Purchased a vehicle from a private owner with a history of bad deals..small claims?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arizona


I recently purchased a vehicle from a private owner. The title was NOT in the sellers name. And I have no bill of sale because Arizona law does NOT require such. Within 15 miles of the sellers home, while on the way home from purchase, the car blew a headgasket. The seller then wrote me 1 email telling me they will give me 500.00 for a new engine, and will replace the engine themselves. I havent heard from the guy in 2 weeks, even after multiple calls and emails. I did some research and found that the person has a history of doing "dirty deals". I have talked to 3 other people he has ripped off in the past. In these cases, people paid for stuff online, and he took their money. The seller also has bought and sold about 10+ cars in the past 6 months and not registered any of them in their name.Known as "title jumping" This sounds like an MVD issue, but I was wondering if this type of activity would possibly win me a case in small claims court? If I was able to prove that the seller has a history of deals gone wrong, and that they consistently do not abide by the laws of the state, along with their claim to pay me(in email format)do you think there would be any chance of them possibly paying for the damages incurred to the vehicle I purchased? Any advice would be helpful, and if I need to provide any other information I would be glad to do so. I have many pictures of previous vehicles the seller has sold with the fake license plate on the back, and also have contacts with previous people who have also threatened the seller with legal action...

Anthony

Did the seller know that the headgasket would blow in 15 miles?

His history of other deals having problems has no effect on your lack of due diligence when inspecting the vehicle prior to purchase.

Zigner said:

Did the seller know that the headgasket would blow in 15 miles?

His history of other deals having problems has no effect on your lack of due diligence when inspecting the vehicle prior to purchase.

Click to expand...

While I cannot prove that they KNEW it would blow within 15 miles, they did claim to have "replaced" many of the cooling parts in the car. Such as the "water pump, radiator and expansion tank".. The previous dealings and countless title jumpings would really hold no ground eh? man, this is depressing.

There is NO implied warranty of fitness for a used motor vehicle or any other used article of personal property.

So unless the seller gave an express warranty or you can conjure up some unlikely evidence that “he knew the head gasket was about to give”, you have no cause of action against the seller whatsoever.

Furthermore, none of the results of your canvassing as to the seller’s history of “shady” business dealings has any relevancy to your individual transaction and is therefore remote, inconsequential, irrelevant and inadmissible in a court of law!

Otherwise such a lawsuit would take months on months and bankroll upon bankroll to try as you brought in your stream of disgruntled customers and he produced an equal number of happy faces.

In the absence of an express warranty you bought the car “as is”! Period!