Establishing damages

[imaginarycat]

What is the name of your state? California

I'm suing the person who sold me my car for fraud--she sold me a pre-smashed car. lied freely (including in the advertisement for the car, which I fortuitously saved), etc. etc. A very clear-cut case of fraud, actually. So now my question:

What are good ways to go about proving the extent of my damages? I have some repair estimates from one auto repair shop, but they don't include an estimate of the (rather extensive) bodywork the car would need before they could even think about attempting the repairs they enumerate. The body shop (Maaco) I took the car to couldn't give me an estimate on that part without tearing the car apart, at a cost of several hundred dollars. I've called around to local salvage yards (yes, it's that bad--at least two or three thousand in regular repairs, plus probably that much or more in bodywork), but none of them is willing to give me an estimate unless I sell them the car that day, which I find a little odd, but I don't see that I can do anything about that. Car appraisals exist, but all that I found seem to be prohibitively expensive, and geared more toward classic cars. So how ought I to go about getting a document that convinces the court of the damages I sustained when I paid the seller what I did for this car?

Thanks in advance,
Jessica

 

[djohnson]

First, your etc etc might need to be explained. What was the 'lies' that you can prove? If it is that substatial how did you not know about it? Is it a used vehicle? Did you have someone else check it out before you purchased it? Is the contract an as is contract or does it have specific information or warranty? If no one will give you an estimate, and you feel you must file, (may not be reasonable to do so based on your answers to the above) then it is up to you to pay for it. You will have to prove the case, not them.

 

[imaginarycat]

I skipped the etc etc part as a lawyer-friend believes that what we have is a fraudulent sale, as we had already established that I didn't feel the need to get in an argument about whether I have a case or not--I'm already convinced that I do. I was merely wondering what sort of information one could use to "prove" a particular amount of money in damages is reasonable.

In my case, I'm limited to the small-claims max, which is already rather substantially less than I paid for the car; since I have every intention of returning the car to the seller in as good a condition as I got it in, I thought that forfeiting that much might be reasonable damages, as the car is not in driveable condition--it overheats readily, for one--not that the temperature gauge would tell me that, as it is clearly malfunctioning (the car has numerous little electrical problems like that, including a dead check engine light, which may or may not have been tampered with by the seller to hide some of the car's problems).

Not that that's all that's wrong with the car; the alignment is AFU from being in a major, undisclosed accident, the radiator is squished and leaks--needs top be replaced, but before that can be done the frame needs a wee bit more straightening than it got, the compressor is broken, the AC line is shot--basically, everything that isn't difficult to hide is wrong with the car, as the seller evidently smashed it and put it back together "out back" or otherwise on the down-low, getting it in a condition just good enough to foist onto an unsuspecting buyer. The seller himself was a mechanic, IIRC, and assured me that it was a good car, etc. It didn't occur to me that I was likely to be deliberately deceived (get this--I had to remove one of those decals of Calvin of & Hobbes fame praying at a cross from the back--trust Christians to tell the biggest lies). But all this is really just venting, as I know what my case is, I just need a little help figuring out how to thoroughly convince a judge that I deserve the amount of money I'm asking for. If I were to go to a "real" court I'd no doubt ask for punitive damages and a refund of the transfer taxes, etc, so the seller would really be getting off easy in this case. And may the seller be rewarded as his religion specifies he ought.

 

[djohnson]

It's hard to give you the advice you are looking for when given the information you have stated so far, I don't think you have that great a case? Did you check it, or have it checked out before purchasing? Did they warranty it or was it sold as is? How can you prove it was like that when you purchased it and you haven't done the damage? I'm glad you have an attorney telling you what a great case you have, but if it was that great why just go to small claims court where you would be losing money? Why not go to 'real' court, as you put it? You need to do more investigating on what your responsibilities were when you made the purchase.