Misrepresentation of Vehicle Condition

Some car dealers will say just about anything to make a sale. While you can expect aggressive sales tactics, the salesperson shouldn’t lie about the vehicle’s condition. Making material misrepresentations about the vehicle’s condition is fraud.

Protect your investment when buying a used vehicle—don’t rely on the dealer’s claims. If a dealer tricked you into buying a defective vehicle by lying about the condition, talk to a vehicle fraud lawyer about your legal options.

Do Dealerships Have to Tell You About Vehicle Condition?

Federal law prohibits deceptive practices and fraudulent misrepresentation in auto sales. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates consumer rights protections for vehicle sales. Making material misstatements for car sales can be illegal and constitute auto dealer fraud.

Used car dealers in most states must disclose known vehicle damage, including crash history. However, not all states enforce lemon laws in the same way. Generally, if a dealer knows of a prior accident or significant vehicle repairs, they can’t misrepresent the vehicle’s condition.

For example, imagine a dealership knows a vehicle had an odometer rollback to make it seem like it had fewer miles. The dealer can’t claim the vehicle has lower mileage without telling the buyer about the odometer tampering. That would be a fraudulent misrepresentation of material facts.

Even if the used car dealership is honest, there may be prior damage the dealership doesn’t know about. In a few states, dealerships must do a vehicle safety inspection. They must provide a copy of the inspection to buyers. However, not all states have such strong consumer protection laws. Talk to a lawyer to find out about your state’s lemon laws.

How Can You Protect Against Buying a Lemon?

Some risks come with buying any used car. Most consumers can only see what’s on the outside. A short test drive may not be enough to identify problems with the vehicle. However, don’t buy a car just by relying on the car salesperson. Here are some steps you can take to protect your used vehicle purchase.

Get an independent inspection from a mechanic you trust. An experienced mechanic can look inside the vehicle to better understand the car’s condition. They can also look for signs of frame damage, odometer rollback, or flood damage. Once you know more about the vehicle’s condition, you can decide whether you want to buy the car.

Check the vehicle history report. Companies like Carfax or AutoCheck can give you information about prior owners and the vehicle history. But the reporting is only as good as the information they get. Something that wasn’t reported won’t show up on the vehicle history.

Find out what kind of warranty the dealership offers. You may or may not want to buy an extended warranty, depending on the dealership’s reputation. Even with a warranty, insurance companies or dealerships often deny or delay claims with exclusions and disclaimers.

What Legal Action Can You Take After a Dealership Misrepresents a Vehicle?

If a dealership makes false statements about a used car, you can report them to your state attorney general or the FTC. Under federal or state law, the dealership can be fined for deceptive trade practices. This includes false advertising, yo-yo financing, and bait-and-switch tactics.

If you bought a new vehicle and found out the dealer lied to you about the vehicle’s condition, you can file a consumer fraud lawsuit. In a civil lawsuit, you can recover financial losses associated with the car sale, including:

• Refund and return of the vehicle
• Return of your trade-in
• Actual damages
• Punitive damages
• Attorney fees

Can a Dealer Fraud Lawyer Help With Vehicle Misrepresentation Claims?

Car buyers are often stuck with a lemon because they don’t know their state motor vehicle protection laws. Consumer fraud and lemon laws protect buyers from lying dealers of vehicle scams.

Talk to a dealer fraud lawyer to find out if you have a fraud claim. Your lawyer can negotiate with the dealership to help you get your money back. Your lawyer can also file a fraud lawsuit to hold the dealership accountable. Contact a dealership fraud lawyer for legal advice about dealers misrepresenting vehicle conditions.