Purchased a lemmon from a private owner.

[mikev7]

I live in new orleans louisiana and I purchased a 1997 Pontiac Trans AM from a private seller a year ago. I was told by the seller that the car was in excelent general condition with a few minor defects. Within the last year i have had to replace the engine, clutch, brake disks, and shoes, tie rod ends, engine ignition and wires. These are things that where brought up during purchase and he assured me that there was no issue. He also lied about things that where supposed to be included in the car that he took off before sale. There was no "as is" clause in the bill of sale.

Can I file a lawsuit against him?

 

[TheGeekess]

A used car, purchased 'as-is'* from a private seller and a year later. Didn't you have it inspected by a mechanic you trusted before handing over any moneys? No? Enjoy your car.

*By its very nature, a used car IS 'as-is', whether noted in the sale papers or not.

 

[mikev7]

But there was NO as is clause in the bill of sale.

 

[DRTDEVL]

But there was NO as is clause in the bill of sale.

There is no need for an "as-is" clause unless expressly required by your State's laws.

Why would you expect a 12 year old PONTIAC to not have issues? They are NOTORIOUS for issues which you could have pulled up with a simple Google search. From one owner's review:

Dislike-

Vibra-shaft- Code named for driveshafts from 1993-1997 Trans-Am/Firebird's with the WS9-Y87 tag.

7.5 10 Bolt Rear ends - garbage, weak structure, barely holds stock power. Some cases will hold the 300 whp the car lays down, some cases not.

Stock Clutch- hit or miss, known to last short periods of time due to its poor construction. anything over 400 whp i recoommend a clutch upgragde.

not a fan of the dashboard either.

Mullet and redneck jokes... galore..

So, let's recap your "issues" you want to sue the guy for.

engine - hmmm... a sports car with engine issues? Never...
clutch - Wear item.
brake disks - Wear item.
shoes - Wear item.
tie rod ends - Wear item.
engine ignition - Wear item.
wires - Wear item.

So, you have had 7 issues with a 12 year old car... 6 of them are common "wear items" designed to need periodic replacement, the seventh could have any number of causes from lack of maintenance on your part, lack of maintenance on his part, excessively high mileage, driving it like a hot rod, or possibly being a "Katrina Kar".

YOU HAVE NO CASE, AS-IS ON THE PAPERS OR NOT.

 

[mikev7]

Even if i paid high book value price for the car?

 

[Zigner]

Even if i paid high book value price for the car?

Even if, and or but!

 

[Antigone*]

Even if i paid high book value price for the car?

Mike,

Hey I've got this Yugo I'm selling - dirt cheap only $3,995

 

[mikev7]

Yea hehe, i knew the jokes would start. Thing is im very mechanically inclined. I a state licensed general contractor, electrical contractor and licnsed stage one ac repairman also. The car ran great for exactly one day. Then i started fixing things.

 

[Zigner]

Yea hehe, i knew the jokes would start. Thing is im very mechanically inclined. I a state licensed general contractor, electrical contractor and licnsed stage one ac repairman also. The car ran great for exactly one day. Then i started fixing things.

So, you even acknowledge that the car was running great when you bought it. You now have even LESS proof that the seller knew of any problems. Perhaps the seller got out in the nick of time.

 

[ariastar]

But there was NO as is clause in the bill of sale.

Nor was there a warranty.