What is a consumer’s recourse if they bought a used car and the odometer reading was set back?
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What is a consumer’s recourse if they bought a used car and the odometer reading was set back?
I bought a used car. The odometer read 11,100 miles. About 2 weeks later I found out that odometer was changed from 14,4367 miles. What rights do I have?
Asked on March 20, 2011 under General Practice, Utah
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You would almost certainly have the right, at a minimum, to rescind the transaction--give the car back and get your money back in return. That would be the case whether the seller knew of the rollback or not, since you were buying--the deal was supposed to be for--a car with 11,100 miles but instead the car had 144,367 (or if you mistyped at the end, 14,436); that is, in the "innocent" case, the deal was founded on a mistake of fact, which makes the contract voidable.
If the seller knew of the rollback and withheld that information, or worse, did the rollback himself, you may further be able to recover additional compensation or damages from him under a fraud theory--that is, he very likely committed fraud against you in those circumstances.
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