Is it illegal for a used car dealership not to disclose if vehicle has had frame damage?

19Dec2007 Filed under: Used Cars Author: admin

signia asked:

I purchased a used 04 Civic from a used car dealership a little over a year. I recently took in to another dealer to trade it in for a family car. When the dealership did the inspection of the car they found that it had rear end damage. They said that they could see the “new” welds on the uni-body frame and would not be able to take as a trade in. The only way they would take it would be as a “damaged frame” vehicle and would not be able to sell it on their lot. It would be directly sold to an auctioneer.
Now before I purchased the vehicle in May of 2005 I had a car fax report on it and it came out “clean” - “one owner” - “no accidents” I even selected the buy back program. Which is only valid for a year and I’ve had the car over a year now.
So basically I am stuck with a damaged car and cant get rid of it.
Any suggestions on what I should do? Thanks

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7 Responses to “Is it illegal for a used car dealership not to disclose if vehicle has had frame damage?”

bleyesl
December 21st, 2007 at 9:17 am

Yes it is illegal. Check and see if your state has what they call a lemon law. I know of only 3 states that have this. I did not know this till it had happened to me a few years ago. Thanks
bribri
December 22nd, 2007 at 7:00 am

umm lets see…if they sold it to you with a regular title it is illegal.. but if they sold it to you with a salvage title then they are ok… if you were to wreck the car and were to be seriously hurt from the ‘bent frame’ then you can take them to court… my bro in law did and got like 2.5 mill from the lawsuite
BRUUUUSKI
December 26th, 2007 at 11:20 am

No, it’s not illegal to sell frame damaged vehicles as long as it’s road worthy. Now if the weld comes apart and you are injured or killed, they may be liable for it but not if it’s working properly.

And no, Carfax does not list everything that’s happened to it. They only list those that are reported. I’ve had many frame bending accidents and none of them was ever reported to Carfax when I checked them years later just for fun.

It may be that the dealer is just trying to find excuses to lowball your trade-in or they just don’t want it. Because most trade-ins are auctioned off anyways.

Sell it privately is my advice. Whether you disclose the “frame damage” is up to you.

THERE IS NO LAW THAT STATES THAT DEALERS CAN’T SELL SALVAGED VEHICLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SO NO IT’S NOT “ILLEGAL” WHATSOEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It would only be illegal if they sold it with a doctored title that doesn’t state it is salvaged.

Used car sales are “AS-IS” which means that you must have it checked out by YOUR mechanic. If you’re too cheap to do that then it’s your fault for overpaying for a “damaged” vehicle.
athletic_sooner_lawyer
December 26th, 2007 at 3:08 pm

If the car was totaled at any given point then it is VERY illegal for a dealer to resell it. In other words a dealer cannot sell a salvaged title car. They do not need to disclose wrecks to you, but you may want to contact an attorney to see if there is a Lemon Law in your state, Good Luck!
palebeachbum
December 27th, 2007 at 3:56 am

The laws on used vehicles vary from state to state on your rights as a used car consumer. I used to run a used car dealership in Georgia. I know that in Georgia, it is illegal for the dealer to not disclose if a car has a branded title (”flood”, “salvage”, “rebuilt”). However, if the accident was simply a fender bender that was repaired, the dealer is not required to disclose that information. If they knowingly sell you a used vehicle that had accident damage that was repaired and do not disclose it to you the consumer, that is unfair business practice and in my opinion, sneaky and underhanded. You should check into your state laws on such doings.

Carfax is a great source for checking on things like mileage accuracy, accidents, number of owners, etc, but it is not a fool proof system and there are often inaccuracies. I’ve experienced similar with Carfax and other such online services. The last car I bought, I paid the $13 or whatever it was to do an AutoCheck report on the car, and every single mileage statement was left blank, so I could not verify the accuracy of the mileage, which was the main reason I did the AutoCheck to begin with.

Answering a statement left by someone above this comment…in GA, it IS ILLEGAL for a used motor vehicle retailer to sell a salvaged vehicle to the general public. Dealers can however purchase a vehicle with a salvaged title, rebuilt it, have the vehicle inspected by the state and if it passes, it gets a “rebuilt” title, which can then be sold to the general public, as long as the dealer discloses that it is a rebuilt vehicle.
escaped_mental_case
December 28th, 2007 at 1:12 am

Yup.. if the car has been repaired it doesn’t always have to be disclosed. I had a family friend buy a newer vehicle for what seemed like a screaming deal. I pulled back the carpet to fix her tail light and saw massive damage that was repaired. BUYER BEWARE! Usually you can spot this kind of damage just by crawling under the car. Bodyshops never straighten every square inch of the car.
Gary G
December 30th, 2007 at 10:38 pm

only if the car has a salvage title