What is Consumer Law?
Consumer Law is a broad area of civil litigation that typically includes disputes regarding purchases and sales.
I bought a used car but no dealership will allow me to trade it in on a new car…Why?
One area of consumer law that consumers should be aware of relates to cars being sold with "branded" titles. Different states have different requirements for how cars are totaled when they are in a severe accident. Typically, a car is declared a total loss when the cost of the repairs exceeds 80% of the car's value. Depending on the state within which the car is totaled the car can be "branded" with a "salvage title." At this point the car is treated like a collection of scrap parts rather than a vehicle. Various states have differing methods of "branding" the titles: "Salvage Title," "Salvage-Rebuildable," "Salvage-Nonrebuildable," "Salvage- Rebuilt," etc. The definitions of each "branding" is determined by state statute.
By taking a totaled vehicle to different ( and sometimes multiple) states, some sinister used car salesmen will take the "parts" and get them re-titled as a vehicle again. The danger is that the vehicle still has the same Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). An unsuspecting buyer can purchase a vehicle that looks nice and what seems like a good price, only to then determine that the car is worthless in resale due to the lost value from when the vehicle was declared a total loss. Generally, the sinister used salesmen have also used aftermarket non-OEM parts to get the vehicle back on the road. Because of the poor quality of parts used, typically the "nice" car that you bought will develop major problems shortly after the purchase. Leaving you with no value for trade-in and an unreliable vehicle that requires more money to maintain.
Prevention is the best method of dealing with these situations. When purchasing a used car, always get a CARFAX report or use a VIN research tool to view the vehicle accident reports. Additionally, most states require a vehicle with a "branded" title to say "rebuilt" or "salvage" somewhere on both the paper title and on the vehicle in a conspicuous location. When inspecting a potential purchase be sure to look in the driver's side door threshold as you enter the vehicle.
