Virginia State law question regarding Auto Fraud

[Cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by SLawrenceM4

My apologies, my car was in a "near total collision" with a guard rail, air bags deployed with front side and rear impact. I bought the car from a reputable dealer ship for market cost (if the car had not been in an accident) pre-owned. This accident was not disclosed to me at time of purchase, and now I'm finding out a year later when trying to trade it in that it's worth 15k less than I paid -- some dealerships, including BMW, won't even take it due to the airbags being deployed.

I'm wondering if this constitutes auto-fraud or if I should be entitled to some sort of compensation, since the accident wasn't disclosed and the car they sold me is worth significantly less than I paid for it.

Gotcha. So it was in a collision and "nearly totaled" - though I don't know how you make that distinction if it wasn't totaled and the title is still clean.

Either way there's really nothing you can do here. Carfax reports often take time to reflect accidents. Does the accident now show up on a report? How soon after the accident did you buy the car?

If the dealer bought the car at auction or had it traded in it's possible even they didn't know. Or they might have just got a good deal on it and represented it based on what they knew.

Most states require you to sign an "as is" form which states you understand the risks in buying a used car. Since it was a used sale not a new one the previous comments about dealer disclosure don't really apply.

It's an unfortunate learning experience, I bought a very cheap corvette and found out it was in a big front end collision that didn't get reported until after I bought it. The owner knew he had to move it before the Carfax got dinged. I was lucky to part it out and get my money back when I sold it but it made me realize a PPI can be very important especially if you aren't sure what to look for when it comes to body damage, paint mismatch, etc.