Can I get sued for a dealershis mistake?

[epicblue]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts.

OK, here's my problem:

I recently purchased a car from a dealership with an A++ BBB.com rating. They were very nice to me and even bought me lunch while they detailed the new car. The transaction seemed to go smoothly as I traded in my old car. After a few minutes and signing all the finance documents and contracts + giving my down payment / title to my old car I was on my way home in my brand new car.


I guess I'll explain the costs so it easier to understand the real issue.

The new car was $12,500. They gave me $2,000 for my trade in. I also put a down payment of $3,500.

So about 2 weeks later I get a call from them. Saying that I never told them that my trade in was a reconstructed car thus having a rebuilt title. They I also said I didn't mention anything about my transmission acting funny. They said I deceived them and demanded that I pay an extra $1000 on my down payment as they said they are only going to give me $1000 for the trade in. I clearly said I have to think about the situation and hung up after that. So they called me again and left a message "Hey, we haven't received any of the money yet so we we're calling to ask you what's going on?"

Now I when I took the new car out for a car wash I found a bunch of scratches and a crack on the front bumper. I know if I had called them up about this issue and asked them to bring down the price they would have just called me a sucker.

Now they had all the time in the world to look closely at the title and look closely at the trade in but they didn't. I carefully looked at the purchased car to make sure nothing was wrong. So why should I be punished for something they failed to check at the time of the deal was being made?

The banks have already sent in statements for my new car in which I have already started paying off the loan. Is there any legal action they can take against me? Can I be sued for not telling them everything about the trade in? As for the contract I signed. Can they make changes to it? Or worse, take the car back? I'm fairly young and this is my first car purchase so I need help.

Thanks.

 

[xylene]

Why don't you ask them what they intend to do?

That would give you a sense of if they have anything on you.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

Tell them that if they do not wish to abide by their agreement, that the only option are willing to accept is rescission, where they'll get the new car back, and you will get the old car back, as well as your down payment.

 

[epicblue]

So I called them and said this.

And this was the conversation we had.

Me: "I'm not going to pay you guys $1000 dollars and that's my final decision. "

Him: "How do you figure that?"

Me: "Because I don't think I should be paying for something you neglected to do. I gave you the title, the Vin number and even handed you the keys yet you still failed to check the vehicle carfax or even physically look at it while I was there. I answered all your questions you asked me about the car truthfully. It's not fair that I should pay for your negligence. And besides the car would be worth $5000 via KBB if it wasn't for the reconstructed status. You already chopped off the value by $3000. So me taking $2000 for the car is already a fair deal."

Him: "We asked you if the car was in good condition. And you said yes."

Me: "It was in good condition to me. Its street legal and everything. I drove from my house to your dealership and it was a 40 mile drive and it worked fine."

Him: "The car had a reconstructed title and the clutch is shot."

Me: "I gave you the title, you failed to look at the big bold words that says RECONSTRUCTED. As for the clutch it worked fine for me, it got me to point a to point b. I'm not a professional mechanic so how can I tell you that the clutch was going bad? You also should have told your mechanics to check out the car before you went through with the deal."

Him: "So then you want to settle this in court?"

Me: "Why would you want to take me to court? To sue me because you didn't do your job correctly?

You: "To make you pay for wrongful information."

Me: "Alright, then. Bye."

End of conversation.


He also mentioned that all the cars they sell come with a 5 year warranty that they pay for. And if I won't give him the $1000 then they won't purchase the warranty. He never mentioned the warranty during the whole process. I don't really care because I have my own warranty at another company anyways.

But where do I stand? Can he win? I feel like he is bluffing because he knows I'm a first time buyer and young. But I won't get intimated by these tactics.

 

[Antigone*]

So I called them and said this.

And this was the conversation we had.

Me: "I'm not going to pay you guys $1000 dollars and that's my final decision. "

Him: "How do you figure that?"

Me: "Because I don't think I should be paying for something you neglected to do. I gave you the title, the Vin number and even handed you the keys yet you still failed to check the vehicle carfax or even physically look at it while I was there. I answered all your questions you asked me about the car truthfully. It's not fair that I should pay for your negligence. And besides the car would be worth $5000 via KBB if it wasn't for the reconstructed status. You already chopped off the value by $3000. So me taking $2000 for the car is already a fair deal."

Him: "We asked you if the car was in good condition. And you said yes."

Me: "It was in good condition to me. Its street legal and everything. I drove from my house to your dealership and it was a 40 mile drive and it worked fine."

Him: "The car had a reconstructed title and the clutch is shot."

Me: "I gave you the title, you failed to look at the big bold words that says RECONSTRUCTED. As for the clutch it worked fine for me, it got me to point a to point b. I'm not a professional mechanic so how can I tell you that the clutch was going bad? You also should have told your mechanics to check out the car before you went through with the deal."

Him: "So then you want to settle this in court?"

Me: "Why would you want to take me to court? To sue me because you didn't do your job correctly?

You: "To make you pay for wrongful information."

Me: "Alright, then. Bye."

End of conversation.


He also mentioned that all the cars they sell come with a 5 year warranty that they pay for. And if I won't give him the $1000 then they won't purchase the warranty. He never mentioned the warranty during the whole process. I don't really care because I have my own warranty at another company anyways.

But where do I stand? Can he win? I feel like he is bluffing because he knows I'm a first time buyer and young. But I won't get intimated by these tactics.

You stand in the spot you are standing

If they decide to sue, a judge will make that decision. SJ is hogging the crystal ball.

Seriously, you have a valid argument. Why didn't they check out the vehicle they purchased from you prior to taking ownership ~ that is on them. You will just have to see how it goes.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

He also mentioned that all the cars they sell come with a 5 year warranty that they pay for. And if I won't give him the $1000 then they won't purchase the warranty. He never mentioned the warranty during the whole process. I don't really care because I have my own warranty at another company anyways.

But where do I stand? Can he win? I feel like he is bluffing because he knows I'm a first time buyer and young. But I won't get intimated by these tactics.

From what you've written, it doesn't seem like he has a leg to stand on.

If I had had that conversation with him, I would check all my paperwork for any mention of the 5 year warranty, and send a demand letter, in accordance with MGL Chapter 93A, demanding they provide me with the warranty as stated in the contract. If they hadn't provided the warranty, I'd be heading to small claims court.

 

[JustAPal00]

Sounds like a case of "dealer beware". They dropped the ball, they're the pros!

 

[justalayman]

they kind of blew any claim of deception on the title issue if you handed them the title and it was branded as "reconstructed". If they had raised the argument at that point, they would win. This is their business and if they failed to recognize such a blatant indication, the fault is theirs.


as to the clutch: that depends on just how bad the clutch was and how a judge would view the situation. I could write a scenario which should be ruled for you and I could write a scenario that should be ruled against you. The specifics of your situation will be used to decide and as said before, a judge will make that decision.

Plus, if the deal included a warranty (check your paperwork) and if this gets to court, I would countersue for specific performance or the value of the warranty.

 

[You Are Guilty]

As a purely strategic matter, if you are sued, countersue for the warranty (or its monetary value), even if you don't care about it, as it provides easy leverage (above and beyond their stupidity in not reading the title).

Good luck.

 

[epicblue]

None of the paper work claims that they would give me warranty. However the internet ad they posted does say "AT THIS PRICE WE WILL ADD ON A 5 YEAR WARRANTY AT NO EXTRA CHARGE!" I do have this printed out. Funny thing is I wish I had read it more carefully as I could have brought it up before the deal went through.