Originally Posted by benjamin
Uh, if you're a new or used car dealer, you can't sell a car "AS IS," at least not in New York State. I'd be surprised if North Carolina allowed anyone to disclaim a warranty on a vehicle.
The Uniform Commercial Code is the part of federal law that talks about how commerce is to be conducted. In the UCC there is a section that allows a consumer to return a product after any length of time if the product is found to have a "hidden defect." This is one point which may help you get what you want.
Also, the seller lied to you.
Before you try to go to court, you're going to have to try to settle this yourself. Its a good idea to get a lawyer to handle this for you from now on.
benjamin, are you in law school or just know some stuff? There's been an assortment of threads where you've shown a pretty decent knowledge of the law.
I'd say get a lawyer, however, it may be difficult to find one who'll take the case based on the amount of the recovery.
There might be a suit against Carfax, but I don't remember what all they are warranting through their services. The problem with the suit against the guy you bought the car of is one of proof. You have your word against his as to any statements made prior to the purchase of the car and these statements may have been excluded in the final, written document relating to the sale.
However, that is a question of fact for the jury to decide, so there is a case. Also, you'll have to prove that the seller knew of the defect (i.e. Yes it was in a crash, but perhaps he bought it from someone else who poorly fixed it, then dinged the fender and fixed the fender and only knew about the fender accident, not the original).
Also sounds like a decent case against the mechanic who inspected it for you prior to your purchase, but the problem there is one of recovery. If he was acting as an agent for his business, perhaps his business has money, but if he's a small potatoes mechanic, even if you get a judgment it's going to be hard to enforce.
As far as Statute of Limitations goes, typically there's a 3 year SOL so you should be fine, be you should check the laws in your jurisdiction to be sure. Also, when defects are hidden, there is some case law to support the SOL tolling until the defect is found. Again check local cases.
I'd say go talk to a lawyer and try to get someone to represent you unless you want to spend a lot of time in your local law library to try to get all of this taken care of.
DISCLAIMER: The above does not constitute legal advice as I am not a licensed attorney and only a meager law student.