Ask the law: I bought a damaged car, can I get my money back?
Vendor’s liability when old defect of item sold was hidden from the buyer
Question:
A month ago, I bought a car from a person, and after inspection I discovered that the car was completely damaged and that the motor was not working properly. My question is: Do I have the legal right to return the car and get its price back? Please advise.
Answer:
To answer such question, I would advise the questioner that:
You have the right to return the car and get its price back because you are still within the period of 6 months stated by the Civil Transactions Law for such cases in its Article 555, which states: “The lawsuit in warrant of the defect is not receivable due to prescription occurring after the lapse of six months as of taking delivery of the thing sold, unless the vendor binds himself for a longer period. The vendor shall not adhere to this duration if it has been proved that hiding the defect was by fraud imputed to him.”
As a general rule, the sale shall be considered concluded, on basis that the thing sold is free from defects other than those customarily tolerated.
Due to your description, the defect was old and existing in the car before sale and this gives you the right to return the car as per Article 544 of the same law which mentions that:
“1-If an old defect appears in the thing sold, the purchaser shall be at option either to restitute it, or accept it at the nominated price, but he may not retain it and claim the amount of the decrease in price due to the defect.
2-The defect is considered old if it was existing in the sold before sale, or happened after sale while still under the control of the seller before delivery.
3-The defect occurring upon purchase shall be considered as old if based on a previously existing cause in the thing sold while in the hands of the vendor.
4-The old defect is conditioned upon being occult. A defect is occult when it cannot be discovered by normal look on the outward appearance of the thing sold, detected by an ordinary person, discovered only by an expert or does not show except by practice.”