Buying a car with damage to the chassis can be a real safety hazard. If there is damage to the chassis of the car, it is a sign that the car has already been Not a minor accidentIn these situations, it is not always clear where and by whom such a vehicle was repaired, and whether it was repaired in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
Court rulings and Regulation 309 of the Traffic Regulations They refer to the situation of buying a vehicle with damage to the chassis, and state that it is unacceptable to have vehicles that have been in serious accidents driving on Israeli roads, as these pose a real danger.
Another thing to consider after buying a car with chassis damage or even after Purchasing a truck With damage to the chassis, the vehicle may be classified as a Legal loss. מדובר ברכבים שעברו תאונות כה קשות שלא השתלם לתקן אותם (עלות התיקון עולה על שווי הרכב). במקרים רבים רכבים אלה מגיעים למוסכים של "חאפרים" או מתוקנים במוסכים ברשות הפלסטינית, ללא פיקוח או בקרה, ומוחזרים לכבישי ישראל כשהם נראים לעיתים חדשים מבחינה חיצונית. יחד עם זאת, רוכש הרכב כלל לא מודע שייתכן שהוא נוהג על פצצה מתקתקת.
Before purchasing any second-hand vehicle, and especially after purchasing a vehicle with damage to the chassis, it is a good idea to check the vehicle's insurance history through the insurance companies' clearing center. This is a check that costs (as of today) only ten shekels and will allow you to find out whether the insurance companies have handled insurance claims following an accident in which the vehicle was involved, and even whether the vehicle was defined by the insurance companies as a vehicle that is a legal loss. If you discover before purchasing that the vehicle was defined as a legal loss, it is a good idea to avoid purchasing this vehicle.
Attorney Eddie Blitstein has been representing plaintiffs in lawsuits against car dealers for over a decade. Need professional legal advice? Contact our office.
How to avoid buying a car with chassis damage?
Buying a car with chassis damage is not a fateful decision, but is often due to the buyer's negligence. My office receives many inquiries every day from used car buyers, either from individuals or from car dealers, who discovered in retrospect that they had unknowingly purchased a car with chassis damage.
What characterizes most of these buyers is that the vast majority of them decided to trust the seller and did not take the vehicle for inspection by a professional on their behalf or at a vehicle inspection institute. The desire to save a few hundred shekels (the cost of inspecting the vehicle before purchase) often leads to these customers being forced to go to court and spend thousands of shekels (and sometimes tens of thousands of shekels) in order to conduct legal proceedings with the aim of having the court order the Canceling a used car purchase transaction.
Buying a used car from a car dealer? You will be required to receive a due disclosure form.
A transaction to purchase a used car from a car dealer must be carried out according to certain rules. One of those rules requires the car dealer to provide the buyer with Disclosure FormThe buyer must sign this form to confirm that it was delivered to him before the transaction is completed.
As part of this form, the car dealer must disclose to the buyer, among other things, whether the vehicle has been in any accidents. Requiring and receiving this form by the buyer will significantly reduce the chance of buying a vehicle with damage to the chassis.
However, it is not enough to simply receive this form because the car dealer may simply not disclose the details of the accident and in retrospect claim that he was not aware that the vehicle had been in an accident (you may be surprised, but this argument is especially common among car dealers after selling a vehicle with damage to the chassis or any other accident, which leads to the filing of a claim). Lawsuits against car dealers).
Obtaining an up-to-date inspection form at the Vehicle Inspection Institute
Another practice that is very common among used car dealers is to present a current inspection form from a vehicle inspection institute to a person interested in purchasing the vehicle. Under no circumstances should you make a purchase based on this form, but this form should be used by you for the purpose of comparing data only after you have performed an inspection of your own choice at a vehicle inspection institute of your choice.
Buying a car with damage to the chassis can happen even in situations where you have been presented with a current inspection form. Sometimes this is due to negligence on the part of a vehicle inspection institute (which may be grounds for filing a complaint). Lawsuit against a vehicle inspection institute), and sometimes it is an attempt fraud Real.
Taking the vehicle to a vehicle inspection center at your request
To reduce the chance of buying a car with chassis damage, the best way, as of today, is to take the car to an inspection center of your own choosing (not one recommended to you by the seller). In this situation, you will discover the current condition of the car, and if you received a proper disclosure form from the seller or even an inspection form on their behalf, you can compare the data.
