Hybrids and electric vehicles have become far more common in recent years. What was once a niche market has become popular and even trendy. Electric vehicles and hybrids help people reduce their environmental impact. They can also reduce the cost of commuting a long way to work.
Lower fuel costs can make the higher purchase price of a hybrid or electric vehicle seem like a worthwhile investment. Even used hybrids tend to cost substantially more than vehicles in similar conditions that require traditional gasoline only.
Unfortunately, hybrids are more complex than internal combustion vehicles, meaning they have more maintenance costs. In some cases, people may buy used hybrids, only to discover that there are major issues with the batteries.
Dealerships should honestly disclose vehicle condition
Dealerships have a legal responsibility to provide accurate and thorough disclosures about the condition of used vehicles. Consumers should be able to trust that they know all of the major defects in a vehicle before deciding to purchase it.
Unfortunately, disclosing the presence of an upcoming repair that could cost thousands of dollars isn’t usually a very successful sales strategy. People working at dealerships want to sell as many vehicles as they can for the highest price possible. To convince a buyer that a hybrid is worth the investment, they may gloss over how old the batteries are or recent warning signs that the batteries may be about to fail.
For example, many hybrid systems have warning lights that illuminate and advise drivers of issues with the hybrid battery or hybrid support systems in the vehicle. Dealerships can often deactivate those lights after running a diagnostic test on the vehicle. It might take multiple drives before those lights illuminate again.
In other words, the buyer may have already taken the vehicle home and driven it multiple times when they learn that the hybrid batteries are on their last legs. In such scenarios, the dealership may have violated disclosure rules by hiding or intentionally avoiding the disclosure of known issues with the vehicle. Buyers may be able to pursue fraud claims against the dealership that sold the vehicle because of the failure to provide accurate information about the batteries.
Recognizing that vehicle issues can be a sign of auto dealer fraud can help people recover from the economic harm that comes from buying a vehicle in mediocre condition. Dealerships at misrepresent used vehicles may be responsible for repair costs or may have to cancel the transaction and refund the buyer the purchase price.
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