Legal Question in Product Liability in Virginia

We own a 2007 Toyota Camry le. Last November we advertized it on Craigslist for $14,000. We had offers between $12,000 and $13,000 but did not sell because we owed Toyota $17,000 at the time. We decided to pay down the debt some more before selling. At the time there were only twelve 2007 Camrys on craigslist. Today there are forty-two on craigslist- all posted by dealerships and that number has been steady for two weeks. There is no way we will get $12,000 for the car now- nobody wants it. That car has sped up four times with my fiance'- we have been lucky but every day is a risk until we take it in and sounds like the so called repairs are not making a difference. How do we get rid of the car now? We don't want it anymore but we owe Toyota $16,000. Can someone please tell us what to do?


Asked on 3/09/10, 5:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathon Moseley Moseley & Associates Law Firm

I am not sure there is anything you can do. But as a practical matter, you might just wait a little bit. Eventually, Toyota will fix the problem, and the publicity will blow over, and people will forget.

Now, you MAY of course have legal claims against Toyota for the defect if your car is not working properly, or is even dangerous. I have not looked into any of that legally. But you could of course demand that Toyota buy the car back from you. You would probably have to fight with them to do that. You could also file a lawsuit against Toyota for the defective car. Then offer as a resolution of the lawsuit that they take the car back.

If you can get the amount owed down to $15,000, it is much easier to file a lawsuit in General District Court, where the maximum size of lawsuits is $15,000.

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Answered on 3/21/10, 9:59 am


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