Is a garage under any obligation?

S

shnaek

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Is a garage under any obligation to tell you if a car has been crashed or not when you are buying a second hand car? A friend of mine who bought a car a year ago has just found out that it had been in a crash previously and she was wondering if she has any come back?
 
I wouldn't have thought so, "caveat emptor" would apply in this situation, much like buying goods anywhere else.

I would always make a point of asking anyone who is selling a car whether it's ever been crashed. If they lie and I find out about it, I would have cause for compliant then.

As a matter of interest:

  • how did your friend find out about the crash?
  • has the crash affected the car in any way?
  • is the car still under warranty?
 
I told her that as far as I knew 'caveat emptor' applied. I was thinking that was the case. She sound out about the crash through another mechanic doing work on her car. The crash hasn't affected the car as far as I know. The warranty ran out a couple of months back - it was a years warranty.
 
So no harm done really?

If the car had a panel or something replaced, then I don't think that would make much difference.

If, on another hand, there was damage to the axle or chassis, then that might be another matter.
 
Hi Shnaek

If the car was not road worthy, then S13 of the The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 covers [broken link removed].

Your rights depend on a number of issues.

Have a look at the ODCA [broken link removed] on the matter.

Marion
 
According to the [broken link removed];

A SIMI member garage must tell you if it is aware that the car has been crashed. A private seller is unlikely to do so and you will have to look for evidence.
Click to expand...

Was the seller a SIMI member? Can she prove that the seller was aware of the crash?
 
well mechanically, its a mechanic's responsibility to tell you whether a car is "good" or not, well that's why you went to that mechanic anyhow! (to get the car checked!)

however, it is also YOUR responsibility to check the reports such as carfax and other online reports that show whether the car has been in previous crashes or not

you should also have done a lien check, gotten a carfax report, etc

thus the mechanic is not guilty for not telling you, he probably didn't know himself (which means he's not a good mechanic, you should switch!)
 
A carfax report is an American car background check. You give the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) and the report should give you a description of the car, if it was ever reported stolen or written off etc. http://www.carfax.com/



The equivalent in the UK is a car data check. I'm not sure if one exists in Ireland or if it does it's probably too expensive !



Checking for a lien is checking to make sure there is no outstanding financing payable on the car; equivalent in the UK is an HP check. Once again I don't think there is an equivalent in Ireland that is widely used.


One a separate but slightly related note it can happen that a brand new car can have had repairs done to it and will still be sold as brand new.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=292644

Texasgamer, it might be useful to some of the readers on AAM to state that you are US based (this is an assumption on my part so apologies if I am incorrect), as many if not most of the readers on this forum are Irish based. This in no way invalidates the advice you gave as in many cases the fundamental advice to people is the same in many different countries.

efm
 
The SIMI position appears to contradict that of the ODCA, i.e. the ODCA states that the garage is under no obligation to tell you if the car has been crashed unless you ask. But thinking about it, maybe it doesn't. What the SIMI are probably saying is that the garage must tell you if you ask them. I find it hard to beleive that the industry would demand a higher standard of its members than legisaltion demands.

Bottom line though, unless your friend asked the question of the garage, or unless the car was not roadworthy at time of sale, she doesn't really have a case, does she?
 
I understand the garage must tell you if it was crashed only if you ask and they know this to be so. However, if the car was damaged seriously enough to make it unroadworthy then it is illegal for the garage to sell it in the first place. I'm sure any reputable SIMI dealer would not sell an unroadworthy car which leaves the possibility that the car only has minor damage which the are under no oblig
 
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