Los Angeles County

A car dealer may hide or lie about a vehicle’s accident history. This can include failing to mention a major crash, downplaying the damage, or providing false repair records.

Accident history affects a car’s safety, reliability, and resale value. Buying a car with hidden or misrepresented accidents can lead to surprise repair costs, poor performance, and lower resale value.

A car with a salvage title has been declared a total loss by an insurance company after a serious accident, fire, or flood. Some dealers hide this fact and claim the car has a clean title to make it seem safer and more valuable than it really is.

Buying a car with a hidden salvage title can cause big problems. These vehicles often have hidden damage, are harder to insure or register, and usually lose value quickly.

Vehicles used for rentals or rideshare services often have higher mileage, more wear and tear, and require more frequent repairs than privately owned cars. A dealer may not tell buyers about this history, which can lead to unexpected repair costs, lower resale value, and safety issues.

Some dealers use misleading ads to get buyers into the dealership. For example, they might advertise a car at a low price or with special financing, then claim it’s sold and push the buyer toward a more expensive vehicle.

These tactics can waste your time, cost you money, and create stressful pressure to make a deal you didn’t plan. California law requires dealers to advertise honestly and bans bait-and-switch schemes.

Dealers sometimes falsify important paperwork, like loan agreements, titles, odometer readings, or signatures, to mislead buyers. This can hide problems with the car, change the terms of a sale, or manipulate financing.

Using forged documents can lead to serious financial and legal problems, including unexpected debt, disputes over ownership, and trouble enforcing warranties or contracts.

Some dealers sell cars as “certified pre-owned” (CPO) even when the vehicles don’t meet the required inspection and safety standards. Certified cars are supposed to pass a thorough check to ensure quality and safety.

When a dealer skips inspections or falsely labels a car as certified, buyers may pay extra for a vehicle with hidden problems, past accidents, or mechanical issues. This can lead to financial losses and serious safety risks.

A financing agreement can be inflated when a dealer adds extra products, fees, or services without telling the buyer. This may include unnecessary insurance, extended warranties, or service contracts, which are often included in monthly payments without clear disclosure.

Loan packing tricks buyers into paying more than the car’s actual value or the cost of legitimate products. It can create long-term financial strain with higher payments and unnecessary expenses.

A car that was returned to the manufacturer under California’s Lemon Law has a history of serious defects or recurring mechanical problems. Dealers are legally required to disclose this information and mark the title accordingly.

If the dealer hides this or claims the car has a clean history, it’s considered fraud. Buying a hidden Lemon Law buyback can lead to repeated repairs, ongoing mechanical issues, and big financial losses.

A car’s frame can be seriously damaged in an accident, affecting its safety and handling. Dealers are required to disclose any frame damage, but some hide or downplay it.

Buying a car with undisclosed frame damage can lead to expensive repairs, lower resale value, and serious safety risks.

A dealer can mislead buyers by including false information in the sales contract or other paperwork. This might involve overstating the car’s condition, claiming it’s new when it’s used, listing features or warranties that don’t exist, or hiding past accidents or title problems.

Any intentional false statement that affects a buyer’s decision can be considered a form of fraud. These misrepresentations can cause buyers to pay more than the car is worth or agree to terms they wouldn’t have accepted if they knew the truth.

A car’s price can be inflated when a dealer adds extra products, services, or fees without clearly telling the buyer. This often includes extended warranties, insurance, or dealer-installed accessories bundled into the total price.

Price packing can make a car seem cheaper than it is, leading to unexpected costs and higher payments than the buyer expected.

Some dealers alter a car’s mileage to make it look less used than it really is. This is illegal and affects the car’s value, reliability, and lifespan.

Odometer fraud can lead to costly repairs, frequent breakdowns, and a lower resale value, leaving buyers with significant financial and safety risks.

Title fraud happens when a dealer hides or falsifies information on a car’s title. This can include undisclosed salvage or rebuilt titles, past accidents or flood damage, or using fake documents to transfer ownership.

Buying a car with a fraudulent title can lead to financial losses, trouble registering the vehicle, and even legal problems if the car was stolen or improperly reported. Dealers often cannot produce the title as it won’t pass emissions or other technical requirements. This is their problem to fix, and we hold them to it.

Warranty fraud occurs when a dealer lies about a car’s warranty. They might claim a car is still under the manufacturer’s warranty, sell it as “new” when it’s not, or promise an extended warranty that doesn’t exist.

This can leave buyers paying for repairs without coverage, facing expensive mechanical issues, and losing the protection they expected.

Yo-yo financing happens when a buyer drives off with a car before the loan is fully approved, then the dealer calls back asking for higher payments or new terms. Dealers often claim the original loan fell through and pressure buyers to accept worse conditions. This practice can create financial stress, higher costs, and even risk of losing the vehicle if the new terms aren’t met.