Car purchase, legal warranty
September 9, 2010 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Michael Vogt
Hello,
My question concerns purchase contracts for used vehicles.
I purchased a used vehicle from a car dealer, unfortunately significant defects appeared a few days later.
The purchase contract states literally:
Special agreements:
1) bought as seen and tested several times
Special assurances:
2) Repair, without guarantee
Is the purchase contract legally binding? Or does the dealer have to adhere to the statutory warranty despite his special conditions.
This is not stated in the purchase contract:
The vehicle was not sold as a fixer-upper, spare parts warehouse, export, or to business owners.
Please refer to the facts in the attached documents.
Attached: Dealer's offer, my letter to the dealer,
Sincerely
Dear advice seeker,
Your question may be answered based on the facts you have provided and taking into account your contribution as follows:
If the purchased item is defective, the buyer can demand, according to § 437 BGB:
- Remediation, if this fails or is refused by the seller,
- Withdraw from the contract or reduce the purchase price, and
- Claim damages.
If the seller is a business and the buyer is a private individual, the rules on so-called consumer goods sales also apply.
Section 475 (1) BGB determines that the entrepreneur cannot rely on an agreement made to the detriment of the buyer before notification from the legal warranty rules. This means that in your case, the warranty rights have not been effectively excluded and you can therefore demand from the seller remediation, i.e. elimination of defects.
Please note that before withdrawing, the seller MUST always be given the opportunity for remediation according to the legislator's intentions.
Therefore, you should request the seller to rectify the defects within a deadline. The burden of proof rule of § 476 BGB is in your favor, meaning it is legally presumed that the defects were already present when the vehicle was handed over to you.
I hope that my answer has given you an initial overview of the legal situation.
I would like to point out that this answer, based on your information, is only an initial legal assessment of the situation. This cannot replace a comprehensive evaluation. By adding or omitting relevant information, the legal assessment may be completely different.
You are welcome to contact me through the follow-up option on this portal or via my email address.
For further legal representation beyond this initial consultation, my law firm is also at your disposal.
I wish you a great day and remain
Yours sincerely
Lawyer Michael Vogt
