January 11, 2006

Hello Tony

My name is Delilah from Georgia, Marietta; I lived in Miami, Florida and bought a 2002 Honda Accord Ex on 4/27/2004. I know little about cars, but I went and asked if the car had ever sustained any damages due to accidents and the sales person said "No!"

Now 1/11/2006 I am selling my vehicle and find out it has an accident report and: Front end and right side repainted; core support and left strut tower are re-welded - there are indications of possible structural / frame damage or repair and there are indications of extensive body repairs.

I went to get a free appraisal and that is when I was informed; I went to 2-3 other dealers and without me even uttering a word they knew that the car must have had extensive damage and major repairs - possibly even a salvage - the CarFax report shows a moderate to severe accident.

It is not fair that I paid $12,700 for a vehicle which has such a notorious history - it has not given me major problem except for some red flags I haven't been able to verify.

What can I do? Can I legally demand to be reimbursed all of my money, or if not all most of it? Does this have grounds for a lemon law reinforcement? If not then there has to be something I can do!!!

Please give me your expert advice - it is despicable of business people to sell such products, to steal a consumers well earned money and cheat just because of their insufficient intellect to come up with an honorable way of earning their living!

Any information you can give or referral I will greatly appreciate - Thank you!

Regards,

Delilah

Answer:

Hi Delilah,

Since you lived in and bought the car in Florida the transaction would be subject to their state laws. I'm not specifically familiar with each individual state's laws, but generally speaking if a car dealer is aware that a car has been wrecked they have a legal obligation to disclose that information before the sale is completed.

The problem is proving they knew the car had been damaged. My advise to you would be to research Florida law to find out the dealer's obligation in this matter. You may want to consult with an attorney to determine if you have any recourse against the car dealer. I'm not the person to be giving you legal advise.

You're right that it is despicable for someone to sell an extensively repaired car without telling you up front - that is of course - assuming they knew about it. If the repair is as noticeable as you say I don't see how a Used Car Manager could possibly miss such damage during the appraisal process. These people are pros, and they are trained to spot this type of damage, because it directly affects the value of the vehicle.

The same goes for the sales person. When you asked if the car had been wrecked he or she should have been sure or said "I don't know!" Of course if they told you the car had been wrecked then you may have balked at buying the car and the sales person would have not earned a commission. Who knows if it was pure incompetence or a deliberate lie just to get you to buy the car.

Either way it's inexcusable.

Good luck,

All my very best...

Tony Iorio