Purchase of vehicle from private owner

[DSomes]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?Tennessee
I purchased a vehicle from a private owner in the next state over from me. It drove fine on my way back home (3 hr drive). I drove it some the next day and then the transmission stopped working they never disclosed anything was wrong with the car. Can I get them to give me my money back?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?Tennessee
I purchased a vehicle from a private owner in the next state over from me. It drove fine on my way back home (3 hr drive). I drove it some the next day and then the transmission stopped working they never disclosed anything was wrong with the car. Can I get them to give me my money back?

Did you have the vehicle inspected by a trusted mechanic prior to purchase?

Did you specifically ask about the transmission or did the seller specifically say the transmission was okay?

The odds of getting a refund seem slim, at best. Most used car sales in most states are "as is" sales, which is why an inspection is a wise investment. In what state was the car purchased?

 

[DSomes]

Did you have the vehicle inspected by a trusted mechanic prior to purchase?

Did you specifically ask about the transmission or did the seller specifically say the transmission was okay?

The odds of getting a refund seem slim, at best. Most used car sales in most states are "as is" sales, which is why an inspection is a wise investment.

No I did not have a mechanic inspect it, I trusted them with what they said. So basically there is nothing I can do? I am just out the money.

 

[quincy]

No I did not have a mechanic inspect it, I trusted them with what they said. So basically there is nothing I can do? I am just out the money.

I edited my post and apparently you didn't see my edit: In what state did you purchase the car?

 

[DSomes]

I edited my post and apparently you didn't see my edit: In what state did you purchase the car?

purchased in Tennessee
live in Alabama

 

[quincy]

purchased in Tennessee
live in Alabama

Well, neither Alabama nor Tennessee have lemon laws for used cars. Even in those states that do, the lemon laws usually don't extend to cover private sales.

Does the vehicle you purchased have a "branded" title?

 

[DSomes]

Well, neither Alabama nor Tennessee have lemon laws for used cars. Even in those states that do, the lemon laws usually don't extend to cover private sales.

Does the vehicle you purchased have a "branded" title?

What is a Branded Title? They signed over the title for me to put it in my name

 

[tranquility]

Why did the transmission fail?

As quincy wrote, private vehicle sales are generally "as is" where you take the item at its face. That's why a private mechanic is worth the money to assess the vehicle. Also, any promises made in response to a specific question may have some warranty attached. Otherwise, promises can either be a factual representation or "puffery" depending on the context. The context and the promise would be very difficult to prove--especially since they were probably not mentioned in any writing you made to memorialize the sale.

That leave us with fraud and why the first question is important. Transmissions fail. A hard ride of three hours, depending on factors, could be very taxing on a transmission and could have it fail with no knowledge of weakness on the part of the seller. (That is not to argue you rode it hard and put it away wet, its just that three hours of actual driving introduce many factors that are not easy to assess.) The bottom line is that you are unable, absent a warranty of some sort to claim that because it failed soon after you got it, the failure is something that would have been known by the seller. That's why you have to look at why the transmission failed.

I don't know much about vehicles. I know the gas goes in the back in the hole I've added fuel to many times. I am informed and believe, oil goes in up front. Somewhere under the hood I believe. That being said, in the olden days I believe a person could put sawdust into a transmission to keep a failing transmission alive a bit longer. I don't know how it worked and I think it has not worked for decades; but, I'm sure there are other tricks that can be done today to trick a person into thinking there is not a problem with the transmission when there is. At least for a bit.

Take what you should consider as your vehicle to a mechanic. See what happened. If he has suspicions about what happened or if it has been recently "fixed", we might think further.

 

[quincy]

What is a Branded Title? They signed over the title for me to put it in my name

A branded title states on the title itself that the vehicle is a salvage vehicle or a junk vehicle or a rebuilt vehicle. If you didn't notice this on the title you received, the chances are pretty good the vehicle you purchased has a clean title. Sellers can be restricted under state laws in what they can do with their salvage, rebuilt or junk vehicles.

I asked about the title only because, outside of pleading with a seller to take back the car and give a refund, there are few options available to a purchaser of a used car when the used car turns out to have major problems. You appear to have a used car with major problems and not much to do about it except spend money to fix the transmission.

As a note: Pleading with the seller could work - but the seller does not have to agree to take the car back and give you a refund.

 

[DSomes]

A branded title states on the title itself that the vehicle is a salvage vehicle or a junk vehicle or a rebuilt vehicle. If you didn't notice this on the title you received, the chances are pretty good the vehicle you purchased has a clean title. Sellers can be restricted under state laws in what they can do with their salvage, rebuilt or junk vehicles.

I asked about the title only because, outside of pleading with a seller to take back the car and give a refund, there are few options available to a purchaser of a used car when the used car turns out to have major problems. You appear to have a used car with major problems and not much to do about it except spend money to fix the transmission.

As a note: Pleading with the seller could work - but the seller does not have to agree to take the car back and give you a refund.

Thanks for the info I guess it is a live and learn and to never make that mistake again

 

[quincy]

Thanks for the info I guess it is a live and learn and to never make that mistake again

Yes. That is sure what it sounds like.

The first car I ever purchased was a live, learn and never make that mistake again car. It was an expensive lesson but one learned well.

Good luck, DSomes.