Ok this is my story..
I saw this ad on craigslist and it was for an 05 car. The add said GREAT PRICE want to sell today, so it had an amazing price and thought i should jump on this. So i called the individual, we met up, test drove the car, and everything seemed fine. So i called her the next day and said let’s do this!
The next day we met at a post office and got a note notarized basically saying that there is no debt on the car (because it was just paid off and the pink slip is being sent by the loan provider), that the pink slip will be given within two weeks, and also that if i crash the car it is my responsability. Ok so both sing, i give her the money, and she gives me the keys. So i take off from the parking lot and not even three street lights later the car starts over heating???
conincidence? I think not!
So i called her and said what’s going on? she said that has never happened to me, “it is a new car.”
I take it to the mechanic and they said that it has a potentially blown head gasket, and he said that definetly does not happen over night and especially in a series of minutes after a transaction.
So leading me to the conclusion, that
1 there was something wrong with the car before
2 she lied about the car not having anything wrong with it
3 the check engine light is on
4 it will not pass smog in california
5 it is a unsafe vehicle.. ON THE DAY OF THE TRANSACTION
so i had to get it towed to my house and i have all proof that i did not drive it that day (obviously a unsafe vehicle).
futhermore, it is by state law in california that the seller is responsible for the smog! (if a seller sells a car that does not pass smog, that is againts the law)
can anyone please help me or if i have wrong information about state laws, please help me!
(this just happened to me!)
i did read something about the dmv not having to smog a vehicle if it is not older than four years old. futhermore, i have the ad that says car is in good condition. From my knowledge, good condition does not mean a huge mechanical problem.
Are You Behind on Mortgage payments ? Get Help now.
You have come to the wrong conclusions.
And your mechanic has helped.
A blown headgasket CAN be an immediate thing. I speak solely from experience. Had a car for a year, everything was fine. One day, at a McDonalds, the engine simply exploded, due to head gasket. Whole thing was completely fried. No warning lights. No check engine lights. No symptoms. I had maintained the car perfectly.
These things DO happen. So no, you can’t say that the owner knew about the condition ahead of time, because there is the chance that they really didn’t know.
Also, read the laws on CA smog, because you seem to misunderstand that:
“If your vehicle is six years old or newer, you will be charged an annual smog abatement fee when you register your vehicle, rather than being required to provide smog certification.”
In CA, you don’t need a smog test done on a car made from 2002 to 2008, due to that above law. So they did not have to provide you with anything for that.
Further, if it’s an as-is vehicle, they’re not responsible for a single repair, after you take it. You buy it as-is. And technically, when you received the car, it was okay. The condition of the car changed AFTER you received it.
Plus….just as a bit of curiosity. Advertising GREAT PRICE! does not equal GREAT DEAL!. If someone is selling something at an amazing price, as you stated, the very first thing you should ask, is what’s wrong with it. Otherwise, it would have been sold at an average price. So that should have been a major warning to you.
Sorry, but from a legal point of view, you’re completely out of luck on this. And no, a lemon law won’t apply either, as it was a used vehicle purchased as-is.
Edit: Ever see a perfectly normal person have a heart attack out of the blue? Same thing. A car can be listed as great condition, because it has no symptoms yet. That doesn’t mean that something undetectable is going on. So, how they listed it, is perfectly legit. You test drove it, and said it was great yourself.
So let me get this right. You bought a used car, sight unseen. You did not checkout the car before you bought it. Now that it is yours, you expect the person who sold you the car to fix everything you found wrong with it AFTER you bought it.
Did you ever hear the term “As Is – No Warranty”. This also applies to private sales.
You should have at least took it for a test drive BEFORE you bought it.
You are screwed.
You bought a used car, and as buyer you assume all risk.Used cars sold in private transactions are always sold “as is”. If you wanted a trouble-free car, you should have bought a new one. Using your words, you voluntarily bought an unsafe vehicle.
I’m not sure if a private seller is responsible for assuring the vehicle will pass the emissions inspection. If it passed the previous year, most sellers are not sophisticated enough to know if it is or isn’t going to pass the subsequent year. If it’s a 2005, there might be some factory warranty left, and ALL manufacturers have to cover the emissions control equipment for an extended period of time beyond the factory warranty.
You could try to sue the seller in small claims court, but there is no guarantee you would prevail.
All of this could have been avoided if you would have just taken the car to your mechanic BEFORE you finailized the transaction.
A pre-purchase inspection is one of the most important things any car buyer should do before deciding on a vehicle.
But that’s all in the past now. You are correct, if it doesn’t pass the emmissions test you can’t sell it. The seller should have handed you a valid test certificate when they gave you the Bill Of Sale.
I would discuss a refund with the seller or at least a shared responsibility for the repairs. If they are not interested your only other option is a lawsuit. You may not win but if there is no agreement between you and the seller you have no other options than to take this case to a judge. You may get a sympathetic court and be awarded a full refund. Or he could scold you for not doing your homework first.
After all, knowing and understanding the condition of any used car is the responsibility of the buyer, not the seller.
Ever heard the old saying “let the buyer beware.” You been punked and there is nothing you can do. Can you prove she knew about the problem? After all you test drove it the day before. I assume you went more than three blocks. Can you prove that something didn’t “pop” right after the sale.
Sorry Charlie.
You should have had a mechanic check it over before buying, not after. You bought it as-is. Your choices are sell it or fix it. The seller obviously knew it was going to crap out and that’s why it was a fast sale. Try to use this as a learning experience.