What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois.
I purchased a used '96 Nissan Sentra in Illinois over 2 years ago for $4,500 and it was recently totalled in a car accident. The insurance company reduced the settlement by $527 because they said it had a branded title. I showed them that the title was clean but they had an Experian report that showed it was a Georgia flood car.
Several people have told me that the dealership should have known it was a salvaged car and told me.
My feeling is that the car would not have been worth $4,500 had they revealed it's history. The way I read state law, I believe the dealer is guilty of a Class 3 or Class 4 felony. I don't care about that, I would just like to have a fair settlement.
The problem is, I can't determine what the car might have sold for if the dealer revealed the car's true history.
I found some history of law suits against State Farm in Ohio of selling branded titled cars and they paid $1300.
I was thinking of asking the dealer for $1,300 and if he didn't settle take him to small claims court. My wife thinks I should ask for more and just take him to court - not give him a chance to settle ahead of time.
Any thoughts?
I purchased a used '96 Nissan Sentra in Illinois over 2 years ago for $4,500 and it was recently totalled in a car accident. The insurance company reduced the settlement by $527 because they said it had a branded title. I showed them that the title was clean but they had an Experian report that showed it was a Georgia flood car.
Several people have told me that the dealership should have known it was a salvaged car and told me.
My feeling is that the car would not have been worth $4,500 had they revealed it's history. The way I read state law, I believe the dealer is guilty of a Class 3 or Class 4 felony. I don't care about that, I would just like to have a fair settlement.
The problem is, I can't determine what the car might have sold for if the dealer revealed the car's true history.
I found some history of law suits against State Farm in Ohio of selling branded titled cars and they paid $1300.
I was thinking of asking the dealer for $1,300 and if he didn't settle take him to small claims court. My wife thinks I should ask for more and just take him to court - not give him a chance to settle ahead of time.
Any thoughts?