Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Georgia

Hello - We had purchased a 2002 Honda Civic advertised on Craigslist as having 133,000 miles (2017). Upon inspection of the vehicle it was found the odometer did not work and after running a Carfax on the VIN it was found at last inspection to have 200,000 in 2013. We spoke to the seller and he agreed to pay our money back and signed an agreement / witnessed to pay within 30 days. He has paid 90% back but it has gone further than the agreement signed (45 days). He said that he will not pay anything additional - that we can take him to court. Said vehicles older than 10 years do not have to disclose odometer information in state of Georgia. Is this true? Are we just lucky to get what we have gotten? Can we take him to court based on the signed and acknowledged contract of the incorrect odometer reading / posting?


Asked on 3/13/17, 12:03 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

If you can prove the seller altered the odometer or knew of the alteration,it's a federal felony (see https://www.justice.gov/civil/case/federal-odometer-tampering-statutes fordetails) andif you turnthe seller in to federal authorities he could go to prison. It is legal to sella car with a broken odometer (andsimply disclose the number may not be correct) if it's broken. Can you sue? Sure. Collecting may be the hard part but yes,you can.

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Answered on 3/13/17, 1:02 pm


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