Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Contract for automobile purchase - enforcement of contract
I purchased an used automobile in July 1997, when the dealer paid off my trade in, he underpaid the credit union by almost $900.00 and waited a month to make the payoff on the trade in, the delay cost me an extra $720.00. He then failed to register my trade in and tickets accumulated on the trade in car for failure to register totaling about $100.00. The credit union then billed me another $471.00 for an underpayment penalty on the loan on the trade in. My loss is about $2191.00 in addition to the $22,500 I paid for the used BMW. Please advise me on how best to proceed and explore any other options in addition to the options I've listed below.
What are my best options in California ?- (1)Take to Small Claims court to enforce the contract, (2)Take to Attorney General as a consumer protection complaint,(3) Take to local District Attorney for fraud report, (4) Report to Department of Motor Vehicles Inspector regarding dealer license requirements, or (5) Have a private attorney contact the dealer and clarify allegations against him and require that he satisfy contract.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Bad vehicle purchase experience
Your options are all of the above. You might seek small claims court.You do not need an attorney and it is quick. In order to prove all of your claims, youneed to look at the paperwork the dealer gave you when you bought your new car.
All of the payoff information etc.. is (or should be) listed on it. The other questionsis where did the dealer get the pay-off amount. This too may be actionable if the creditunion gave him wrong information. Anyway, once the car was accepted as a trade-in title passed to the dealer and you should have no longer been responsible for the vehicle.
I would talk to the DMV, and file a small claims action.
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