Thinking About Buying a Used Car? Watch Out for Remarketed Defective Vehicles

Auto safety recalls are always important to follow, a recent recall involving Takata airbags has resulted in hundreds of injuries and affected almost 42 million cars. Is it possible that a used car dealer, aware of a vehicle’s potential dangerous recalled products, could still sell the vehicle to someone as long as they let them know that parts of the vehicle are on recall? The answer is yes, and this is the topic of a legal debate between General Motors and two used car dealers. Keep reading to learn ways that dangerous cars are being remarketed.

Ways Defective Cars Are Remarketed

Common titles on remarketed recall cars include “repaired for safety issues” or “subject to inspection.” These titles are vague, and the real meaning of those terms can be lost in the sale process. The real danger of purchasing one of these vehicles should be made much clearer by the marketing. More like “car contains a potentially dangerous recalled airbag.” This would make it harder to sell the car, but the debate is whether these cars should be able to be resold at all.Laws have been enacted against car manufacturers from selling recalled vehicles, and in 2016 a similar law was passed to regulate recalled vehicles being offered by car rental agencies. There is no regulation against used car companies. However, there are laws regulating that the dealer fully completes the repair of the recalled item, or divulges to the buyer that the car is still subject to recall.

 Is the Manufacturer or Used Car Dealer Liable?

In the event of dangerous product recalls, both the manufacturer and the used car dealer can be found liable if certain conditions are met. The used car dealer is not responsible for having cars with recalled products, but they are responsible for legitimately communicating to the buyer of the vehicle that it does contain recalled products and has been repaired, or the recalled product in the vehicle is still pending repair. It’s when the remarketing is underexplained to the buyer or uses too vague of wording to clearly explain the problem. This is where means of a debate have arisen. The manufacturer of the recalled product is liable for personal injury lawsuits and compensatory damages.These remarketed cars are dangerous, and if you have purchased a used car with a defect you could be subject to compensation. Lufkin car accident attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC are experienced in many kinds of auto accident cases.