Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

Purchased a car privately from an ad on craigslist. Car was advertised as in good, safe driving condition, new brakes, etc. Was to be first car for my 17 year old son. I knew it needed tires and a muffler pipe so we made allowances on the price for those items. Bought the car. Engine and Trans were good. However when I took it in for tires found out the entire undercarraige was rotted out. The new brakes had been installed upside down and were now seized. The tire place would not even touch the car. Called the seller, he took the car to fix what the repair shop was wrong. Got it back to tire place via tow. Now the trans is leaking, the seized brakes were simply reversed and put back on the car, etc etc. Do I have recourse?


Asked on 4/17/12, 1:09 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrew Solomon Law Office of Andrew A. Solomon

First, did you sign an Agreement of Sale. If so, did it provide the purchase for the car was on an "as is" basis. If so, you might have a problem. Otherwise, you can bring an action in District Justice court (small claims if under $12,000) for the return of the sales price. You can do this yourself, or you can hire an attorney. The key pieces of evidence will be the Craig's List ad, and get short written descriptions and invoices from the places you had the vehicle inspected (the mechanics who diagnosed the problems. Depending on how much you've already spent, you would be best served by hiring an attorney.

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Answered on 4/17/12, 2:00 pm


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