with our current vehicle and we confronted the dealer.
We may be a little naive, but why did the car dealer scramble to bend over backwards for us? What could we do to them for this that made them so nervous?
I understand that our vehicle has gone down in resale value from what we expected, but they are willing to compensate us for that. Should they be doing more that we don't know about?
Thanks for any help you can give us.
Brian and Christine
Answer:
Hi Brian and Christine,
State laws vary from state to state, and I don't pretend to know them all, but generally speaking if a car dealer sells a vehicle and they know the car has been wrecked, then they have a legal obligation to disclose that information before completing the sale.
I'm not sure if you bought a new or used car. If it was new there is absolutely no excuse for them not telling you. If it was used it's possible they weren't aware of the car's history.
However, the fact that they are trying to work with you on this may indicate they did know something. It could also mean that they are simply trying to keep you as a customer, and are trying to work with you because they believe in giving good customer service.
If you wanted to, you could file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, you could file a complaint with your state's Attorney General's office and you could even find a lawyer who would be willing to sue them on your behalf. Obviously the dealer doesn't want to deal with any of that, so they are "bending over backwards" for you.
It sounds like they are doing pretty much everything they can do except to take the car back and put you in another one. If that's your goal tell them you will not settle for anything less. If you're satisfied with the car then be reasonable with them as long as they are willing to compensate you for your trouble.
All my very best...
Tony Iorio
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