Articles

It's a question that many car buyers ask themselves: Can a car Dealer lie to me? Like many things in life, the answer is not entirely clear. Except in a few situations, car dealers are not required to tell you the truth, and they can take advantage of this fact. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the most common lies that car dealers tell their customers, and what you can do to protect yourself from being taken advantage of (and what you can do when you are).

Car dealers don't have to tell you everything.

In fact, they're legally allowed to withhold some information from you if they think it will help them sell the car. For example, a dealer isn't required to tell you about Previous accidents, Damage that has been repaired, or the car's ownership history.

Some dealers dodge these questions by handing you a "Carfax" or similar report, which allows them to "offload" any representation to Carfax or the history service. The problem is that all of these services itself state specifically that their information "may not be complete or reliable." In situations like this, it's very hard to sue either the dealer or Carfax if you later discover a problem.

However, there are two things car dealers MUST always disclose.

One of the most important is the vehicle's mileage, which must be disclosed on the Affidavit of Sale. If the vehicle's odometer is not correct, the dealer must tell you. It can never represent false mileage as "true."

And while a dealer does not have to disclose prior damage in South Carolina, a dealer must tell you if the vehicle has a "salvage" title. A salvage title is when an insurance company has paid out a total loss claim on the vehicle, and it becomes "rebuilt." You have a right to know this before you purchase the car.

While there's only two things a dealer must tell you, when the dealer decides to tell you more, it must be very careful, because any affirmative representation of fact MUST BE TRUE. For example, when a dealer chooses to tell you that a car has only "1 prior owner" it must be true. If the dealer tells you that a car has "never been wrecked" that must be true.

In short, anytime the dealer chooses to state something as a fact, it cannot lie. Also, when a dealer decides to give a warranty (or represent a car as "Certified" pre-owned,) it can create problems for itself if the vehicle does not live up to those implied representations.

If you think a dealer has lied to you, what can you do?

In South Carolina, Dealer's are covered by a "Dealer's Act"found in Title 56 of the Motor Vehicle Code, that gives you the right to sue a dealer for any "unfair" or "deceptive" practice, and potentially be awarded attorney's fees and double your actual damages. The federal "Odometer Act" also provides liability for dealers for false mileage disclosures. Both of these are potent weapons to call on when a dealer is not straight with you.

And of course, you can call on us too. We've taken legal action and handled hundreds of cases regarding car dealer fraud including Odometer Act and Dealer's Act violations (and all kinds of financing shenanigans). You can tell us about your situation here. We'll review your matter at no charge and tell you exactly what we think.