As-is car laws and implied warranties (Howe, Plains: sales, insurance, lawyer)

[Dora Milaje]

I'm a bit confused about the two. We all know that 'as-is' means just that - as is. The dealer is not responsible for any repairs once the car is off the lot. But there's another part of car sales that falls under "merchantability", which basically states that unless specifically cited, a person buys a car with the intent that it will do what it's supposed to do. I believe safety falls under that issue, and here's where the problem starts.

My little sister bought a used car from a dealer that she researched pretty well, IMO. She ran a Carfax report and took our dad with her. She pointed out the flaws she saw and had the contract rewritten to state they would be taken care of. She drove it, I drove it and our dad drove it, and it seemed to ride fine. Everything under the hood looked great. She even gave the mechanics an extra day to make sure everything was right. Everything seemed to be in place except for a couple of issues that we knew we were going to take care of, and the maintenance light wouldn't go out. The dealer said it was because it needed to be driven around (something about a computer chip). Since we had to bring the car back on Monday in order to have a hood latch put on, we found that to be reasonable.

Monday rolled around and the dealer didn't have the part. Since she was going to start school on Wednesday and we planned to take it to a Honda dealer anyway (due to our mistake in avoiding the VW dealer with her last car), we decided to get it taken care of there. We knew there would be things that would need to be taken care of to keep the car in top order, and we had no problem with replacing things like the fender latch, the battery clip, etc. But then we learned that the car had metal-to-metal brakes. Not only that, but the most basic car maintenence, such as tire rotation and alignment, hadn't been done. I can live with tire rotation and alignment, but BRAKES?

There is a clause in the Texas Deception Trade Practices Act that says something to the effect that a dealer cannot withhold information that would cause a buyer to reconsider a sale. I'm pretty sure "your car has no brakes that are worth a damn" would fall under that. Now the dealer is hiding behind 'as is', claiming that we should have bought this brakeless car to him for repairs, even though she'd left the car to be reinspected to begin with. My sister isn't saying that something happened after the sale - she's arguing that the brakes were faulty before the sale, and this was not disclosed to her. Since the car was at a dealership two days after it was purchased, there's no question that we didn't couldn't have worn brakes down to the metal after driving it a whopping 22 miles.

It seems to me that at best, the dealer was negligent - selling cars w/o having them properly inspected (despite having current inspection stickers), and fraudulent at worse (withholding information about the car's drivability). Either way, selling a car with bad brakes is pretty dangerous. Of course, the dealer doesn't want to cover the cost of repairs, and he says he's not responsible for the fact that the car had current inspection stickers because he isn't responsible for the inspections, just the sales.

So here's my question in a nutshell: can a dealer sell a car that can't pass inspections and fail to mention this, simply because it's an 'as is' sale?

[Poltracker]

Report the dealer to the Texas Department of Public Safety for the fraudulent inspection stickers. Also, the term your looking for is warranty of merchantablility.
Deceptive trade practices here: http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.u...ighlightType=1
Warranty of Merchantablility 2.314 to 2.318 of Code: http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.u...BC.2.htm#2.314

[getmeoutofhere]

The inspection sticker wasn't necessarily fraudulent, if the car passed inspection when the sticker was put on.

As for the brakes, he can't withhold information, but he doesn't have to volunteer it either. Did you ever ask if the brakes were working fine? Or when you drove, did you not notice the shrieking of bad brakes?

[Dora Milaje]

Of course we asked about the brakes. And no, we didn't hear any shrieking, and that scares me a little bit. We were genuinely shocked when we learned the brakes were bad. I think that's because my sister and I have never driven a car made before 1997. We both noticed a major difference after the brakes were replaced, but not before.

Thanks for the links, poltracker. I'm still kind of lost. Sec. 2.314(b) of the B&C code defines merchantability, but subsection (c) seems to say that "as-is" means that merchantability doesn't apply. That leaves the Texas DTPA, and I think a portion of that says that a dealer can't leave out info that would cause a buyer to reconsider. But like I said, I don't know if the scenario of the brakes applies.

[texdav]

That is their problem with Used car that you don't get a warranty on. Without known maintenacne its hard to tell just what shape the car is really in;especailly if it has high mileage.That s also why most normally take the car to a known ;trusted independent mechanic when buying a used car. No warranty means just that.Basically you took a chance by not like the VW mistake not having it checked by someone you trust ;I mean alignment and non-rotated tires are evident by examining them alone.Most dealers i Texas I have seen put a notice of if there is a wrranty or not in the window of used cars.

[benickels]

Question ... if bought a used car in tx drove it maybe 2/3 weeks total, the dash starts on fire. There was a safety sticker...would this be a legality issue?

[benickels]

Let me add this....there wasn't a fuse for the dome lights so one was put in when the vehicle was retired for the night. the next morning the vehicle drove a half of a block from where it was parked and that's when the dash started on fire. The fire department came and located the fire started bc of electrical issues.

[High_Plains_Retired]

Originally Posted by benickels

Question ... if bought a used car in tx drove it maybe 2/3 weeks total, the dash starts on fire. There was a safety sticker...would this be a legality issue?

If I were to sit on a jury in a case brought by you against the dealer, I would have to consider that automobiles are increasingly complex electrically there is no way a simple state safety inspection could cover all aspects of safety in a vehicle. Also Texas safety inspections are meant to cover only the basics of auto safety, i.e., brakes, lights, tires, etc.

Now if the fire could be linked to defective interior lights and the fuse to that system had been removed prior to sale, I might be inclined as a juror to think that the dealer may have chosen to hide the defect in order to sell the car. However, when it comes to buying a vehicle, used or new, I consider "caveat emptor" to be very applicable.

Always get a written warranty if buying a used car from a dealer. Warranties are why dealers can get more for the same car than a private seller who rarely offers a warranty.

[KM1174]

Originally Posted by benickels

Question ... if bought a used car in tx drove it maybe 2/3 weeks total, the dash starts on fire. There was a safety sticker...would this be a legality issue?

that would be a lawyer issue, not a c-d issue.

[AlfredB1979]

Originally Posted by High_Plains_Retired

If I were to sit on a jury in a case brought by you against the dealer, I would have to consider that automobiles are increasingly complex electrically there is no way a simple state safety inspection could cover all aspects of safety in a vehicle. Also Texas safety inspections are meant to cover only the basics of auto safety, i.e., brakes, lights, tires, etc.

Now if the fire could be linked to defective interior lights and the fuse to that system had been removed prior to sale, I might be inclined as a juror to think that the dealer may have chosen to hide the defect in order to sell the car. However, when it comes to buying a vehicle, used or new, I consider "caveat emptor" to be very applicable.

Always get a written warranty if buying a used car from a dealer. Warranties are why dealers can get more for the same car than a private seller who rarely offers a warranty.

Um, how do you prove the dealer was involved in such a mess? What about a previous owner? You're making a tall leap of an assumption there.

Anyway, benickles, I hope your insurance was valid. Get your settlement check from the insurer.