Odometer and Auto Dealer Fraud

[musician3]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? South Carolina
I am 30 years old and just bought my first vehicle from an ad I thought was a personal ad, not a dealer. It was a 2002 Chevy Silverado 1500. The ad said it had 104,000 miles in great condition and he was asking $4,900. The truck was parked in a yard. I test drove and thought it ran ok. Bottom line, when I went to pay him in cash and pick up the truck, the guy checked exempt on the odometer reading. I questioned that, but he just sloughed it off. He had all the paperwork, title, etc. in an envelope that he handed me after I signed the bill of sale. While signing the bill of sale he said he put down that the purchase price was $1200 so that his sales tax would be less. After 2 days I realized the driver side power window didn't work, nor did the AC. I also looked at the title to discover that this was actually sold through a used car dealer and that the odometer reading when he purchased it at an auction 2 weeks earlier read 257,000 miles. After 7 days of driving the truck, having the AC and window repaired, I found out that the vehicle had a blown gasket which is costing me $1200. What are my options for recouping my money? It is very apparent that he falsely advertised the mileage and the condition of the vehicle. Please help!

 

[davidmcbeth3]

The ad does not matter .. the title had the correct mileage (or close to it or greater than the ad) ? Tough case to prove .... what did the odometer say? His ad said 104K ... what did it read? Unless the odometer is wrong v. the title then you cannot say he tampered with it.

 

[musician3]

Odometer Fraud

The odometer reading is 104,000. The title when the dealer bought it at auction says: I certify that the odometer now reads EXEMPT. When I questioned him about this he just said yea, that's how we do it. I looked up 'exempt' on the SC DMV site and it states that you can list it as exempt if the vehicle is over 10 years old, which it isn't, or if it is over 15,000 lbs., which it isn't or if you do not have any records of odometer readings.

 

[davidmcbeth3]

The odometer reading is 104,000. The title when the dealer bought it at auction says: I certify that the odometer now reads EXEMPT. When I questioned him about this he just said yea, that's how we do it. I looked up 'exempt' on the SC DMV site and it states that you can list it as exempt if the vehicle is over 10 years old, which it isn't, or if it is over 15,000 lbs., which it isn't or if you do not have any records of odometer readings.

Sorry, I thought that the title had 275K before v 104K today.

The 275K was from an ad? That does not prove anything ... unless you can show the veh has 275K on it.

Marking it exempt? It might be 10 yrs old ... 2011 less 2002 = 9 but models come out early in the previous yr so its possible its 10 yrs old. Anyway, you had the odometer to read ... you must have seen it ; if not, oh well.

You bought the vehicle as is I assume ... unfortunately thats what it is; as-is.

This is why I do not sell my vehicles .. I either give them away or drive them to the junk yard ....

 

[musician3]

Odometer Fraud

I guess I am not stating this correctly. The odometer on the truck, and what I understood to be accurate, reads 104,000 miles. However, the title the dealer gave me that has the mileage recorded as 257,000 miles. In other words, the truck odometer shows 104,000 miles but the title (showing the odometer reading when dealer purchased truck from auction) shows 257,000.