My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: Ohio
I have a complex car deal that I need help to sort out if possible.
In short I bought a car "as is", that, the day after the bill of sale was signed, turned out to need repairs that would vasty exceed the amount payed for the car.
I´m aware that as it was sold "as is", there is small possibilities of having the purchase revoked on grounds that there the description of the car and it´s actual condition doesn´t match.
I´m also fully aware that I´ve been a stupid buyer, and that I should have had a mechanic check the car before the purchase.
But, the deal might have some ambiguities that would be in my favor, and I´ll try to use this as a way of rescinding the deal.
The car was sold on Craigslist under "Owner". I met the private owner(?) outside a Miejer store and he had a friend of his that is a car dealer, who helped us with the paperwork. This was not done in an office, but rather in a lounge near the Meijer store.
The dealer received the cash and signed the bill of sale (marked with his company name) as "salesman". He did not show me the title (and did not tell me who held it), and said that he would mail it to me when he had it transferred. He also told me that I should go to the BMV to get my 30-day tags.
Since I´m from Sweden and only here temporary, I was happy to get his help, and he promised to help me being able to use the car, even if there would be problems having the title transferred to me (since I have no US social security number). He talked about that one might have the original owner keep the title (since I have no experience with how titling works, I didn´t really understand what he meant, but were glad he said he could figure it out for me).
The day after the bill of sale was signed (and I handed over the cash), I did a vehicle inquiry at the Ohio Department of Public Safety, and from the records it looks like one day after the purchase the car was transferred from a company called Ricart Ford (a big car dealership) to a private owner (not me).
The next day I did another inquiry and two days after the bill of sale was signed, there was an other transfer from a private owner to another private owner (not to me this time either).
When I compared this two transfer records and my bill of sale, the transfer records has identical mileage (which is lower than on my bill of sale). The purchase price on the first record is $604.90 and on the other $1, my bill of sale says $2425.25.
I also did a search on the dealers cell phone number on Craigslist, and discovered that he has 8 ads under "owner" there.
Since I found out that the car needed extensive repairs (by doing a pre purchase check at a mechanic, ironically done two days after the purchase) I have had a lot of contact with the dealer (since the original craigslist advertiser referred to him when I called him). He promised to take back the car and take the loss, since his friend were not willing to take back the car. I was of course really grateful for this, but he neither came to scheduled meetings nor cancelled them. He repeatedly promised to get back by text, but didn´t until I contacted him and so on.
After a while he said he couldn´t get the money from the seller, and offered to have his mechanic fix the car, which I accepted. He set a day when he would pick up the car, but never showed up and didn´t contact me to cancel. He also told me he had the title and could transfer it to me if I had a social security number. I told him that I now have an Ohio Identity Card, and that this is sufficient and makes it possible to transfer the title to me, but he has stil not transfered the title to me.
I also went to the general attorney in Columbus, and a lady gave me the advice to not hurry the title transfer up, since if I have not got the title within 40 days of the purchase I have the right to rescind the purchase.
So what I need help with is determining if there is a possibility for me to revoke the purchase by referring to any formal error(s) done by the seller/dealer.
Has he done anything wrong, and how do I proceed in that case?
The thing is I suspect the dealer has something to hide, otherwise I have a hard time understanding why he considers giving me my money back or repair the car. At the beginning I thought he was just nice and trying to help me, but after all those delays I´m getting more and more suspicious.
So here are my questions/notes:
– Is it ok that the advert on craigslist under "owner" ends up with a bill a sale where the salesman is a dealer (no sign at all of the original advertiser)? Do other rules apply when a dealer sells a car ("Used Car Window Sticker"? Should the deal be made at the dealers office? Is it ok that the car was shown by the dealers friend outside a Meijers store? Should he have offered me to sell the car with some form of guarantee?)
– Is the dealer allowed to advertise under "owner" at craigslist, as I found that he does (by searching for his phone number)?
– Is the dealer allowed to transfer the title to any other person than me after the bill of sale is signed. If he is, isn´t he required to inform me of those transfers?
– The car was supposedly sold by his friend, a private owner, but the first transfer record shows that the title was held not by this friend, not by the dealer, but by an other dealer; Ricart Ford. Is the dealer allowed to act like this, and how could Ricart Ford be involved in this?
– The title transfers he made the days after signing the bill of sale has a mileage that are LOWER than on the bill of sale, which should be impossible if the readings are supposed to have been done the same day as the transfers are done.
– How about the purchase prices, that are not close to the price I payed, is this ok?
– The dealer hasn´t transferred the title to me yet, more than four weeks after the purchase. Even if he refers to me not having a social security number, is he allowed to do like this? Four days ago I informed him that I have an Ohio Identity Card, making it possible for him to make the title transfer. Is he required to do this without the need for me to remind him?
– Would it be wise for me to wait the 40 days and hope that he will not transfer the title within this time, and would it give me the right to rescind the purchase?
One good thing in this mess is that almost all communication by me and the dealer is made via text messages, and I have them all documented.
I would appreciate any advice on how to figure this out! Thanks!
Transfer of Title: Could Formal Errors at a Car Deal Grant Right to Rescind a Bad Purchase
