Rogue car dealers are those dealers who will do anything to sell a used or new vehicle, even if it has defects or has even been in a serious accident and is legally considered a loss vehicle, all without revealing to the innocent buyer that there are defects in the vehicle, because it is clear to them that if they discover that the vehicle has defects, no one will bother to buy it.
It is not always easy to identify fraudulent car dealers because they do not always identify themselves as car dealers. Furthermore, not every car dealer works with a car lot, so it is not always easy to identify whether the person who posted the ad online for the sale of a car is a private individual or a used car dealer.
In this article, you will read about the possible ways to identify car dealers. Crooks Or someone who is not a car dealer but still tries to work on you and sell you a damaged or accident-damaged car.
Rogue car dealers will hide from you that they are dealers.
סוחרי רכבים מודעים היטב לכך שאנשים פרטיים עשויים לחשוש מלרכוש מהם רכבים (שמם "הטוב" של סוחרי רכבים הולך לפניהם) ולכן הם לא תמיד יציגו את עצמם בפני הרוכש הפוטנציאלי כסוחרי רכבים.
In most cases, car dealers, especially those who do not have a car lot, will prefer to present themselves as a private individual so that the potential buyer will trust them more and not perform all the necessary inspections before purchasing a vehicle.
A car dealer would prefer to present himself as a private individual also to evade his obligations according to the instructions Used Car Sales Law (also known as Due Disclosure Law).
One of these duties is The duty Give the buyer, before signing a memorandum of understanding or contract, and certainly before paying for the vehicle, a form called Disclosure FormWithin the framework of this form, the car dealer must provide written details, among other things, about the defects he knows about in the vehicle, such as accidents or whether it is a vehicle that is Legally lost vehicle.
Failure to disclose in the sale of a vehicle, especially if it is Selling a car is a legal loss. or Buying a legally lost vehicle, is a serious violation of the provisions of the Used Vehicle Sales Law. In such a situation, the buyer may file Lawsuit against used car dealer And there is a very high chance that the court will order Canceling a used car transactionMost likely, in such a case, the court will order both financial compensation in favor of the plaintiff and restitution. Legal expenses.
It is not very difficult to find out whether the person selling you the car is a car dealer or not. Ask to get the car license and ID of the person selling you the car. If the person selling you the car is not the person whose name appears on the car license, there is a very high probability that the person standing in front of you is Car dealer A crook trying to work on you.
Usually, that person will explain to you that he is just helping a relative sell the car. If this is the case, insist on meeting with the actual owner of the car.
Rogue car dealers will try to sell you a legally lost vehicle.
A loss vehicle is technically a vehicle that has been in a very serious accident. Insurance companies are generally not interested in repairing these vehicles due to the high costs, so they sell these vehicles to car dealers, who repair these vehicles in garages that do not always ensure correct/high-quality repairs/in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, but rather their goal is to present the customer with a vehicle That looks good from the outside, with a minimum amount of money for vehicle repairs from car dealers.
The less car dealers invest in repairing the vehicle, and the more they sell the damaged vehicle to the most innocent customer, the more financial profit they will pocket (which can sometimes reach tens of thousands of shekels from a single transaction).
Rogue car dealers will never tell a customer that they are selling a legally lost vehicle. Because even an inspection at a vehicle inspection center will not reveal that the vehicle is in such a status. The reason for this is that this status is determined by insurance companies, and vehicle inspection centers do not have access to insurance company systems.
There are also more sophisticated car dealer scammers. They will not verbally tell the customer that they are about to purchase a legally lost vehicle, but the contract agreement will include a clause at the end of the agreement that mentions this. Car dealers know that most customers will not bother to read the contract agreement and therefore will not pay attention to this clause.
Particularly fraudulent car dealers will have the customer sign a completely blank disclosure form, and at a later stage will fill in whatever details they want, including the fact that the vehicle is legally a lost vehicle.
