Crime & Traffic

The following question was originally submitted to John Roska, a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice and writer for the weekly column "The Law Q&A" in the Champaign News Gazette. The article has been updated to include changes in the law and additional information. 

Question

I bought a car advertised as one owner, in excellent condition. Within 50 miles, the check engine light came on, which I had to pay to get cleared. The mechanic said the car was worth less than half what I paid for it. I’ve also had to pay for other repairs, like fixing turn signals that burned out and remote door keys that didn’t work. Do I have any legal recourse?

Answer

Probably not. And certainly not just because you may have overpaid. Without some kind of fraud The deception of someone(s) with intent to cause damage (not including  forgeries and counterfeiting). , making a bad deal isn’t illegal. 

If it was a sale between individuals, your rights are really limited, because there’d be no implied warranty of merchantability. This warranty protects buyers, by assuring that what you’re buying is "fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used.” That basically means what you’re buying actually works, and isn’t defective.

But, that warranty is only implied in sales by a merchant. That’s defined as someone “who deals in goods of the kind,” or “by his occupation holds himself out as having knowledge or skill peculiar to the practices or goods involved.”

This means that if you didn’t buy the car from a dealer, you didn’t get that implied warranty of merchantability. The car can be complete junk, and you’re out of luck. A car is junk if it has been damaged in a way that makes it no longer able to operate.

Unfortunately, you could be out of luck even if you did buy from a dealer. All a merchant has to do to disclaim the implied warranty of merchantability is check the box that says as is on the Buyer’s Guide.* That’s the sheet of paper dealers must post in the window of all used cars, and why used car buyers really need to beware. Merchants may also disclaim the warranty through other methods, as long as the language is prominent. Note: if you are offered the chance to examine goods and either refuse or fail to notice a defect in plain sight, this may also disclaim any warranty. 

So, the car was definitely as is if you bought it from an individual and probably was if you bought it from a dealer. Your only chance is if there was some kind of an express warranty. 

Dealers sometimes give written warranties, or service agreements, even when the Buyer’s Guide says as is. Then, federal warranty law says you still get the implied warranty of merchantability, along with the written warranties or agreements.

Both individual sellers and dealers can make express warranties about a vehicle. For example, one Illinois case says calling the vehicle undamaged creates an express warranty. Maybe calling your vehicle "one owner” also created an express warranty, which the seller breached if that’s not true.

Express warranties don’t have to be in writing. Proving there was an enforceable, oral express warranty, however, won’t be easy.

Legally, a breach of an express warranty is a contract claim. It can also amount to fraud, which legally is a tort A private or civil wrong that causes harm . The damages can be different for a breach of contract, and a tort.

Damages are essential. It’s not enough to just prove a breach of warranty, or fraud. You’ll have to prove those caused some kind of actual, significant damages. That could be a variety of things, like big repair bills, the cost of alternative transportation, or even inconvenience.

Editor's note: As of 2017, if the seller breaches an implied warranty if there is a defect in the powertrain of the car, even if they select the "as is" box. The powertrain includes the following parts:

• engine block
• head
• internal engine parts
• oil pan and gaskets
• water pump
• intake The screening process children who are arrested go through before seeing a judge. Intake procedures are often conducted by intake officers, probation staff, case and social workers, or police. manifold
• transmission and all internal transmission parts
• torque converter
• drive shaft
• universal joint
• rear axle and all rear axle internal parts
• rear wheel bearings

You must notify the seller within 2 days that there is a problem with one of these parts. They then have to fix it, but you have to pay for half of the cost, up to $100. 

This exception does not apply to cars sold with more than 150,000 miles on the odometer, antique vehicles, cars damaged after the sale, or vehicles that develop an issue with the powertrain after 15 days or 500 miles driven, whichever occurs first. 

Note: As of August 2024, it is a Class A Misdemeanor A lesser crime punishable by a fine or confinement in county jail for up to one year. to knowingly install, sell, or trade vehicles with fake, non-working, or improperly installed airbags that don’t meet federal safety standards. It’s also illegal to use devices that trick the car into showing the airbag system is working when it isn’t.