Dubai buyer claims defect in used car, seeks legal action
Seller refuses to cancel sales contract, refund value of car. What next?
Question: A month ago, I bought a used car from a car showroom. It became clear to me that the car was completely painted and its motor was not working properly. I asked the showroom to take back the car, cancel the sales contract and refund its value, but they refused on the pretext that it had been more than a month since I had purchased the car.
What is my legal right in this case?
Answer: According to Article 544 of the Civil Transaction Law, “If an old defect appears in a 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. The defect is considered old if it was existing in the sold item before sale, or happened after sale, while still under the control of the seller before delivery.”
The defect occurring upon purchase shall be considered old if based on a previously existing cause in the thing sold while in the hands of the seller. The old defect is conditioned upon being occult. A defect is occult when it cannot be discovered at a glance 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”.
You have to file a case against the seller to cancel the sales contract and recover the money within six months from the delivery of the car, unless the seller binds himself for a longer period, based on Article 555 of the same law which states that 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 seller binds himself for a longer period.
The seller shall not adhere to this duration if it has been proved that hiding the defect was by fraud imputed to him.