I don't know how to argue negligence in Civil Court

[dev_null]

About a year a go I bought a used car from a private dealer "as is". According to the California DMV, this the type of transaction doesn't fall under the lemon laws. So I asked an attorney in Berkeley about this. She told me that I need to prove negligence. However, she couldn't give me anymore advice because this wasn't her area of law.

I don't know how to argue and prove this in small claims court. The problem is that the guy was probably aware of the problems. This is because he changed the car alternator before he sold me that car. This means he was probably aware of things like the oil and power steering leaks. But I don't know how to actually prove this point in count.

And in terms of recovering damages, what I want to do is maybe tried to get him under an implied warranty? I don't know if I can do this. I did pay him cash. So in other words, the check wasn't made out to the dealer itself. I don't know though because it's been 13 months and I've only put 3000 miles on the car. However, every 600 miles I'm doing another $500 to $1000 dollar repair job.

 

[quincy]

About a year a go I bought a used car from a private dealer "as is". According to the California DMV, this the type of transaction doesn't fall under the lemon laws. So I asked an attorney in Berkeley about this. She told me that I need to prove negligence. However, she couldn't give me anymore advice because this wasn't her area of law.

I don't know how to argue and prove this in small claims court. The problem is that the guy was probably aware of the problems. This is because he changed the car alternator before he sold me that car. This means he was probably aware of things like the oil and power steering leaks. But I don't know how to actually prove this point in count.

And in terms of recovering damages, what I want to do is maybe tried to get him under an implied warranty? I don't know if I can do this. I did pay him cash. So in other words, the check wasn't made out to the dealer itself. I don't know though because it's been 13 months and I've only put 3000 miles on the car. However, every 600 miles I'm doing another $500 to $1000 dollar repair job.

You have an interesting posting history on this forum, dev_null.

With personal auto sales, the buyer is always advised to have their own trusted mechanic examine the vehicle prior to purchase. Although not all vehicle problems will be discovered this way, the mechanic often can discover ones that make a difference in a purchase decision (or, at least, the price of purchase).

I am not seeing a claim of negligence that could easily be pursued against the seller, based strictly on what you have said.

 

[Zigner]

You bought the car as-is. I'm not seeing ANYTHING showing that the dealer misrepresented (that's what you are actually concerned about) anything. In fact, if you read your contract, I'm sure it's clear that this is an "as-is" sale and that the dealer makes no representations about the vehicle beyond what is in the contract.

 

[Just Blue]

Frankly, after the hissy fit OP threw because he didn't get a response from the VOLUNTEERS of FREE ADVICE quick enough, he should count him/herself damn lucky that anyone bothers to respond on this thread.

 

[quincy]

Frankly, after the hissy fit OP threw because he didn't get a response from the VOLUNTEERS of FREE ADVICE quick enough, he should count him/herself damn lucky that anyone bothers to respond on this thread.

I am surprised he came back to the forum after dismissing the forum as useless.

 

[Just Blue]

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/a-long-winded-question-on-filing-a-motion.474665/

 

[quincy]

That is his history but he probably should not be held to his former frustration with the forum forever.

It is true, afterall, that no one responded to his question for several days.

That is not to mean that anyone was (or is) required to respond to any question posted to the forum, though. We aren't required to do anything (except be somewhat pleasant).

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

That was a decade ago.

 

[quincy]

That was a decade ago.

With luck, everyone has grown since then.

 

[Litigator22]

"Implied warranty"? Did this Berkley so-called lawyer put you on to that bit of legalese? Anyway there is no such thing as an "implied warranty of fitness" for used merchandise, including used motor vehicles!!

For an assortment of reasons (reasons seemingly so obvious as in no need of mentioning) you have no legal grounds to seek relief from your seller. None whatsoever!

"Only 3000 miles"? One having purchased a used motor vehicle and driven it for that distance would need to be pitifully naïve to be asking such inane questions. So fugetaboutit!

 

[Taxing Matters]

I don't know how to argue and prove this in small claims court. The problem is that the guy was probably aware of the problems. This is because he changed the car alternator before he sold me that car. This means he was probably aware of things like the oil and power steering leaks. But I don't know how to actually prove this point in count.

The problem here is that this situation was a used car sale without a warranty, i.e. "as is". There is no common law duty of the seller to disclose any defects to you about the car, and the statutory disclosure requirements are pretty minimal. That means that for most defects in a car the seller has no obligation to you to disclose most defects in the car, even if the seller is aware of them. That is why it is up to the buyer to check out the car before buying it by having the car inspected by an independent mechanic that the buyer trusts. If you didn't do that, that's on you.

The one thing that the dealer cannot do is commit fraud. So the dealer cannot tell you FACTS about the car that the dealer knows to be untrue. Thus, if the dealer told you "the engine on this car was just completely rebuilt" when the dealer knew that to be untrue that would be fraud and would give you a basis for suing the dealer. Generally sales puffery is not fraud, though. So statements like "this car is a beauty" or "this car is fabulous" will not amount to fraud. Those kinds of statements are not specific statements of fact about the car.

Car sales are contractual transactions. You don't get negligence problems in these transactions so suing the dealer for negligence will get you nowhere. You need a legal duty imposed on the dealer before you could possibly have a negligence claim (e.g. a duty to disclose) and as I indicated, the law imposes very few duties on sellers of used cars.

The bottom line is that you are likely stuck with the problems your vehicle has. You had to check out the car before you bought it. In addition that, you've had the car a year. Even if the car was fine when you got it, used cars can develop problems later and of course those are your problems to fix.