Used car purchase

[E.Lyons]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
I purchased a vehicle in January of 2010 from a private party. At the time of purchase she supplied paperwork stating that the car succesfully passed a recent smog test. When I took the vehicle in to get a more current smog for dmv purposes the would not pass. Since purchasing the car i have had many problems other than just not passing smog. I have been trying to fix the problems with the car in order to be able to pass smog, but have had no luck. Unfortunately the latest problems that have been found put me completely out of my ability to do anything more to the car. Now at the time i purchased the vehicle i was unaware of the laws about who is responsible for smogging a vehicle when selling or purchasing. My question is whether or not too much time has passed for me to seek her out in violation of that law? In short i would like to know whether or not it would be benificial for me to seek filing some type of suit against her in small claims?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[FlyingRon]

If the seller had a certificate that shows they passed smog within 90 days of the sale, they complied with their requirement. The fact that you didn't register the car in a timely manner after that isn't their fault.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
I purchased a vehicle in January of 2010 from a private party. At the time of purchase she supplied paperwork stating that the car succesfully passed a recent smog test. When I took the vehicle in to get a more current smog for dmv purposes the would not pass. Since purchasing the car i have had many problems other than just not passing smog. I have been trying to fix the problems with the car in order to be able to pass smog, but have had no luck. Unfortunately the latest problems that have been found put me completely out of my ability to do anything more to the car. Now at the time i purchased the vehicle i was unaware of the laws about who is responsible for smogging a vehicle when selling or purchasing. My question is whether or not too much time has passed for me to seek her out in violation of that law? In short i would like to know whether or not it would be benificial for me to seek filing some type of suit against her in small claims?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

If the seller had a certificate that shows they passed smog within 90 days of the sale, they complied with their requirement. The fact that you didn't register the car in a timely manner after that isn't their fault.

As FlyingRon points out, if the smog certificate that the owner provided was done within 90 days prior to the vehicle purchase, they complied with their requirements. They have no liability here.

Did you happen to take the time to have the car fully inspected by a mechanic prior to completing your purchase? Because if you did not, then there is no way to know whether or not the smog certification provided was or was not valid. And if you didn't choose to have the car inspected by your mechanic, there would be no way for you to have made an informed decision as to whether or not the car was fit for operation. That would be on YOU if you chose to purchase the car, since most used vehicle purchases from private parties are considered "As Is" sales, unless of course, they gave you some written guarantee of condition (which it sounds like they did not).

Bottom line, enjoy your new car.