owned it for 10min before the engine packed it in, do I have a case?

I am hoping someone can help me. On friday I purchased a car from a private seller at the time of purchase he told me the car was in solid mechanical condition with lots of recient work and should last forever. I put the plate on the car and began to drive home. I drove for about 10 min before giant clouds of smoke started exiting the exaust pipe. My question is if I take him to small claims court do I have a chance to win? The bill of sale says sold as is but I feel he lied about the condition of the car when he said it was in solid mechanical condition. I feel he did know there was a problem with the car and lied to make a sale. The seller has been avoiding my telephone calls (I have been very polite and non threatening) and I feel this is a sign that he knew all along the car was a problem and he lied. I know private sales are a case of buyer beware but I feel 10 min is an unreasonable amount of time to assume I broke it or that it is just my bad luck. Please help
Aaron

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally Posted by aamilo

I am hoping someone can help me. On friday I purchased a car from a private seller at the time of purchase he told me the car was in solid mechanical condition with lots of recient work and should last forever. I put the plate on the car and began to drive home. I drove for about 10 min before giant clouds of smoke started exiting the exaust pipe. My question is if I take him to small claims court do I have a chance to win? The bill of sale says sold as is but I feel he lied about the condition of the car when he said it was in solid mechanical condition. I feel he did know there was a problem with the car and lied to make a sale. The seller has been avoiding my telephone calls (I have been very polite and non threatening) and I feel this is a sign that he knew all along the car was a problem and he lied. I know private sales are a case of buyer beware but I feel 10 min is an unreasonable amount of time to assume I broke it or that it is just my bad luck. Please help
Aaron

My response:

As soon as you signed the Bill of Sale, that car became yours. It didn't matter if it was 10 minutes or 10 days. That car was yours. It's called "Caveat Emptor". Saying "the car was in solid mechanical condition" is called "puffing", and is not legally enforceable.

If you go to court, the judge will tell you the same thing, and you can ask him what these terms mean. And then, you'll walk out of the courthouse just as empty-handed as when you arrived.

IAAL