Do I have any legal claims if I bought a used car and it broke down less than 50 miles later?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Do I have any legal claims if I bought a used car and it broke down less than 50 miles later?
I bought a car on Saturday afternoon and it wouldn’t drive on Monday. The clutch was burned out and the dealer made no action to fix the problem. It was the first time I drove a manual, so I didn’t know the clutch was slipping, but the company has been in business for 22 years, so they should have known unless they are incompetent mechanics. They failed to disclose the clutch was slipping, and they failed to display or provide me with a buyer’s guide. The car was bought as is but they never verbally told me this. Do I have any legal recourse?
Asked on June 22, 2011 under General Practice, Michigan
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If the purchase contract for the vehicle was "as is" meaning without any warranty as to condition and fitness, you would only have a legal claim against the seller if the seller knew of its poor condition and did not disclose the facts to you about its poor condition to put you on notice to further inquire about it.
Just because something is sold "as is" does not necessarily mean that the seller is absolved of any liability for damages if the seller knew about a problem (with the car in this case) and failed to disclose the known problems to a potential buyer. Laws in most States require sellers of items to disclose known problems about the item being sold to a potential buyer even if sold "as is".
You would have to prove that the seller knew of a known problem before the sale to you and the known problem materialized after the sale, slipping clutch and you incurred repairs for the clutch that ordinarily would not have been incurred.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.