In order to avoid falling into the trap of fraudulent car dealers when purchasing a legally lost vehicle, all the buyer needs to ask for is the vehicle's insurance claims history. This is a document that only the owner of the vehicle can produce through Infocar website, at a cost of only 10 shekels.
In any case, it is not recommended to skip having the vehicle inspected at a vehicle inspection center before purchasing. While the inspection will not reveal that the vehicle is a loss, it may definitely reveal that the vehicle was involved in an accident or has other defects. (For your reference) A lawsuit against a car dealer for selling a car after an accident).
Rogue car dealers may falsify a vehicle's mileage
Rogue car dealers may sell a customer a car that has been tampered with Mileage fraudMileage fraud is the act of reducing the mileage displayed on the dashboard. The goal is to misrepresent to the customer that the vehicle is newer. You can file a Lawsuit against car dealer for falsifying mileage and win in court.
Everyone knows that the more a vehicle is driven, the more wear and tear it has, and the more likely it is to have more faults (for example: Engine malfunctions). On the other hand, the lower the mileage of a vehicle, the higher the chance of selling it for even more than the list price, which is exactly why rogue car dealers will take the risk and act illegally.
לצערם של סוחרי רכב נוכלים, בדיקות פשוטות יכולות לגלות לרוכש התמים האם "שיחקו" עם הקילומטראז' או לא.
The first thing the customer should check is the current vehicle license. It states the number of kilometers the vehicle has traveled since the last annual license test. If the number on the current vehicle license is higher than what is on the vehicle, it is a sign that someone has reduced the number of kilometers the vehicle has actually traveled.
Another option is to request the vehicle's service history. Every time the vehicle comes to the garage for service, the garage records the number of kilometers the vehicle has traveled up to that service. Even in this case, if the number of kilometers shown on the vehicle's display is lower than the data that appears in the service history, it is a sign that they are trying to sell you a vehicle that has had its mileage reduced.
How do you deal with rogue car dealers?
Dealing with rogue car dealers is not easy, and will often require filing a Civil lawsuit or Financial claim To the court. We need to know how to prepare correctly. Complaint against a car dealer.
Before actually filing the lawsuit, you need to act correctly to increase your chances of success in court. The first thing you should do immediately after discovering that you have fallen into the trap of fraudulent car dealers is to contact the dealer with whom you made the transaction and inform him that you have discovered that he has concealed material details from you regarding the condition of the vehicle.
The contact with the merchant must be made in writing (WhatsApp/SMS) or via a recorded conversation. This is very important so that there is documentation that can be presented in court.
בחלק גדול מהמקרים סוחרי הרכבים ינסו "לפתור" את הבעיה באמצעות הצעה לבצע עסקת טרייד אין. זאת לא הצעה טובה ללקוח, שיאלץ לשלם לסוחר הרכבים כספים נוספים, ולהסתכן בכך שסוחר הרכבים ימכור לו פעם נוספת "חתול בשק".
What the customer should demand is a transaction cancellation – that is, a refund of the customer’s money and the return of the vehicle to the car dealer. In the vast majority of cases, rogue car dealers will not agree to this.
In addition, it is very important to contact a lawyer who specializes in handling claims against car dealers andCar dealershipsThis is a niche in which very few lawyers in Israel specialize, and not every lawyer is aware of the subtleties of the relevant case law and legislation.
In conclusion
The goal of fraudulent car dealers is to sell a customer a vehicle that may be very damaged, at the highest possible price. To succeed in their mission, such dealers will often not reveal to the unsuspecting buyer that they are car dealers, in order not to arouse suspicion and to prevent the buyer from asking unnecessary questions or performing vehicle inspections that may reveal that the vehicle is damaged.
Common cases in which fraudulent car dealers make a lot of money from selling a vehicle are when it is a legal loss vehicle/a vehicle that has been in an accident or cases in which the mileage on the vehicle has been reduced.
In most cases, to deal with fraudulent dealers, you will have to file a lawsuit in court. To increase your chances of success in court, it is highly recommended to hire the services of an automotive lawyer who specializes in lawsuits against car dealers or Lawsuits against car importers.
