Legal Question in Business Law in California

The odometer is a vehicle i just bought appears to have been tampered with and is not displaying the correct miles of actual use of the vehicle. The dealership should/could have known this since they checked the vehicle out. What makes them seem more guilty is how they failed to disclose all of the carfax report in the information package provided by them. Once I got home and pulled up the carfax report from online there were discrepencies (on the dealerships carfax report did not show) that I had not been told about or noted on the report i got from the dealer. I realized the mileage was wrong when i traveled a known 625 mile trip and the odometer displayed the travel miles at only 187!! So for every 3 miles only 1 mile is being counted. Are there legal actions I can take since it appears the dealership was trying to hide something or knew something about this issue?


Asked on 7/17/10, 8:00 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

It's a federal crime to tamper with odometers. Prudent buyers order Carfax reports before, not after, buying vehicles.

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Answered on 7/17/10, 11:09 am
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

You can start by reporting the dealership to the Department of Consumer Affairs. If you communicate well enough, you should be able to get an investigator to come out and see what you report. It sounds like you have some monetary loss, in the form of a damaged odometer, and would be able to sue for fraud. Depending on what you are seeking, you may be able to rescind the contract, and return the car and get your money back.

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Answered on 7/17/10, 1:17 pm


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