Odometer roll back

[Toyota]

My cousin bought a car off a Craigslist ad. The car is a 1999 Toyota with an advertised 120k miles on the car, and the seller stated it as such. He purchased the car with me and his brother as witnesses. He later found out that the Carfax showed that the car has over 275k miles on it after he had done some repairs on the car. He became suspicious after the gauge cluster started to malfunction. Also, the title was not in the seller's name and it looks like the seller just did a quick flip without registering the car in his name. The seller also filled in the sale price as $500. Initially, the seller agreed to take the car back and return his money, but requested to give him some time to gather it. This continued for two weeks and then he decided to stop answering his phone calls and messages.

Is my cousin out of luck on this one or can he file a small claims case?

 

[army judge]

My cousin bought a car off a Craigslist ad. The car is a 1999 Toyota with an advertised 120k miles on the car, and the seller stated it as such. He purchased the car with me and his brother as witnesses. He later found out that the Carfax showed that the car has over 275k miles on it after he had done some repairs on the car. He became suspicious after the gauge cluster started to malfunction. Also, the title was not in the seller's name and it looks like the seller just did a quick flip without registering the car in his name. The seller also filled in the sale price as $500. Initially, the seller agreed to take the car back and return his money, but requested to give him some time to gather it. This continued for two weeks and then he decided to stop answering his phone calls and messages.

Is my cousin out of luck on this one or can he file a small claims case?

He can file a small claims case, of course.

But, I doubt that he'll ever collect a dime.

The lesson here, STOP buying junk off of CraigsList, and you'll inhibit others from bending you over and savagely having their way with your wallet!

 

[Toyota]

But, I doubt that he'll ever collect a dime.

Does that mean he has no chance of winning the case?

The lesson here, STOP buying junk off of CraigsList, and you'll inhibit others from bending you over and savagely having their way with your wallet!

Unfortunately, Craigslist was the only option he could afford.

 

[Betty3]

We can't say definitely that he will not win. However; even if he did win, there is the problem of collecting the money.

 

[mightymoose]

He is likely stuck.
There is nothing wrong with the seller not having registered the vehicle.
The title should indicate whether the odometer is actual mileage or if actual mileage exceeds the limits of the odometer.
If the wrong box is checked then you might have an argument to make but cost of doing so well make it impractical as they car is very cheap anyway.
There is also a fraud issue if the wrong sales price was entered, however if you took that title to DMV and did not correct the price then you have some liability on that one too.
Forget about it. It's a cheap car. You get what you pay for. By from a reputable place if you want guarantees.

 

[Toyota]

There is nothing wrong with the seller not having registered the vehicle.

I was wondering about that, and if the seller can try to get avoid it by saying that it's not even his name on the title. Thanks for clearing that up.

The title should indicate whether the odometer is actual mileage or if actual mileage exceeds the limits of the odometer.
If the wrong box is checked then you might have an argument to make but cost of doing so well make it impractical as they car is very cheap anyway.

I do remember that the neither of the warning boxes were checked: "is not actual mileage" or "exceeds the odometer mechanical limits"

There is also a fraud issue if the wrong sales price was entered, however if you took that title to DMV and did not correct the price then you have some liability on that one too.

Yeah, he was responsible for taking the title to the DMV.

Forget about it. It's a cheap car. You get what you pay for. By from a reputable place if you want guarantees.

It looks like he's just has to accept it, and be more careful next time.

 

[army judge]

Stop buying from CL. It sent CHEAPER if you drop $500 and get NOTHING.
At least he had $500.
Now, he's out $500 and has a piece of useless junk.

 

[disagreeable]

Even worse he now has the issue of the car passing inspection and recourse on the seller not being practical.