Engine seller misrepresented engine warranty

[grmandrkm]

What is the name of your state? MD, but transaction took place in NJ

I purchased a marine engine from a NJ business that stated in a published advertisement that the engine came with a 6 mo. warranty. Since the purchase was made in Nov 2000, and the engine would not be installed or operated until the following spring, the seller agreed to submit a request to the engine manufacturer to initiate the express written warranty coverage in April 2001. The entire purchase was contingent upon a verbal agreement that we would recieve the warranty. After contacting the seller in April 2001, the seller promised to take care of delivering to us the express written warranty from the manufacturer. However, the seller suddenly became non-responsive to our phone calls. Later the seller blamed their non-responsiveness on an illness within the company, but they still did not deliver the warranty. Since I spent a considerable amount of money having a mechanic install the engine while waiting in good faith for the warranty, I thought it would be impractical to remove the engine and return it to the seller and forfeit the boating season. Therefore, I operated the boat while still hoping to obtain the written warranty. On August 28th, 2001, within the supposed 6 month warranty period, and after only 3 hours of operation, the engine failed and suffered catastrophic damage. I later learned from the engine manufacturer that this particular high performance engine was specifically not covered under any warranty. Now, after writing to the seller, he claims that the engine listed in the advertisement (which I saved in case I had trouble obtaining the warranty later) is not the engine I bought, and that their ad referred to a different manufacturers engine only. Ironically, the other engine manufacturer doesn't even make an engine with the specifications of the engine in the ad, and the one shown on my sales receipt, which are identical. Finally, I just learned that the engine manufacturer has record that the seller contacted them on May 22, 2001 trying to initiate the warranty starting April 5, 2001, but that they were told it wasn't covered by a warranty. It is obvious that when the seller found out he had made a mistake by assuming the typical warranty offered by the manufacturer on most of their non-high performance engines applied to the engine in question, he tried to assert that he never offered any warranty.

I have complaints in with the NJ BBB and Attorney General but am convinced I will probably end up pursuing this in the Special section of the NJ Superior Court, since I will be suing for more than is allowed in small claims court. My specific questions are:

1. Do I have a case?
2. Is this a civil case or should I have this case criminally investigated as well (my primary goal is to collect the purchase price of the engine - $5K).
3. What other damages may I be eligible to collect?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Rob

 

[grmandrkm]

anyone? please?

 

[ellencee]

ok--so maybe this will get someone else to respond, if only to point out where I err--
even if the engine had been under warrenty, warrenty usually means from date of purchase, not date of first use, and I think that would worth finding out--does the company offer warrenty on its products from date of first use or date of purchase.
High performance things usually require regular use and regular maintenance, kinda like the MG sport's car of the 60's--drive it today, tune and fix it tonight. I would think that storing it without providing upkeep and maintenance would not be what a high performance engine needs.
And--you walked out of that showroom after having made a purchase for an engine not under warrenty nor guaranteed by the manufacture to even qualify for a warrenty. Buyer beware may be the term for this.
As for ads, making an error in an advertisement is not, by itself, grounds for a claim of misrepresentation, or 'bait and switch'. Nearly everyday in at least one of the newspapers that I read, I see notices from businesses, or the newspaper itself, apologizing for an error on sales, prices, availability, models available, etc.
I think you took a gamble and lost and do not have any recourse through the court. The manufacturer may be willing to talk to you about a product compromize or repair discount. The manufacturer doesn't want the reputation of selling poor quality engines.
Whatcha think?

 

[grmandrkm]

ellencee,

thanks for your response. i realize that validity of my complaint may be hard to prove to a judge in civil court without a written contract. and, your input provides me with some insight on some of the questions i may get from the seller or judge. however, i think the following facts can be argued against some of the points you made.

i've checked with the manufacturer of the engine, and they informed me that it is fairly common for them to initiate warranty coverage for their engines on the date they are installed, and not necessarily the day they are purchased. so, when the warranty should have started is not so much an issue as the fact that the engine was not entitled to any warranty coverage at all from the manufacturer. my dispute is entirely with the seller for blatantly misrepresenting (verbally and via advertisement) that there was a manufacturer's warranty.

second, just because an engine is considered high performance does not necessarily mean it requres constant adjustment. for example, there are classes in boat racing that use engines from another manufacturer but are of comparable power to the one i purchased, that are sealed so that they cannot be modified, and require very limited maintenance. this was not an exotic engine by any means, and is similar to those found in many performance boats.

third, i am not really arguing that the seller was advertising falsely (except to counter his blatant lie that i didn't purchase the engine advertised). his advertisement agrees perfectly with the purchase i made. he realizes he made a mistake in assuming the engine had a warranty, quite possibly through gross negligence, and is now simply resorting using lies to cover it up.

finally, i really don't think there is much the manufacturer of the engine is willing to do. the manufacturer specifically does not provide and warranty on there performance engines in this category. i could write bad things about their product, but as i've said, my issue is entirely with the engine seller for his fraudulent activity.

thanks again,

rob

 

[grmandrkm]

accidentally posted twice