"Total Loss" wasn''t disclosed at time of sale.

Sounds like at errror. Someone typed the wrong VIN.

Can you find out where or who totaled it, and call?

Bo

 

Agree.

Clerical error.

 

If this was in California, and turns out to not be a clerical error, the dealer would still have a lot of incentive to make it right. This is the sort of thing that a dealer could lose his/her license over (if it is salvaged, and wasn't disclosed, *and* they refused to make it right).

 

I am going through the exact same circumstance right now, and am very interested in opinions or even better some facts....

I bought a 2010 Jag XF Portfolio about 4 months ago....had a completely clean carfax....looking to sell the car now and a carfax popped up in Feb reporting it as a stolen vehicle over a year ago...now nobody will touch it because it has a dirty carfax.....carfax has a note that even thought it was stolen in 2011, then didnt report it until feb 2013....The dealer said he didn't know (and I believe him, he bought it at a dealer auction, how the hell would he know that)...

but the fact is I sold something different then what I was told...whether by honest error or not...I feel like I am entitled to the difference in damages and I feel like carfax is the one that should be responsible...

 

I think this is called **** happens. its not fair. its not fun. But no one did anything dishonest and the urge to blame someone or 'make them pay' needs to be put aside in exchange for rational thought.

 

I'm no expert, but I think your situation possibly might be much worse than finding out about a salvaged title.
If your car was stolen prior to you buying it, then technically, you do NOT own it now.

If the original insurance company paid off the car to the insured owner when it was stolen, then that insurance company is still the legal owner.
None of the people who bought the car since that time have any ownership in the car.

I could be wrong, I have no legal training, but every thing I've heard over the years about buying stolen goods isn't good.
You need to have someone look into this right away I think.

 

If you buy a car through a dealer, the title is guaranteed clear by law... Read that in Legal Files...

Bo

 

if the Carfax reports can be that out of date, that's not good at all, given the dependance buyers have of it
there must be some recourse as a buyer, but then again, if the Carfax shows clear at the point of sale, i don't see there is legally, not really?!

 

In California, a dealer license is bonded for this very reason. I would at least check with DMV to see where to go with this.

 

If the individual in question can't find any evidence of "Fire", "Inherent damage" from collision, water or otherwise I also would say clerical error... I mean to call a vehicle a total loss I would imagine something would stand out.

 

Sorry, but WHAT?

Yes, the title may be currently (or at one time) clear - but do a bit of searching on "title washing."

Forgive me any honest dealers in Florida that may read this, but my own judgement - anything not factory new with warranty out of FL had better be looked at VERY closely.

 

What I was referring to was theft. If you buy a car from a dealer, and pay retail price, the car is yours. A buyer can't later claim that the car was stolen, and needs to be returned. You, as the current owner, get to keep the car. Either the original owner or dealer are SOL. If this were't true, no one would even buy a car, if you could "lose it" at a later point.

There was an article on this in SCM, in the Legal Files section...

Bo

 

if in CA, you are most probably going to get a 100% refund...
if in FL- it is the opposite: you will be SOL...

its that diverse in terms of
'recoverability"....
FWIW










....

 

He said nothing of a slavage title.

I belive some here are assuming it is a salvage title.


If it is a clean California title I agree with Jerry.

 

I have a question

Can anyone actually TELL it was a total loss? I'm assuming a total loss would mean a major accident or flood or something significant redone.

There should be some evidence. If there is none, then why not just assume it's the wrong information from the insurance company and ask for evidence or it be removed from Carfax?

Why blame the dealer who sold it when you don't even know it's a problem with the car?

The OP says "total loss not disclosed at time of sale". Really? How do you know?

 

It would seem that the dealer should make good on it and then chase down the auction place to get a refund from them etc. At any rate a total loss should have appeared if a PPI was done. Lastly, I don't think that you could get a loan on a total loss car if indeed this guy did, so maybe you could sick the lien company on the dealer? This wouldn't be the first time a shocker came up when someone decided to sell down the road.

 

Seems like there are quite a few exotic cars on ebay with salvage titles. I have been told by 2 big insurance companies, that the way they deal with cars with salvage titles, when someone files a claim , if that salveged titled car is involved in anymore than a "fender bender", they will automatically total out the car, because they worry about liability, from whatever damage caused the car to incur the original totaled out/salvage title, in the first place. Wonder how many of the Hurricane Sandy, salt-water flooded cars, (exotic & late model cars), will be sold by fly-by-dealers all over the country, without the public knowing the history of the cars. A lot of that happed with hurricane Katrina. As some of the posters have mentioned, it can apperently take a long time for the salvage to show up on the car-fax, autocheck, or others. And there are still a lot of crooked dealers that will run those cars thru non-salvage title states, and then the title in hand is "clean" . But the car sure isn't!