Raw used car deal

[Helping Helper]

I live in Utah. A friend of mine has just bought a car for about 3500 which has from what I'm told, deteriorated rapidly. The previous owner said there were no problems at all and the vehicle ran fine. It is not less than a week later and he is having trouble starting it. The mechanic has told him the only thing feasible is to just replace the engine. It looks to have been taken apart and put together poorly. Is there any possible legal path my friend can take against this person. It was a private party seller so i do worry about that. He's a minor but I believe the paperwork says his mother signed a loan for about 1000 for it.

 

[xylene]

I live in Utah. A friend of mine has just bought a car for about 3500 which has from what I'm told, deteriorated rapidly. The previous owner said there were no problems at all and the vehicle ran fine. It is not less than a week later and he is having trouble starting it. The mechanic has told him the only thing feasible is to just replace the engine. It looks to have been taken apart and put together poorly. Is there any possible legal path my friend can take against this person. It was a private party seller so i do worry about that. He's a minor but I believe the paperwork says his mother signed a loan for about 1000 for it.

Not likely at all unless there are specific warranty claims, guarantees of fitness performance, (to prove these they would generally need to be in writing) or misrepresentation.

A private party seller claiming a "runs great" is not a guarantee, warranty, and even if it stops "runing great" its not misrepresentation.

Misrepresentation would be things like giving bogus repair receipts, putting cadilac badges on a Delta 88 and selling it as a Caddy, or tampering with the odometer.

Unless you have one of those items, your friend just bought a crummy car, no legal recourse.