Expert: Paul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D. - 2/16/2005

Question
I live in the State of Oregon. I sold my 1997 jetta to a woman for $6500 and a few weeks later she calls me saying she wants all her money back because the car is undrivable.
We did each sign a contract stated the car would be sold "as is"
I told her when she bought it that it had perviously been in an accident.(however i was unaware of its severity since i was not disclosed this information when I purchased the car.)
She said she took it to a shop and it would cost 10,000 to get it back into driving condition and i was unaware of any internal damage to the car.
She now says she will sue me for all her money back, just wondering if she has a ligitiamte case. Any responce will be greatly appretiated. Thanks.  

Answer
Shane,

I am sorry to hear about your situation.

The buyer has a potential claim for breach of contract.  If she shows that you knew of the damage she has a claim for fraud or if she can prove you should have known, she has a claim for negligence.

It depends on what the court does and each judge decides matters differently.  It is possible she could be successful or if the judge believes she was not diligent and you acted in good faith that her case does not have merit.

I believe that Oregon has both "salvage" and "branded" titles.  If the damage is that severe, I would think it would have one of those titles so I would question her allegation it needs $10,000 to get running and ask her for a statement from the mechanic stating this.

I wish you the best of luck,

Paul D. Friedman, M.A., J.D.