Last night I bought a car from an individual. This morning (less than 12 hours later) I took it to the DMV to register. On the way out of the parking lot, the car would not go in reverse. The seller has been telling me all day he would come out or have someone come and take a look at it. He finally told me he wants to get it fixed. I want my money back. Do I have any recourse? The "deal maker" was he told me if anything went wrong he would give me the money back because it meant he would have lied to me. I asked for the money back, he said he had to ask his wife because he gave her the money. Do I have any recourse?!

No... used cars from individuals are assumed to be sold AS-IS unless there is a warranty given in writing. That means... NO warranty.

Anyone can claim "but he told me.....", and that's why its difficult or impossible to prove in court. But a signed written warranty isn't.


That's why you should have paid to have an independent inspection BEFORE handing over the money and taking possession. Consider this an important lesson.

I agree, um;less he gave you a written warranty it " as-is" what you see is what you bought. The only loophole would be is if you could prove he had knowledge of this problem and hide it from you, next to impossible to prove this so likely you are stuck