Need lawer-ly assistance!

[Ramien Meltides]

Hey guys, having quite a bit of trouble here with...well, I suppose you'd call it "civil litigation" of the consumer persuasion.

Long story short, I got into an accident with my car last week. I towed the vehicle to a nearby dealership's collision center and got an estimate of 10-16 thousand dollars - and they don't do financing. Now, I was kind of silly and didn't have any "comp and collision" insurance, so insurance wasn't going to be paying for this car.

Seeking a way out, I went to the dealership themselves and asked if we could do a trade-in. My sales guy "assistant sales manager" seemed like a decent sort, so I explained the situation in detail. I held nothing back. He seemed very confident they could help me, so off we went and did a deal for a new car.

So here I am with my new car, contract signed and everything, and the dealership calls me: "Either pay for the repairs to the old car, or bring the new one back."

What the heck? I'm strongly considering going to see a lawyer tomorrow about this issue (although I'm not too keen on spending over 200 bucks an hour if I can help it) - am I crazy to think I have a case here? The contract's been signed, the deal's done. If somewhere along the way, the sales guy didn't mention that insurance wasn't going to pay for the repairs to his boss, how is that my fault?

 

[Ramien Meltides]

I realize that posting this issue here is a bit of a longshot, but the sense of community here at ENWorld has always been like a big, comfortable blanket...mmm, warm blanket. Anyways, I'm fairly certain there's at least a few lawyer or paralegal folks out there who are also gamers and who also happen to frequent the boards, so it seemed I really had nothing to lose by posting here.

 

[Crothian]

not a lawyer, but read over the contract and see what it says exactly. It might actually say that the cost of the repairts is your responsibility.

 

[Ramien Meltides]

Yep, thought of that myself - nothing in there that I can see.

 

[Crothian]

does it say anything about it either way? If it doesn't then I imagine things can get quite tricky. Then it would come down to what was said and might be your word verse theirs. At the very least you might want to contact the BBB and see if they have complaints about these guys and to issue a complaint of your own.

 

[JoeBlank]

I am a lawyer, but I handle workers' compensation cases almost exclusively. Given that this is not my are of expertise and the fact that you are in another state, about which I know little to nothing, my advise would be useless, except to maybe point you in the right direction.

Look in the phone book for a lawyer that will give a "free consultation". This will mostly be personal injury lawyers, but you may get lucky and find someone who can at least give you an idea about whether a lawyer will be able to help at all.

Check the website for the Maryland State Bar Association. Looks like they leave it up to the local bar associations to do referrals. Find your county's bar association here:
http://www.msba.org/links/md/index.htm
Call and see if they can recommend an attorney for you.

Good luck.

 

[Ramien Meltides]

Thanks, JoeBlank. I've left voicemail to speak with an attorney tomorrow. One guy told me over the phone that I should fax 'em a letter saying "I insist you honor the contract and move forward with the financing and title paperwork", and I did so. Dealership is sticking to the "pay for repairs or bring the car back" line so far. I'll update tomorrow if anything changes.

Guess I have to bite the bullet and hire a counselor on this one - better to be safe than sorry (and carless).

 

[Old One]

Consider the 4th Estate...

Also not a lawyer...but most businesses hate bad press. In addition to contacting an atty, and filing a complaint with the better business bureau, I would also craft a well-written letter to the comsumer affairs reporters for all local news affiliates (NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox).

Something along the lines of "big bad dealership takes advantage of little guy during height of bad winter weather...won't honor contract...blah, blah, blah." Don't be afraid to tug a few heart strings, but also make it professional. Make sure each letter is addressed to the proper person (ie, don't just send it "To Whom It May Concern" - make sure it is going to the actual reporter).

Once the letters are complete, send copies to the General Sales Manager and the dealership owner via Certified Mail (return reciept requested) and fax copies to the same individuals letting them know that you will be sending these letters if your situation is not resolved to satisfactorily within 48 hours. You may also have to pay your atty for a couple of hours of time to have him/her review the contract and draft a letter requesting the dealership comply.

~ Old One

 

[Maerdwyn]

(Not a lawyer)

In most states, if a contract is vague, it is interpreted to the detriment of the party that drew it up. If you were honest about the need fore repairs with them, and they didn't include anything about the repairs in the contract in which they bought the car from you, then you are in pretty good shape.

That said, what kind of damage was there to the car - was the vast majority of it visually apparent? Did you let them know exactly how much damage there was and what it would have cost you to repair it? Or could they reasonably say you misled them about (or omitted) the extent of the damage, and misrepresented the current value of the vehicle?

 

[Ramien Meltides]

Good points about going to the media. That threat was implied in the letter I faxed 'em, but it doesn't seem to have fazed the general manager any.

Maerdwyn, thanks for the reply. I was very clear to them that insurance wasn't going to cover the damages and that I couldn't afford to do so. I handed the asst. sales manager a copy of the collision center's estimate and he said he took a look at the car on the rack, so I'm fairly sure he was aware of the car's condition at the time we made the deal.