augie dogie
New member
What is the name of your state? California
Do you have this in writing?... was told the car had been maintained with all scheduled maintenance.
Probably not. You bought the car AS IS. You should have taken it to a mechanic before buying. Instead you relied on something meaningless like "My car has been cared for and maintained" which is no more a warranty than "Cream Puff" or "Driven on Sunday to church by a little old lady from Pasadena."Do I have recourse in small claims court for fraudulent representation?
I hear you - but I don't know that I agree. If a specific representation was made that all recommended services have been performed when said services had not been performed, then the OP may have some recourse. HOWEVER, the OP has a problem of proof. Proof of both the specific representation, and proof that the services weren't performed. We don't have an answer to either question about those things though.Probably not. You bought the car AS IS. You should have taken it to a mechanic before buying. Instead you relied on something meaningless like "My car has been cared for and maintained" which is no more a warranty than "Cream Puff" or "Driven on Sunday to church by a little old lady from Pasadena."
True.HOWEVER, the OP has a problem of proof. Proof of both the specific representation, and proof that the services weren't performed. We don't have an answer to either question about those things though.
Agreed -A false advertising claim potentially can be supported when there was a material misrepresentation in advertising that deceived a consumer and influenced the consumer's purchasing decision.
Here is a link to California's law:
https://www.arb.ca.gov/bluebook/bb05/bus17500/bus_17500.htm
"Puffery" refers to advertising claims that consumers understand are not to be taken seriously ("world's best burger") whereas advertising claims about specific attributes of a product or service that can be proved false ("100% beef") is false advertising that could lead to a lawsuit.
Right. Claiming intentional misrepresentation is far different from proving intentional misrepresentation (or proving even unintentional misrepresentation).Agreed -
In this case, the OP hasn't clarified how such representations were made, nor how he exactly it was determined that none of the services were performed. For example - if BMW says they have no record of any services being performed doesn't mean they weren't performed.
Haha.... It would be like the seller saying "The car had one careful owner" and omitting "It was the other 55 owners who drove like maniacs". The first statement may be true and would not be a misrepresentation but would the second statement be misrepresentation by omission?
Depending on what you paid for the car would depend if it was worth getting an attorney to try and recover your money.
It would be well that you become acquainted with the principle of tort law known as injuria abseque damno (a wrong that causes no damages).I recently purchased a car from a private party and was told the car had been maintained with all scheduled maintenance. I purchased the car based on his assurance that the car had cared for and completely maintained. after purchasing, I took to a local BMW mechanic and found out that actually no maintenance had been done for years. the cooling system had never been maintained or flushed, the brake system was never flushed, the power steering fluid had never been flushed, the transmission never had servicing, the valve cover gasket was leaking, the front ball joint and strut was completely wasted on the right side. Literally no maintenance had been done and he represented the exact opposite. Do I have recourse in small claims court for fraudulent representation?