There is no way the "as is, where is" wordage in your sales contract would hold up in court or at a DSB. In this day and age, there is no such thing as a dealer being able to sell anything without any contigent liability on the sale, no matter what the paperwork says. It's one of the reasons we wholesale certain vehicles, even if we could find a retail buyer.

 

That's only true for used in our state. It's quite possible to sell a new truck, unwind the deal, and have no DMV record of the tranaction.

Again, this guy has got the dealer by the short hairs- don't overcomplicate the situation. I do hope he wrote down the date/time/and who he talked to at Ford. They would have a record (and probably recording) of the conversation.

 

I understand what you are trying to say Polarbear, however, in true trading, as long as the vehicle meets the State's safety code it can be sold "As is, Where is". This could be damaged upholstery, dash lights that do not work, et. al. And allow me to feel correct when I read that contractual block in my own
"Motor Vehicle Purchase Order" that I had the Senior Sales Manager cross out and sign.

 

Right- but a variety of consumer protection laws override that wordage. The most important is the implication of merchantability and fitness that's triggered by the sale itself. Long past experience here- as a dealer, you can have every disclaimer in the world properly worded and signed, but when that letter comes from the States' AG office, you will figure out a way to settle with the consumer.

I was surprised to read that your dealership was using the same contractual forms for a new vehicle as a used. This varies by state, but the dealership is potentially leaving themselves open to future litigation by doing that.

 

It depends on the state you are selling in. Many of the nmore liberal leaning states have passed laws or had court decisions to "protect" the dumb or uninformed consumer against themselves or from people who can spot a sucker. I'm glad I live in a state where we can make stupid decisions on our own.

 

Yeah, BUT: if the first dealer sold the truck, then it would have been titled. The second dealer (the one that sold it to DashTrash) would have received a TITLE, not a MCO if it were new. The odds of the selling dealer being innocent of any wrongdoing here is EXTREMELY remote. Yes, vehicles get sold and then the deal goes south, but the dealer would then un-report the sale with Ford and the first transaction would never show on the records. I'm very suspicious of DashTrash's dealer on this one.

 

I know of a person who purchsed a new Mustang some years back, after delivery started seeing water in the trunk after major rainstorms. Brought it to the dealer for warranty work, the service dept noticed it was hit in the rear. The dealership at the time of purchase never brought it up at the time of sale that the vehicle was rear ended when out for a test drive. To make long stories short, the dealer offered any Mustang off the lot. This person got a vehicle that had more in it then the one in question.

 

Not at all Jeff, if you think about it. Generally, the deal doesn't leave F&I until it's done. It's quite possible the truck got sold/unwound and no title was ever applied for.

The sale would have gotten unreported if the office got around to doing that. It's not much of a stretch to see how that could have been missed though. Where the radar should have been going off is at the second dealership when they recorded the miles at the time of trade. Problem is, out here 500 dealer trade miles is pretty common.

edit: that first transaction would still show internally on Fords records.

 

One thing that could have easily happened is that the first dealer could have sold the car and given the owner a temporary registration because the car was floor planned and the MCO was still at the bank or they just hadn't gotten around to doing the paperwork. If the vehicle was bought back or traded back to the dealership before the paperwork was complete for titling, then the seling dealer could have gotten the original MCO. It took me several weeks to get my title for my new camper I bought last year.

 

It is not uncommon for vehicles to get damaged in transit or even in the manufacturing plant prior to being shipped. The quality of the repairs, unless it is done by the local dealer, is usually very poor. In very rare cases, a dealer will file the sale paperwork with Ford, but not any state or other legal document to either get the rebate moneyif they think the rebates will go away, or to meet a sales quota for a discount or credit program.

No matter the reason, the dealer who sold you the vehicle has a legal obligation to disclose this information. Your dealer may not have known of the damage repair; but whomever inspected after the trade should have caught it. They definitely should have known the vehicle was reported as sold by the other dealer, even if it was still on the MSO.

There is enough questionable activity here for the dealer to give you another truck or allow you totally out of the deal. If they do not do the right thing, contact your state's attorney generals office. They love this kind of stuff!!

 

[QUOTE=BruceFX4]It is not uncommon for vehicles to get damaged in transit or even in the manufacturing plant prior to being shipped. [QUOTE]

This is true. Anyone remember the dealer who repainted a BMW 7 series that was caught in a hail storm during transpo a few years back? He didn't disclose, and the guy who bought it got an astronomical settlement for punitive damages. I can't recall, but I believe in was in excess of 1 million dollars (later reduced). It was all over the major news sites. I'd definately do a search for the judgement findings/verbage if I was in your situation.

 

I just looked up the case and it went all the way to the US Supreme Court (BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, INC. v. GORE). I can't post the link because I'm a newbie. The jury initially awarded the guy $4 million in punitive damages!

 

It may not be uncommon for them to get damaged but is uncommon for a dealer to accept and sell a severely damaged vehicle. Slight damages may be repaired but anything much over cosmetic damages are usually taken back and destroyed. No matter how small the damage may be no dealer or manufacturer are taking the chance of having that vehicle involved in an accident or something later on only to have it discovered that the vehicle had been damaged before. Just not worth the risk.

 

man am I GLAAD my uncle works for the dealership!! Although, he was a used car slaesman at one time, and you all know how they are!

 

we can sit here and say yea this could have happened and it is possible that happened unless dashtrash does some leg work all this is just theroies. one would do good if he remembers that the burdon of proof lies in the accuror not the accused. just going to court saying i know my truck was recked and possibley not a new truck with out documents wont be enough to persuide a judge. a 20 minute phone call or dropping by the dealership could net where the truck came from then another hour talking with the 1st dealer's state could show and an affadavit of a previous sell. now when dashtrash goes to court it is pretty much an open shut case. if dashtrash just sets around thinking yea this is possible and that can happen he gots to go to court with theroies in which he ruling can go either way just like any car sell. even demo trucks have records that their demos. the leg work really aint all that hard and the info that could be found can be worth the effort. if someone indeed bought the truck when they left the dealer they where giving paperwork to get their tag. an affadavit was drawen up on that paper work at the signing of the contract this affadavit has a few different funtions 1 being that it removes the truck from their inventory.if it was bought there should be a record that the truck came into that dealers inventory twice. yes it is possible that this record cant be gotten ahold of but if you could.....
if you have the money get a good lawer i bet he can get it. i have to do my own leg work though lol.