Even if you don’t overtly know as a consumer what types of specific acts or omissions arguably — or most certainly — constitute vehicle fraud, you’ll likely have a good take on what comprises a fraudulent activity on the part of an auto dealer or salesperson when you see it.
For example, your brain is probably screaming “fraud” when a salesman is touting the virtues of the “new’ car in front of you that you can clearly see has rust and a few dings. Ditto when, as a salesman is intoning before you that the vehicle you’re looking at was previously driven only a few miles a week by a single owner, you see evidence that clearly identifies it as a previous rental car.
The problem, though, as duly noted in a legal resource group’s online discussion of auto dealer fraud, is that dealer fraud is seldom as obvious as what is described in the above hypotheticals. Auto dealers make their living by convincing consumers to purchase vehicles, and they know every conceivable way to accomplish that aim in what is typically a complex process.
Of course, few people would reasonably argue that it is necessarily caveat emptor in upper case every time a potential buyer visits a dealership. Of course, there are many honest and reputable dealers who would never even think about defrauding a customer.
Then again, there is ample evidence to indicate that there are more than a few bad apples in the auto dealership industry. The above-cited online source cites myriad ways that underhanded dealers defraud consumers through both nondisclosure of material information and affirmative misrepresentations concerning a vehicle.
As that source further notes, it is a good idea for any consumer who harbors questions or concerns regarding auto dealer fraud to contact a proven fraud claims attorney. An experienced lawyer will know how to investigate fraud and pursue remedies on behalf of persons who have been victimized by it.