Hi me and my husband just bought a car from a private seller on craigslist 45 days ago head gaskets are blown
are we able to claim lemon law
Attorney answers (2)
Brian Russell Hester
Reputation Level 10
Answered almost 3 years ago.
Business Attorney in Hamilton, OH.
Ohio's Lemon Law only applies to commercial automobile dealers, not private sellers, and it only applies to new vehicles. For your convenience, I'm including a link from Ohio Attorney General Richard Corday's office on Ohio's Lemon Laws.
This doesn't mean that you aren't without recourse, it just means Ohio's Lemon Laws and the particular relief it provides isn't available. Can your mechanic say that the problem with the head gasket was such that the owner knew or should have known that there was something wrong (for example did prior owner in the car do anything to hide the defect? I've heard of outrageous examples of sawdusts in engines to hide noise, etc.)?
A common legal defense in any litigation is failure to mitigate a person's damages. When you're in an "arms length" transaction, the law presumes that you will do due diligence to protect your own interest. The ol' "trust, but verify." Did you have a mechanic examine the car before you purchased it? If not, that gives the seller some protection, but it is unlikely to be a complete shield and could be thwarted if there's evidence that the seller knew of the defect and took action to conceal it from you and your husband from discovering it.
Another potential claim you might have would be a breach of warranty, fraud, and misrepresentation if the prior owner made any representations in the ad or in your discussions about the condition of the car.
Ronald Lee Burdge
Reputation Level 17
Answered over 2 years ago.
Lemon Law Attorney in Dayton, OH.
Not very likely. Ohio's lemon law only covers vehicles that are bought new or bought within the first year and 18,000 miles of the first retail delivery. If you took delivery of the vehicle in another state, then you have to check that state's lemon law to see what it says, but most states don't cover a used car purchase and even when they do, the law commonly requires that you buy the vehicle from a car dealer and not from a private person. In a private person sale, generally the law only requires that the seller answer your questions truthfully and not hide anything from you that they know you would want to be aware of. Car dealers, on the other hand, have a much higher obligation to their customers. However, many sellers on internet sites may look like a private seller but actually be actively engaged in retail sales. If that is your situation, then the seller may have much more liability to you. You need to talk to a lemon law lawyer near you to find out what your legal rights are for sure, but don't wait too long because for every legal right you have, there is only a limited amount of time before your rights expire if you don't take legal action.
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