Purchased F150, Told Zero Problems, New Trans and Many More Issues

[broncojared]

Vehicle purchased over Craigslist. Seller from California and buyer (me) from Arizona.

Long story short...

Found F150 on craigslist and during the inquiry I asked the seller if there were any problems at all with the truck. When I asked the seller this her reply was, "No the truck has no mechanical issues at all you can test drive it if u come out..."

I test drove the vehicle and so on. I didn't have it checked out by a mechanic (whoops). Vehicle made it maybe 60 miles into the trip back to Arizona and the trans fault code popped on. It barely made it back. I then took it to a transmission shop at which time I found out that this truck had been wrecked and most likely totaled due to the extent of undercarriage damage. I had to have the transmission completely rebuilt. The frame was so poorly fixed from a wreck the transmission cross member had been re-manufactured to make the transmission fit. In addition, the transmission cooling lines had been tampered with.

When I purchased the vehicle the title was in another persons name. The seller has a bill of sale from that owner to herself. She then gave me a bill of sale from her to me. The "bill of sale" is the California form 262 which is a simple reassignment form. The bill of sale portion, as far as I can tell, says nothing about the sale being "as-is".

My question is that if she promised the vehicle free from defect in her email (writing) and it didn't make it back to Phoenix even, do I have a case against her? It seems to me that there is no possible way she couldn't have known of an issue with the transmission as it only made it maybe 60 miles. The vehicle had been sitting at the lot she had it stored for long enough the tires to brakes had cobwebs...

Thanks for your help in advanced.

 

[swalsh411]

You have no recourse. You purchased the car as-is because there was no written warranty. (used vehicle purchases from private parties are assumed to be as-is in every State unless there is a written warranty provided by the seller). The transmission problem may not have been known to the seller.

Since this is not a CA to CA sale the smog certificate requirement does not apply.

You were very foolish not to have the truck inspected by a mechanic especially since you knew it had been sitting idle for some time.

Enjoy your new truck.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

It's a fine distinction, but the transmission code was not on when she sold you the truck, it went on 60 miles later. You will need an expert to testify in order to prove that the problem existed when you picked up the vehicle. Even then, you would have to prove that the problem had manifested itself enough that she would have to have had knowledge of the problem.

I suspect the cost of obtaining that testimony would exceed the cost of the transmission.

 

[FlyingRon]

Proving the problem existed when he bought the truck isn't going to help. It's an AS-IS sale.
He'd have to prove not only that the problem existed, but the seller knew about it and actively concealed it. There's no DISCLOSURE requirement.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

"No the truck has no mechanical issues at all you can test drive it if u come out..."

By your own admission, you drove the truck 60 miles and only noticed a problem due to the transmission light coming on. You did not buy a new vehicle. Old vehicles are repaired, this may include crappy but effective repairs.