Can I be sued for selling a damaged vehicle?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Can I be sued for selling a damaged vehicle?

I recently sold a truck with a salvage title for my brother-in-law. The truck had damage to the doors and floor board. There was damage to the floorboard that I found and put metal repair tape on as a temporary fix. I told the lady when she bought it about the damage. She just said she will take it to her mechanic. She was buying it for her son. I did not think she took me serious. I texted, called and emailed her

warning of the danger of not fixing the hole in the floor board. In an email I even told her after she got it looked at that if it wasn’t cost effective to repair that she could get her money back. My brother-in-law agreed to that. She did email me back and said it was at the shop for a couple days. It has been a month and I haven’t heard back. If something was to happen to her or her son can I be at fault and be sued or worse?

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

Asked on May 19, 2018 under Business Law, South Carolina

Answers:

M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

So long as you made the discloures that you stated you did, then in this situation you would bear no liability for selling this vehicle. Your only luability would be if you misrepresented the condition of the truck (which you did not). If the buyer accepted it in a damaged condition, then that is their problem.

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

If, as you say, you fully disclosed and warned her about the damage, you would not be liable. A person can legally buy damaged goods and accept any risk(s) that come with them. A seller is only liable if he or she misrepresented (lied about, including by omission or concealment) the damage, so that the buyer did not make an informed decision to purchase the defective or damaged item (the truck). Since it appears you can document having provided information and sent her warning, you should not face any liability.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption