Private seller is buyer beware, meaning no warranty. You should have either taken it to a shop before you bought it. you could have negotiated on the price as in getting it cheaper. Or you should have signed a paper explaining the warranty in-front and had it notarized. Never heard of anyone doing this but people all over get the price down do to repairs that need to be made. So all in all. You bought it and now it's your problem. If you go to court all that will happen is you will be out of more money.
It is illegal for a person to sell a car without a valid smog certificate in California. However, you knew this and willingly accepted the car as is.
You can spend way more than $3400 for a lawyer to sue the seller and have good chance of losing. Of you eat this loss and learn a lesson on future car buying.
Why do people always insist that they got screwed by buying a used car? If it was $5000 you gotta pay 3 more or you can't pass inspection, you couuld have talked it down to $2000 if you had it inspected. that money is gone, move forward, get it fixed or figure out how to fix it if you don't have money to pay a shop. its not worth trying to sue a guy that probably will just claim it wasn't like that when he sold it. your money is your labor and time, maybe you shouldn't give it up so easily for crap next tim.
All used cars are as is unless there is some documentation that states there is a warranty. The buyer should ALWAYS get a car inspected by an independent mechanic prior to purchase - obviously you didn't do this. You should have. I doubt very much you'll win any suit here - you didn't do your homework.
Used car sales usually "as is", but in this case I think you can prove intentional misrepresentation - if not fraud. Go for it!
You are undoubtedly more knowledgeable than the average buyer. And now you know to require the seller to get a new smog test, or warrant that it will pass when you do.
Well first, don't say you paid $5,000. Tell the court you paid what the bill of sale says. If they tell the truth on that, you face some risk.
Aside from that, you'll either win or you won't--all depends on the referee that day.
The lesson here is to never buy a used car without getting it inspected first.
Private sale. Buyer beware. You'd have to prove he knew there were faults. That pretty well impossible. Next time do your research all before you buy. Not after. It's your problem now.
You also bought the car "as-is" with no warranty and you didn't have the car inspected before you bought it. You screwed up pal! Judge Judy would throw your suit out of court!
I bought a car from a private seller. He claimed the car had no issues and gave me a smog that was 6 months old. I insisted on him to get a new smog as I knew as per California law the seller is to provide a smog less than 90 days old when selling the car. But he said the car never had any problems and will pass smog. He is a student at UTI so I thought he knew about the car and bought it in good faith. However when I went to get it smogged I realized the check engine light bulb was fused and when we replaced it, it stayed on. The car had a bad catalytic converter, EVAP leak, and a leaking fuel tank because he had disconnected the exhaust pipe from middle to make the car sound loud and it had melted the fuel tank. I asked the seller to get it fixed but he refused stating that the car is not in his name anymore. So I had to pay another $3400 to get it to pass smog and then transferred the title to my name. I sent him a demand draft later through registered mail stating that its California law section 24007 b.2 that seller is responsible for cost of repairs if he didn’t provide a valid smog but he never got back to me regarding it. If I take it to small claims court, will I win? The bill of sale doesn’t say AS IS. I had bought the car for $5000 cash but he suggested we write the price to be $3000 on bill of sale so I save on title transfer fee. Im concerned if I could be caught for penalty of perjury. His sister wrote the bill of sale in front of us so it’s in her handwriting
