I need a little more knowledge of the law

[november]

I live in Massachusetts. I bought an automobile from a person who live in the next town to mine. I registered and insured the car the same day. Three days later I put a new muffler on the vehicle, the old one had a hole in it. Eight days after purchase the engine failed. Since the vehicle was not inspected yet I do not fall under the lemon law. I don't seem to fall under the used car warranty law either since I cannot prove that the previous owner knew anything was wrong with the vehicle. I did contact the previous owner on the phone but he did not want to work out a solution with me. I then filed a small clams suit for purchase price and additonal expenses incurred. My case is coming up in two weeks. My question is, do I have a case and If so what law do I fall under? How should I proceed with this case?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I live in Massachusetts. I bought an automobile from a person who live in the next town to mine. I registered and insured the car the same day. Three days later I put a new muffler on the vehicle, the old one had a hole in it. Eight days after purchase the engine failed. Since the vehicle was not inspected yet I do not fall under the lemon law. I don't seem to fall under the used car warranty law either since I cannot prove that the previous owner knew anything was wrong with the vehicle. I did contact the previous owner on the phone but he did not want to work out a solution with me. I then filed a small clams suit for purchase price and additonal expenses incurred. My case is coming up in two weeks. My question is, do I have a case and If so what law do I fall under? How should I proceed with this case?

My response:

This is a very often written problem to these Boards.

Yours was a "private sale" of a vehicle. In a private sale, unless there is something written between the parties, there are no warranties or guarantees of "fitness". There are no "Lemon Laws" that cover private sales.

In short, you had an opportunity to have the vehicle inspected by your own mechanic prior to purchase, but you apparently failed to do so. This will be the main issue posed to you in court.

Unfortunately, unless you can prove fraud (an extremely high standard), you will not be successful in court. The judge, like myself today, will inform you, "You bought a car. Case dismissed".

IAAL

 

[november]

Legal ignorance

Too bad for your legal ignorance. In Massachusetts, there is what is called a lemon aid law that pertains to private automobile sales. My legal ignorance is what got me in this mess. I needed to know if there are any consumer laws of Massachusetts that might help me in this case, as I had a short conversation with a lawyer and she lead me to believe there were.

[Edited by november on 01-23-2001 at 04:56 PM]