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Bought car off Ebay. not as described and has undisclosed damage

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aced2424

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CT

about 1.5 months ago i purchased a car off Ebay. i was described as having brand new parts including an engine, clutch, water pump, timing belt, and other things. the car was pictured as being in good condition with minimal rust. the item described was decribed as having no damage and in good running condition. my father went to go pick up the car for me the day the transaction went through. he is not a mechanic and knows little about cars. he paid the seller the full amount with a bank check and registered the car and drove it home. the car had a CEL on and said it was from the PCV valve needing to be replaced. he said that that was the only problem. after my dad returned home with the car i drove it. the engine idled extremely high for the first 5 hours or so of operation. after the first 5 hours of driving, the idle dropped to almost 0 and the car barely ran. the car has been sitting in my driveway since then. i took the car to a shop to find out what was wrong with it. they said that there is a blown head gasket, needs new piston rings, has a rusted exhaust system that needs replacing, clutch is slipping, and transmission needs work. there is also a lot of rust under the hood on the strut tower tops and undercarriage rust on the frames. the rust is so bad on the strut towers that they are deemed not safe for operation and an observer can see straight through them to the tires. the items description did not show any of these rust damages or make mention to them. the car is not even registered by me yet because it can not pass emissions and i am unable to obtain a title without passing emissions. is there any legal action i can take to get rid of this car and get my money back considering the item was not as pictured or described and has unspecified damages?

link to auction listing

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm38%26_nkw%3D230295085245%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&item=230295085245&viewitem=]eBay Motors: Mitsubishi : Eclipse (item 230295085245 end time Oct-02-08 10:50:21 PDT)
 


racer72

Senior Member
Did you see this in the auction listing?

Any inspection is welcome before bidding (with prior arrangement, please e-mail). Vehicle is sold as-is, without warranty.
The time to have had the vehicle inspected was prior too, not after, the purtchase. It is after all a 12 year old car. Enjoy your car.
 

aced2424

Junior Member
Did you see this in the auction listing?



The time to have had the vehicle inspected was prior too, not after, the purtchase. It is after all a 12 year old car. Enjoy your car.
if it was in the condition pictured and included the brand new parts that were listed, then an inspection would not have been necessary
 

aced2424

Junior Member
Yes, it would have been necessary.
he was supposed to sell me a car that was supposed to be in mint condition and have brand new parts, as stated in the listing, and have no rust or body rot shown in the pictures, and he made no mention to the engine damage that is apparent. the car has thousands or dollars worth of damage. keep in mind that an Ebay contract is legally binding and should have been fulfilled according to the description
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
he was supposed to sell me a car that was supposed to be in mint condition and have brand new parts, as stated in the listing, and have no rust or body rot shown in the pictures, and he made no mention to the engine damage that is apparent. the car has thousands or dollars worth of damage. keep in mind that an Ebay contract is legally binding and should have been fulfilled according to the description
Car was sold as-is and you were allowed ample opportunity to have it inspected. You chose not to.
What steps have you taken through eBay?
 

aced2424

Junior Member
i contacted ebay's vehicle protection policy and theyre investigating it. they only fix the car though. i dont want it due to the amount of rust and rot on the body and misaligned body panels. the car is in no condition to be driven. also, the ebay listing said the car was inspected and had a clean car fax
 

msiron

Member
What don't you understand? eBay will not help you here and you didn't even pay through eBay.... they will tell you to get lost... the seller followed all guidelines and covered themselves. You own the car, period. Don't like or want it? Then sell it.
 

aced2424

Junior Member
What don't you understand? eBay will not help you here and you didn't even pay through eBay.... they will tell you to get lost... the seller followed all guidelines and covered themselves. You own the car, period. Don't like or want it? Then sell it.
they didnt follow all the guidelines. they gave the car a false and inaccurate description. thats misrepresentation
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
i contacted ebay's vehicle protection policy and theyre investigating it. they only fix the car though.
But, you agreed to it.

i dont want it due to the amount of rust and rot on the body and misaligned body panels. the car is in no condition to be driven. also, the ebay listing said the car was inspected and had a clean car fax
Oh, did I miss the fact that the seller claimed it was inspected? Well, you're in luck. I'm sure you asked for a copy of said inspection prior to buying the car, right? I mean, that goes doubly since you decided to rely on that inspection instead of having your own done...
 

aced2424

Junior Member
But, you agreed to it.



Oh, did I miss the fact that the seller claimed it was inspected? Well, you're in luck. I'm sure you asked for a copy of said inspection prior to buying the car, right? I mean, that goes doubly since you decided to rely on that inspection instead of having your own done...
no. didnt go pick up the car personally. he said all of the documents and receipts for the work and inspection were going to be given to me when i go pick up the car. my dad went to go pick it up and never got any of this. the car is in terrible condition compared to the listing pictures and description and has damage that was unmentioned. isnt this grounds enough for a lawsuit?
 
if it was in the condition pictured and included the brand new parts that were listed, then an inspection would not have been necessary
Are you saying that the car does not have the new parts that the seller listed in the auction? If so, then you are correct that this is a case of misrepresentation, and you could successfully sue to rescind the contract. However, before filing a lawsuit you should be sure that you're correct. If the seller produces receipts that show that the new parts were installed, then you're out of luck even if the car doesn't run as smoothly as you anticipated.
 

aced2424

Junior Member
Are you saying that the car does not have the new parts that the seller listed in the auction? If so, then you are correct that this is a case of misrepresentation, and you could successfully sue to rescind the contract. However, before filing a lawsuit you should be sure that you're correct. If the seller produces receipts that show that the new parts were installed, then you're out of luck even if the car doesn't run as smoothly as you anticipated.
yes. the guy said the engine was brand new with less than 300 miles on it. the engine is not brand new and the guy never provided any of the receipts for the parts that he said were new. even if the engine in parts were replaced, they do not have 300 miles on them because a car with brand new motor and parts would not have a blopwn headgasket, be in need of new piston rings, or have random misfires due to a faulty ignition system. as it stands the car is barely drivable down the road and Ebay's insurance company is investigating the claim
 

VJW

Junior Member
This Happened to us too

We also bought a car on Ebay and it was misrepresented. The dealer told me the ac just needed Frion and it turned out it didn't even have an air conditioner. There were numerous other problems that added up to about $4000, which happened to be what we paid for the car. Anyway, we filed a complaint first thru ebay, no help there. So we filed a complaint thru the Illinois Attorney General and guess what? Turns out the guy had other complaints against him and after 4 years we won our case! We were awarded $4000 and we keep the car. Now the bad part we haven't actually seen any of the money yet (see my other post - Bad ebay purchase fought and won) but at least he can never sell on ebay again and never deal in cars at all. You might consider filing a complaint as we did. Be prepared to be patient, like I said it took over 4 years.
 

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