Car dealer lied-Please advice next steps

[karan2405]

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

Hi,
I recently purchased 2011 Honda CRV certified car on 1/12/2013 from dealership.He sold me car with clean carfax report.Dealer gave me carfax report.I financed the car at higher APR and thought to refinance in couple of weeks.

After couple of weeks, I reached to leading company for refinance.They disclosed that car had accidental history in Auto check report.The car had left side collision in April 2012.

When I called sales manager,he said please come we will switch the car for you and we can make new deal.

Just want to know in case things get ugly and he didn't agree to take the car back which he sold by telling lie to me what should I do next?
Please provide expert advice.

 

[Antigone*]

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

Hi,
I recently purchased 2011 Honda CRV certified car on 1/12/2013 from dealership.He sold me car with clean carfax report.Dealer gave me carfax report.I financed the car at higher APR and thought to refinance in couple of weeks.

After couple of weeks, I reached to leading company for refinance.They disclosed that car had accidental history in Auto check report.The car had left side collision in April 2012.

When I called sales manager,he said please come we will switch the car for you and we can make new deal.

Just want to know in case things get ugly and he didn't agree to take the car back which he sold by telling lie to me what should I do next?
Please provide expert advice.

What proof do you have that the dealership lied?

 

[karan2405]

I just have a CARFAX from dealership (with some details written by sales person).The dealer mentioned that there is no accidental history.

Another proof I have is:
Recorded the last conversation with sales manager where he states that we will switch you car ,payoff current car amount and start new deal.
I am not sure its enough or not.

Tomorrow I am planning to visit them.So, in case things get ugly what should I do?

 

[Antigone*]

I just have a CARFAX from dealership (with some details written by sales person).The dealer mentioned that there is no accidental history.

Another proof I have is:
Recorded the last conversation with sales manager where he states that we will switch you car ,payoff current car amount and start new deal.
I am not sure its enough or not.

Tomorrow I am planning to visit them.So, in case things get ugly what should I do?

That is not proof that the dealer lied to you. How do you know that the dealer hid that information from you. The CarFax said there was no damage so the dealer based their information on that.

The dealer offered to make things right in light of new information. How is that lying to you?

 

[karan2405]

Here is car background:
Dealer leased the car to first owner Dec 2011.
First owner returned the car in Nov 2012 .
Car again put on sale in Dec 2012.
I purchased in Jan 2012

My understanding is when dealer took the car from first owner.They should have checked all reports from CARFAX,AUTOCHECK,Police reports/cases.
They do not take car back just based on CARFAX.If it is not true then I agree with you.They didn't lie.

But if they do proper checking then they should know about it and they lied to me

Based on Autocheck the car is having police report case number and accident history.How come dealer do not know that ..its really strange for me?

Sorry,this is my first preowned auto buying experience,so I might be missing something

 

[tranquility]

My understanding is when dealer took the car from first owner.They should have checked all reports from CARFAX,AUTOCHECK,Police reports/cases.
They do not take car back just based on CARFAX.If it is not true then I agree with you.They didn't lie.

My understanding is that the dealer cannot intentionally or negligently misrepresent the vehicle's condition to you. You have made no case they intentionally misrepresented the vehicle to you as they may not have known. (At least to the level you'd need to prove.) But, were they negligent?

Do you really think they have the DUTY to check EVERY SINGLE POSSIBILITY to find out if the car was in an accident or damaged in any way? What if it was not an accident, but the previous owner never changed the oil, thus shortening the life? Do they need to go to all 50 states' police reports in case the person drove outside of the state? Should they go to the neighbors and question them to see how often the car was washed or waxed? At some point, the dealer has fulfilled their duty under any theory of negligence. But, what is worse, should they have a duty to YOU?

When they took the car in to the dealership, did they have any duty to you (A future buyer they don't even know yet.) to make sure the car was in good condition or, what condition it was in at all? I don't think so. Sure, if a bank were to make a loan to the dealer to maintain the car in in the inventory, there might be some duty to the bank (More likely, some contractual duty.) to check out the car appropriately. But, I don't think it is owed to you. What you are probably getting is some type of guarantee from the dealer based upon their representation. If they just gave the carfax, that is just giving you what that report said. If they told you it was not in an accident, and then showed you the report as proof, they may have made some guarantee about the condition of the car you could rely on. It will all depend on the facts.

But, be nice. You don't want to go to court over this. The cost could be as much as the car is worth. A Pyrrhic victory at best. Be calm and tell them what you expect. If there is some pushback, you might bring up the misrepresentation of the salesperson. But, when you start really thinking about court, you have parol evidence rule, caveat emptor (your duty to check out the car to all the places you think they should have), the probable statutory time to check out the vehicle with your mechanic (CE again) to consider as well. Your contract will be the most important thing, read it carefully. Right now it seems they will fix the problem. That's a win! Anticipating what might happen is certainly careful--pity you were not as careful up front.

 

[swalsh411]

My understanding is when dealer took the car from first owner.They should have checked all reports from CARFAX,AUTOCHECK,Police reports/cases.
They do not take car back just based on CARFAX.If it is not true then I agree with you.They didn't lie.

What are you smoking and can I have some? The dealership has no obligation to run any sort of vehicle history whatsoever. They can choose to, as a method to get you to agree to buy the vehicle and possibly pay more, but they aren't required to. Unless you can show they intentionally modified the carfax then you have no evidence they withheld anything from you.

I wouldn't expect any special treatment when you take the car back. They may try to offer you an even more profitable deal for them. You should also get any car you are looking at inspected by an indepedent mechanic.