Buyer beware: Car purchaser accuses dealer of hiding crash-damage history

Ron Hurtibise, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·4 min read

For years, experts have warned us to never buy a used car without spending a few dollars on an independent inspection and vehicle history search.

Allegations in a newly filed federal lawsuit against Grieco Chevrolet of Fort Lauderdale, if true, underscore the wisdom of this advice.

In April 2022, Carlos Mendez needed a reliable car to tote his disc jockey equipment from job to job. And that’s what he thought he bought from Grieco — a 2021 Ford Escape Hybrid that a salesman “represented was recently traded in by its prior owner, in excellent mechanical condition and free of any accident damage,” according to the lawsuit Mendez filed last week.

Mendez, whose company, Magic City Entertainment, is based in North Lauderdale, agreed to purchase the vehicle for $36,093, the suit states.

What Mendez did not know, according to his complaint, was that the car “had been previously titled in the name of Gelco Fleet Trust and had been used in the Bayer Corporation commercial car fleet.”

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“Moreover, the Vehicle had been retired from the Bayer fleet following a significant collision which resulted in frame and sub skin damage to the Vehicle,” it says.

About six months ago, the vehicle “began to experience anomalies that were not germane to a well-maintained, newer model vehicle,” including an illuminated check-engine light on the dashboard, the suit states.

Mendez returned the vehicle to the dealer to have it checked out. After an inspection, an employee at Grieco’s repair shop told Mendez, according to the suit, “that the damage was of such an extent that (the shop) was unable to complete the warranty repairs.”

The repair shop shipped the vehicle to Grieco’s body shop “to attempt repairs to mitigate the frame damage,” the suit says.

Joshua Feygin, a Hollywood-based attorney representing Mendez, said the car has been in the body shop ever since, and the dealer is ignoring Mendez’s requests to rectify the situation.

“It’s been there unrepaired,” Feygin said. “We sent them our pre-suit demand. They effectively said, ‘We didn’t do anything wrong.'”

Grieco Chevrolet’s general manager did not return phone calls seeking comment from the dealer. Grieco’s attorney did not respond to a phone call or an email that included a copy of the lawsuit.

The suit accuses Grieco of violating a federal consumer protection law when it sold Mendez the Ford Escort Hybrid. It seeks a refund of Mendez’s purchase price, plus interest, costs, and attorneys fees. Grieco, the suit says, illegally prevented Mendez from learning about the car’s history before he drove it off the lot back in April 2022.

By not asking him to examine and sign the vehicle’s title certificate, which “clearly designated the vehicle as a commercial fleet vehicle owned by Bayer,” Grieco “was able to hide from Plaintiffs material facts related to the prior ownership … including the fact that the Vehicle was previously used as part of a commercial fleet,” the suit states.

The dealership instead required Mendez to sign a “motor vehicle title reassignment supplement” and an “application for a certificate of title,” according to the complaint. “The Dealership designed and employed this tactic of requesting Plaintiffs to execute the Transfer Forms instead of the actual title certificate as required under federal law with the specific intent of perpetuating a fraud and deception on Plaintiffs,” the suit says.

Had Mendez known the car’s history, he would have either selected another or paid much less, the lawsuit says.

Whether Mendez’s argument holds up in court remains to be seen. Florida does not have a Lemon Law that covers used cars. That means consumers are ultimately responsible for checking out the condition of vehicles and carefully reading warranties offered by dealers before purchasing.

Obtaining a vehicle history report is one of several recommendations — along with having cars inspected by mechanics not associated with the dealer — that the Federal Trade Commission urges buyers to follow when purchasing a used vehicle.

Numerous organizations offer vehicle history reports with accident and repair information about specific cars, including Carfax.com, AutoCheck.com, and Vinaudit.com. Also, the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System operates a website called vehiclehistory.gov with links to companies that sell reports with title, insurance loss and salvage information.

While the reports cost modest sums, they can help buyers avoid much more expensive hassles in the future.

Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.