California has many laws protecting car buyers from dealership fraud and purchasing defective vehicles. However, dealership fraud is a common problem in California. In many cases, car salesmen fail to disclose important information about the vehicle with the car buyer, such as selling a salvage vehicle without the car buyer’s knowledge.
What Is a Salvage Vehicle?
In California, a car receives a salvage title when it has been damaged or destroyed to the extent that it is considered uneconomical to repair. Cars will be marked as a total loss or “salvage” when the cost of making necessary repairs after an accident would be equal or nearly equal to the total value of the vehicle. Cars considered “junked” are typically taken apart after a major collision.
Can a Dealership Sell Me a Car without Disclosing that it is Salvage?
It is illegal to sell a vehicle with a salvage title without disclosing it to the buyer. Unfortunately, many car salesmen still manage to sell salvage cars to buyers by removing the salvage title from the vehicle’s NMVTIS title or altering the car’s VIN number.
Does My Salvage Vehicle Qualify Under Lemon Law?
To qualify under lemon law, your vehicle must still be under buyer’s warranty. If your vehicle isn’t under warranty, you can still seek compensation.
You can file a dealership fraud claim to prove that the car salesman failed to disclose that the vehicle you purchased was salvaged or a junked vehicle. A skilled dealership fraud attorney can gather the evidence needed to prove your case and get your money back. Filing a dealership fraud claim requires extensive understanding of car buying laws. For such reasons, it is important that you get experienced attorneys on your side.
Contact our California dealership fraud attorneys today at (949) 390-9695 to schedule a consultation!