If you discover significant discrepancies (for example, accidents/impacts on the vehicle) between the data in the seller's documents and the data you received from a vehicle inspection institute on your behalf - buying a vehicle with damage to the chassis may turn out to be a real reality. In cases where there are significant discrepancies between the data, it is worth giving up on purchasing from that seller.
What do you do after buying a car with chassis damage?
Two possible situations need to be considered – after buying a vehicle with chassis damage in a situation where the seller informs the buyer that such damage exists, and the buyer has agreed to it (usually this is expressed in the purchase of the vehicle at a significantly lower price), there is not much that can be done. Buying a vehicle with chassis damage or selling a vehicle with chassis damage is not prohibited by law, and therefore as long as the parties to the transaction are aware of the condition of the vehicle, and agree on a price according to the condition of the vehicle, there is no legal problem.
On the other hand, buying a vehicle with damage to the chassis in a situation where the seller concealed this material detail exposes the seller to a lawsuit in which it is possible to demand cancellation of the transaction (return of the vehicle to the seller and return of payment to the buyer), in addition to financial compensation.
Sending a warning letter and providing notification of transaction cancellation
Before running to court and investing a lot of money in lawyer fees and court fees, it is worth sending Warning letter Before filing a claim, immediately after you discover that you were sold a vehicle with damage to the chassis (in a situation where this detail was hidden from you at the time of the transaction).
usually Letter from a lawyer will be taken more seriously than a letter or demand you send solely on your own behalf.
If, after sending the notification letter, you reach an agreement with the seller (whether it is a transaction cancellation or a partial refund), it may not be necessary to submit a Financial claimOn the other hand, if you do not reach an agreement or your letter is even ignored, there will be no escape from legal action.
Canceling a purchase transaction for a vehicle with chassis damage
If the seller is not willing to cancel the transaction, the only way to charge him is by filing a Civil lawsuit And obtaining a judgment in your favor, ordering the seller to return your money to you.
אם רכשתם את הרכב בסכום שאינו עולה על 36 אלף ש"ח – תוכלו להגיש את התביעה בעצמכם לבית משפט לתביעות קטנות. בבית משפט לתביעות קטנות אתם לא חייבים לשכור שירותיו של עורך דין ובכך תוכלו לחסוך כסף רב.
לעומת זאת, אם סכום רכישת הרכב עולה על 36 אלף ש"ח, לא יהיה מנוס מהגשת Claim to the Magistrate's Court.
No matter which court you file your claim with, it is a good idea to attach as much information as possible to the claim document that indicates that you purchased a vehicle with damage to the chassis only because the seller hid all the details from you. You should clearly argue that you would not have considered buying a vehicle with damage at all. In the chassis If only the seller had explained this matter to you.
It is a good idea to attach to the claim all the documents that the seller gave you that indicate that he misled you about the true condition of the vehicle. If you have kept the vehicle's sales notice, it is a good idea to attach it to the claim, especially if it explicitly states that the vehicle has not been in any accidents or that the seller undertakes to inspect it on a chalk line. engine And chassis.
Before filing a claim after buying a vehicle with chassis damage, you should consult with Claims lawyer Experienced in this field. Our firm has represented many plaintiffs in these matters.
Frequently asked questions about buying a vehicle with chassis damage
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Buying a car with chassis damage at a significant discount. Is it worth it?
When buying a car with chassis damage, you should consider not only the financial aspect but also the safety aspect. In general, it is highly recommended to avoid buying a car with chassis damage. Even if you do not notice any safety defects during the period you own the car, when you sell the car you will be forced to disclose that the car has chassis damage, and it is doubtful that you will be able to sell the car.
If you do not disclose to your buyer that the vehicle has damage to the chassis, you will expose yourself to a lawsuit.
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I inspected the vehicle at a vehicle inspection institute and they found no damage to the chassis. Should I sue the institute?
In this situation, you can sue both the seller (assuming he did not tell you about the damage to the chassis) and the vehicle inspection institute.
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Will the court order the cancellation of the transaction for every purchase of a vehicle with damage to the chassis?
Not every purchase of a vehicle with damage to the chassis will lead to a ruling ordering the cancellation of the transaction. The court will examine the data and try to understand whether the seller disclosed to the buyer that the vehicle had been in an accident that led to damage to the chassis.
If the buyer fails to prove in court that the seller concealed this material detail from him, the likelihood that the court will order the cancellation of the transaction is low.
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Can I file a police complaint for buying a vehicle with chassis damage?
This is possible, but most of the time the Israel Police will not handle it and will close the case. The complainant will be directed to file a civil lawsuit.
