If I bought a used car from dealership and discovered that it has frame damage, is there anything that I can do?
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If I bought a used car from dealership and discovered that it has frame damage, is there anything that I can do?
I bought a car from a dealership a little over a year ago. Last month I attempted to refinance it and was told that the car didn’t qualify because it has frame damage. The Carfax report said no accidents but the report that the bank ran was Autocheck. I ran an Autocheck report and the vehicle was involved in 2 accidents; 1 causing frame damage. This information was never presented to me by the dealership. Is there anything that I can do?
Asked on June 8, 2011 under General Practice, Michigan
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You have a few issues going on here. First, I don't believe this would fall under your state's lemon laws. Second, you certainly had a responsibility to do your own check (carfax perhaps and others
), especially if this was an "AS IS" sale. However, if the retail seller lied to you about the safety condition of the vehicle (frame is certainly a big one) and/or manipulated or altered the report, you have a voidable or unenforceable contract due to fraud in formation. You could go as far to say you don't even have a contract because you didn't have a meeting of the minds or bargained for exchange on the material terms. Immediately contact the agency or agencies who regulate this entity and file a complaint. Explain in detail what you were provided and what you found. Provide copies and get ready to support your position.
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