Q: If I purchased a vehicle and the seller lied about the mileage on the car how do I go about this process if I have proof
I have service records indicating that the mileage on the car is more than what is listed on the odometer from 3 years ago. It was listed at 161,422 from a Jiffy Lube on 7/20/17. Upon purchase, the mileage is at 125,644.
A:
To commit odometer fraud is a CRIMINAL offense, a Federal Crime. IF it's done by an individual AND you can prove intent, ie, they knew it, that person can be charged criminally. It would be HARD to get law enforcement generally to take it seriously though. Maybe DMV would take it seriously?
IF it was done by a car dealership, they can lose their license.
You may not "threaten" to use this information against the person(s).
You can either "use it" or "not use it."
You will want to hire counsel to decide on strategy.
Good luck with it.
Gerald Barry Dorfman agrees with this answer
A:
While criminally prosecuting the seller will be satisfying, it doesn't resolve the issue that you bought a car with 125k miles but got one with more than 50k more miles on it. This means increased expenses for maintenance and you overpaid for the car. You need to go to small claims court to seek the damages for this FRAUD, including possible punitive damages. Gather all your evidence, including the sales listing, the sales slip, see if you can get the sales info from DMV- they register the miles at the time of a sale- Comps for vehicles with that mileage- KBB values- additional repair invoices for major service to be done due to the mileage, everything. Prepare a summary listing all the values and totaling what you are claiming for the judge.
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