accident not reported

[krazyk011]

hi, i recently bought a 2002 mazda protege from a private owner. i just took it to a shop to get a look at the struts, and they said the car has been in a major accident. i have a bent strut, possible bent spindle. lots of hammer marks under the hood. overall looks like it was in an accident. i was so stupid for not seeing it or getting it inspected before i bought it. there might be possible frame damage as well, i have to take it to a frame specialist to get it looked at. is there anyway to go about this legally? i got a carfax report done on the car, and it shows everything is clean. the title is clean. The repair costs are upwards of $1000 if there is frame damage. but the fact that he didnt tell me it was in an accident, is there some legal action i can take? i don't want to be stuck with a lemon. (i know,i didnt buy it from the dealer so lemon law is a no go) anyone, please help! i need major advice!! the previous owner and myself are in the military, if that means anything as far as legal. thanks

krazyk

[drdisque]

as long as he specifically said "it's never been in an accident" then there's nothing you can do.

[krazyk011]

does it matter? if he never disclosed that the car was in a accident, isn't that some kind of fraud? Can you legally sell a car without disclosing it was in an accident?

[drdisque]

no, he doesn't have to tell you unless you ask, and if you ask, he can say he doesn't know. But since you DIDN'T ask, he did absolutely nothing wrong.

also, in my first post i meant "unless he specifically said its never been in an accident, there's nothing you can do"

[CraigFL]

The doctor is correct. You bought the car "AS-IS" and you may not have any recourse unless there is some state or local law to protect you. But... If you paid for a Carfax report, sometimes they give you a guarantee that their information is correct(Whatever that means!). This is an example of why Carfax is just another piece of information but not the definitive answer since there are things that don't get reported.

[regalfriend]

Since you bought the car private, there is nothing you can do....CAVEAT EMPTOR, its a Latin term.."Let the buyer Beware"....Your best bet would be to try to collect from Carfax....They do have a $5000 garantee....if the frame is bent that means the car was in a major accident...probobly why carfax didnt report it, is because the owner of the car didnt file a report with the state after the accident, which is a crime... if you can contact the previous owner and tell him to either, give your money back, or pay to have the repairs done...let him know that he could be prosecuted and sued otherwise...

[PBking82]

Sometimes carfax will guarantee the entire value of what you paid for the car. Like with my 02 Blazer that i bought of eBay. When carfax said "if you find anything different than stated in the report we will buy it back from you." that was the deciding factor in buying the car. Check into it. Peace-

[fredjacksonsan]

PBKing is onto it....CARFAX has a guarantee that their info is correct.

Be interesting to hear what you find out.

[usedcarwise]

Originally Posted by krazyk011

hi, i recently bought a 2002 mazda protege from a private owner. i just took it to a shop to get a look at the struts, and they said the car has been in a major accident. i have a bent strut, possible bent spindle. lots of hammer marks under the hood. overall looks like it was in an accident. i was so stupid for not seeing it or getting it inspected before i bought it. there might be possible frame damage as well, i have to take it to a frame specialist to get it looked at. is there anyway to go about this legally? i got a carfax report done on the car, and it shows everything is clean. the title is clean. The repair costs are upwards of $1000 if there is frame damage. but the fact that he didnt tell me it was in an accident, is there some legal action i can take? i don't want to be stuck with a lemon. (i know,i didnt buy it from the dealer so lemon law is a no go) anyone, please help! i need major advice!! the previous owner and myself are in the military, if that means anything as far as legal. thanks

krazyk

I don't believe you have much recourse krazyk, even if you purchased from a dealership, most states do not have a lemon law for used cars.

Considering you both are in the military, you may contact his commanding officer and explain, probably won't help but at this point but your options are limited.

Carfax does have a guarantee, but I'd be willing to bet you'll never get them to pay. Do a google search on carfax complaints and you'll find similar cases where consumers have attempted to collect.

It amazes me how on line vehicle report companies have done such an incredible job of promoting their services. I give them hands up for marketing, but in reality the information they provide leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion.

Their is no possible way for them to know all the damages of a vehicle and report it in a timely manner. Do another google search on carfax lawsuits and see what shows up!

As far as the comment by regalfriend about not reporting damages being illegal, I'd be curious to know what state or federal laws state this.

Please don't misinterpet, I'm not saying you are wrong, I'd really like to know where this is at. I've searched for something of this nature and can't find it myself.

Dealerships sell damaged used cars all the time, they themselves don't know when a vehicle is wrecked. The used car managers takes a quick test drive, walks around the car briefly and gives a trade in value. Once it's traded in it may be inspected by a technician and found wrecked, but will usually end up on the lot for sale to an unsuspecting customer.

See my inspection results of dealerships used cars


Good Luck krazyk, let us know the outcome.

Jerry Christopher