What constitutes grounds to get out of an auto contract?

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What constitutes grounds to get out of an auto contract?

I bought a used car 2 months ago. The odometer read 89,389 miles but the purchase agreement states 89,000. Is this technicality enough to get out of the contract? Not just for this reason but the car broke down last week and I had to have it towed to a mechanic. Upon looking at the car the mechanic told me that it should not have passed inspection because of all the corrosion around the motor mounts. If a car should not have passed inspection in the first place should I beable to return the car? Or does the dealer get the option to reapair the damage?

Asked on March 26, 2012 under General Practice, New York

Answers:

FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

Typically fraud or mutual mistake of material fact would allow a person to cancel (rescind) the purchase of a car inthe situation that you are writing about. My question is do you have any facts to show that the dealer knew of material facts about the vehicle that you bought that would affect its value or desirability? If so, then you may have a legal basis to rescind your purchase of it.

You have the burden of proving fraud or mutual mistake. As to the 389 miles discrepancy, such amount seems to be trivial with respect to the car in that potentially whoever wrote the number of miles rounded it down to 89,000.


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