Who to sue?

[saratoga74]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia...Fairfax County.

Hi everyone. About a year and a half ago I bought a car through an add in the papers. The person, who is a dealer, at the time of the sale told me that the car was clean and provided carfax to prove it. Not too long ago, I was ready to sell the car and once I pulled the carfax, it stated that it was in an accident. That means that the initial price was inflated and I am about to take a big hit....if I can somehow sell the car. So I intend to sue the person. My dilemma is who to sue? The person who sold me the car or the person to whom this corporation is registered to? I still have the bill of sale and it has the corporation name on top. Signature is by the person who sold me the car but he is not the owner of the dealership/corporation.

I would really appreciate if someone can help me out. These people need to be criminally investigated and this is the least I can do.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia...Fairfax County.

Hi everyone. About a year and a half ago I bought a car through an add in the papers. The person, who is a dealer, at the time of the sale told me that the car was clean and provided carfax to prove it. Not too long ago, I was ready to sell the car and once I pulled the carfax, it stated that it was in an accident. That means that the initial price was inflated and I am about to take a big hit....if I can somehow sell the car. So I intend to sue the person. My dilemma is who to sue? The person who sold me the car or the person to whom this corporation is registered to? I still have the bill of sale and it has the corporation name on top. Signature is by the person who sold me the car but he is not the owner of the dealership/corporation.

I would really appreciate if someone can help me out. These people need to be criminally investigated and this is the least I can do.

I take it that this was a used car purchase?

All used vehicle sales, whether private party or dealer sales, are considered "AS-IS" unless the seller provides you with a WRITTEN warranty or guarantee of fitness.

Sellers misrepresent and lie about the used vehicles they are trying to get rid of all the time. For this reason, you should ALWAYS do your own research and inspection of the vehicle prior to purchasing. You hire your own PRIVATE mechanic and have them give the vehicle a full mechanical and visual inspection, so that you know exactly what condition that vehicle is really in before you purchase it.

While it's likely that the dealer lied about having a valid Carfax report on the car, unless you have the actual report they showed you and pulled one yourself to compare, you will never be able to prove it. Had you hired your own mechanic to inspect before buying, they could have run the Carfax, and/or they could have visually inspected to tell you that the vehicle had been in an accident.

Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do at this point (and ESPECIALLY not a year-and-a-half later). The dealer will just tell you that he sold the car "AS-IS", and that will be that. You would have to prove the the dealer failed to disclose, and there is little chance of that happening.

You can certainly sue, but it is unlikely you would win.

 

[Free_Advice]

Unless you can show that the carfax they they showed you (u get a copy of it?) was altered in some manner then you will be SOL (luck). If altered, then fraud may be attached.

Proving it may require an expert from carfax to testify to the carfax's document being altered.

Otherwise it is an as-is sale. Anything they say I always have them attach a statement that lists what they said and that it is known to be fact & if found not to be, then the sale can be cancelled by the buyer if desired.

And the seller has 2 options: 1) sign the addendum to the sale contract or 2) admit what they just told be is really not true.

 

[HomeGuru]

I agree with the above posters.
Answer to the question: you sue the Seller as listed on your purchase contract, in this case the dealer/corporation. You can name the salesperson personally also, especially if he was the dealer.

 

[saratoga74]

Thank you all for taking the time to answer. I really appreciate it. Thank you HomeGuru for specifically answering my question. I do have the original carfax. I understand that this was an as is sale but this kind of business needs to be brought out there. I don't mind paying the fee just to drag their asses to the court and illuminate this kind of dealings. And I'd pay out of my pocket to have the criminal investigation started against these folks. I don't say these things (only) out of spite. There is some additional dirt that I have found out.

 

[sandyclaus]

Thank you all for taking the time to answer. I really appreciate it. Thank you HomeGuru for specifically answering my question. I do have the original carfax. I understand that this was an as is sale but this kind of business needs to be brought out there. I don't mind paying the fee just to drag their asses to the court and illuminate this kind of dealings. And I'd pay out of my pocket to have the criminal investigation started against these folks. I don't say these things (only) out of spite. There is some additional dirt that I have found out.

Are you sure that the original Carfax (or the one that is purported to be the original) actually BELONGS to the vehicle you purchased? Does all the identifying information match between the two? Is it missing any pages? The dealer can always claim they made a mistake, grabbed the wrong documents, didn't copy all of the pages, and they would be off the hook. In order to PROVE fraud, you would have to prove that this was their INTENT, or that there was a pattern of this conduct.

Keep in mind also that Carfax is not always 100% accurate. Sometimes an accident is so minor, or a private mechanic or body shop does the work, so no one ever reports it. As Carfax reports are not always the most reliable sources of information, again, you should ALWAYS have your own private mechanic inspect the vehicle so you can get an ACCURATE reporting on the mechanical, structural, and cosmetic condition of the vehicle. The fact that you did not could spell trouble if you decide to pursue a lawsuit.

Because you admit that it was an AS-IS sale, the burden will be on YOU to prove that the vehicle wasn't as the dealer documented it to be. I'm just not convinced you have that evidence.