(Not sure if this counts as a sales post) Just a couple weeks ago in the streets of Chicago I bought a Rav4 with “94,000” Miles on it, I bought for $12,000 with cash, I drove it home, title in hand, not thinking much of it, After a week or two I soon realized the car was running horribly. I ran Carfax and it turns out the odometer was rolled back by over 130,000 miles.
I checked the title and it’s not the same name as the person who had the car listed. Going to be contacting the police tomorrow to see what happens. CarFax is reporting the car had 4 different owners so it can’t be that hard tracking the guy down right?
Just wondering what are my chances of getting in a courtroom with this guy? Moneys a bit tight and I can’t sell this car with the current odometer because it’s illegal.
Well this is a loss, not even sure if the car can be sold for parts legally? Is it someone else’s car that was stolen? Do you legally own it? Can you get it under your name/insured?
After that, if you do legally own the car, worst case you got a lemon with illegal activities surrounding it which may get you a refund over time.
You could decide to fix it and drive it, saving receipts (and keep track of your time).
Get Legal Shield (app) and see about advice from local lawyers there. It’s about $30/month. I believe they give advice and write letters for the plan and then in court issues are billed separate. None court things are under the subscription.
Check the affected area of the car and make sure it wasn’t tampered with. Check tranny for transmission fluid, oil for oil and make sure it’s the right color, etc.
Get a mechanic to check it out.
All of these steps are to get you to a better place even though you’ll have a little out of pocket.