Kamloops woman who bought dud car proves exception to 'buyer beware'
A Kamloops woman who bought a beat-up 25-year-old car on Facebook Marketplace has managed to get her money back after she proved the owner had misrepresented its condition.
According to a May 29 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, Gabriela Sanchez bought a 2000 Ford Taurus from Joshua Wood after seeing his ad on Facebook Marketplace.
In the decision, she said she saw the vehicle's check engine light was on, something leaking from the exhaust pipe, and the car overall "ran rough."
However, she said Wood "assured her" the vehicle was just old and he'd checked it out himself because he was a mechanic.
She paid Wood $1,900 for the vehicle but 10 days later it broke down. She then took Wood to the online small claims court to get her money back.
While the general rule when purchasing a used car in a private sale is "buyer beware" there are exceptions.
"To be entitled to compensation, the buyer must prove fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation," the Tribunal said.
Fraudulent misrepresentation is when the seller says something false "or is reckless about whether it is true or false" which induces the buyer to buy the vehicle. Negligent misrepresentation is when the seller says something "untrue, inaccurate, or misleading" and the buyer relies on it.
In this case, Sanchez said Wood "represented" that he was a mechanic and had checked out the car himself.
She said he assured her the issues she saw were minor and the car was old but in good condition. Wood told her the oil had just been changed and he'd checked the whole car over.
In the decision, Wood denied saying those things.
However, Sanchez took the car to Active Care Auto just after it broke down.
"The evidence I find most convincing is from Active Care Auto," the Tribunal said.
When the shop inspected the car it found the a radiator stop leak additive had been added. Active Care Auto said it must have been added recently as it hadn't had an opportunity to circulate through the system.
Wood denied he'd added the stop leak and said it must have been done by a previous owner.
"He says he only drove the vehicle a few times across the parking lot he stored it at," the decision read.
The Tribunal ruled the stop leak additive was added shortly before the car was sold, regardless of whether Wood added it or not.
"I find it more likely than not that Mr. Wood told Ms. Sanchez he had checked out the car himself, as a mechanic, and assured her it was in reasonable condition," the Tribunal said. "This was untrue. Either he did not actually inspect the vehicle himself, or he did and assured her it was in good condition when he knew it was not."
The Tribunal ruled Wood had misrepresented the car’s condition.
"Even if the misrepresentation was not fraudulent... I find it was at least negligent," the Tribunal ruled. "Ms. Sanchez relied on Mr. Wood’s misrepresentation in deciding to buy the car."
While Sanchez had argued for $150 for a taxi expense, $33 for storage insurance, $1,000 for cancelling her insurance and $500 for Active Care Auto's work, the Tribunal dismissed the claim.
The Tribunal also dismissed Sanchez's $1,000 claim for punitive damages saying Wood's conduct didn't rise to that level.
Ultimately, the Tribunal ordered Wood to pay Sanchez $2,275 including fees and interest.
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