L-Spec

Okay, so this is kind of a long story. I bought a car off of a guy who imports vehicles privately. I gave him a deposit in February. It's been a long wait, but when the vehicle finally arrived in my city, I was excited to see the car. It was a beautiful stock black FD. The deal was, that he would get it safetied, and sign the vehicle over from his name to mine when everything was said and done and I would give him the rest of the money for the vehicle. A day or two after the car came in, he raced his dad's M3 on the highway, full boost and everything (he admitted to this, and his passenger also admitted this). He dropped off the car at my place for the weekend because he was going on a camping trip, and that's when I realised that there was next to no oil in the in the engine, so I quickly topped it off in hopes of keeping it alive. I drove it around for the weekend and everything seemed fine. I returned the car to him when he got back from camping so he can finish getting the car safetied.

That brings us to now. The car was safetied, and a two days after registering the vehicle, what I believe was a coolant seal gave out.. and then an apex seal. After talking with Kyle (the person who imported the car for me), I asked him what the hell was the deal. He said that the car was working 100% fine when he had it (even though it was leaking coolant, as others tell me) and that the seal were bound to fail sooner or later. Now, on the bill of sale, the vehicle was sold as is, but he never told me any of this information until after the bill of sale was signed. Also, he said that when I took the car for the weekend, that it "wasn't ready", and it was all my fault. What I don't understand is, that the only things that weren't ready were things to get it to pass safety (headlights, amber lights, daytime running lights), and nothing mechanical or structural. When I received the vehicle after safety, I noticed that he didn't even change the oil, so there didn't look like there was any intention of him getting the vehicle "ready" mechanically.

I paid good money for this car, but all it is now is a mere rolling chassis. I had reliability mods lined up and waiting for the car. The vehicle only has 74,000km. I do realise that he sold the vehicle to me as is, but he failed to tell me any vital information about how the engine was bound to give out before he sold the vehicle to me, although he expected it to. It feels as if it was a ticking time bomb, and he was waiting for it to blow up in my possession with money in his hand. It also makes me think this because even though he knew that the seal were about to fail, he still raced his dad's M3. In no way is he a rotary enthusiast, he is just making money off others. What I want to know, is if there's anything I can do about this legally. Can I do anything about him withholding information from me about engine life before the bill of sale, even though the vehicle is sold as is? It may be a long shot, but there has to be something. Thanks.

now

iTrader: (1)

low on oil would have caused spun bearings.
over heating = coolant seal problems.
the coolant seals and apex seal failure is just something that can happen.
what kind of boost is it making?
I would say there isnt much you can do other than to try to get the seller to
help pay for a rebuild but i wouldnt think he would go for that.
matt

classicauto

iTrader: (3)

I'm no law expert, but I do know you can damn near sue for anything you want to nowadays. Whether you get anything is the real story.

Personally, I'd say there's not much grounds here for anything. Regardless of "he didn't tell me" or "it was bound to give out" you bought it as is so ***buyer beware***. Perhaps you may have more chance for recourse if it was a dealer or licensed/accredited car sales business, but with private especially - you're on your own.

But that sucks about the engine.....this is about the 7th case of imported FD's ***-ploding themselves that I've heard of in the last few weeks.

WHO

First let me tell you this : you're going to get a lot of opinions, but don't consider much of what you'll read as actual facts.
If you want a lawyer, unfortunately, you're going to have to pay for one.

But, the way I see it, you bought the car privately. Meaning, the car was legally his until he signed it over and delivered it to you.

The way I see it, as long as he was the legal owner of the car, he can do whatever he feels like with it. Even race it ont he highway with no oil in it.
This is what he is going to argue in court.

Now, it would all depend ont eh judge you get. Because, although he was legally allowed to do whatever he wanted with it, there was already a verbal agreement, and a deposit paid. This counts as a contract. So, although he was still the owner, he KNEW that he was to seel it to you.

Unfortunately, it looks like you agreed to have the mention "sold as is" without a second mention like "after acceptable inspection" or something among those lines.

So, yes, he knew he was going to pass thr car over to you, and SHOULD have been more careful with it. But, he already knew at that point that the car would be sold "as is" and probably did not give a crap about it.
Now, is that going to factor in with a judge... all depends on the judge's common sense (actually I mean wether the judge will USE common sense, or just technicalities of the law).
common sense = you have some chances
technicallities = you're pretty much screwed.

L-Spec

Bah, oh well. Even if there's nothing I can do about it, I managed to keep a $1000 from it so I plan on getting a rebuild kit. That's fine and dandy, but I was wondering if there was anything else I can do with it. His reputation in the city is already thrown into the dirt and I haven't even said a word. Thanks all.

Amur_

It sounds like your man is a curbsider, a dealer who poses as a private seller. Curbsiders duck paying gst and routinely violate provincial registration and consumer protection regulations. You might want to call your local Better Business Bureau or consumer protection agency and see what comments they have. They or the police may be interested in paying him a visit...


From the 2005/2006 Lemon-Aid Used Car Buyer's Guide:


"...the defects are so serious that the seller is presumed to have known of their existence." After the engine popped, he said to you the seals in that car were bound to fail. What was supposed to assuage you may help you make a case. If you don't want to take him to small claims court, just threatening to with this new information make get him to pony up and cover more (or all) of the cost of a rebuild...

01Racing

Unfortunately you bought a used car from a non licensed dealer so you basically have no recourse. You can try and sue but your basically at buyer beware.

Feds

Possesion is 9/10ths of the law. If you haven't paid him the full amount, don't, and let him come get it from you.

Works on Landlords (BTW: Homa Monfared has 2 outstanding orders from the housing tribunal, and is a bad landlord), works on shady sellers.

Dom

I feel that he imported the car for you and you only and that the sole intent of this car was for you to take ownership as soon as possible. He is acting only as an agent for the sale...

As such it was not really his to do as he wished.

Taking it mud bogging is as inappropriate as racing it, just as painting it bright pink.

I say go talk to a few lawyers until you find one that understands how the law applies.

As for him being licensed or not to sell used cars, or import cars, I would contact the federal and provincial tax offices and take it from there...

84stock

iTrader: (5)

Buyer beware, "you" should have arranged for your own inspection as a clause prior to purchase and had it inspected by a mechanic "you" trust and know. As you as you sign and it says "as is" that is it! He could not have truly known the engine condition, my bet is he pulled it off the trailer, took it for a blast and closed the deal. If he had owned the car for 1-5 years and driven it than yep he would have had to have known about the engine. Face it, most of the fd's coming over may need an engine, it is a popular car for racing and abuse in japan, why would you expect much different. Sorry dude.

L-Spec

I'm not looking for any sympathy. Also, I did expect to do a rebuild, just not two days after I plated the car For now though, we've come to an agreement that I get to keep some of the money, and it will definitely help. Thanks all.

Red_Aura

Holy.... Way to keep me out of the loop Luck. If theres anything I can do let me know. Im done night classes next week if you need help pulling the motor for a rebuild. Im sure adam would love to help too. But I cant speak for him forsure.