Tuesday, June 11, 2024

a Ford dealer in Kentucky crashed a new 2019 Ford F-250, totaling the vehicle they rear-ended, and then fixed it under the radar without telling the buyer

Three months later, the F-250 was sold to one Barry Smith, who wasn't told about the damage. 

Instead, he was reportedly told the truck's 656 miles were accrued in use as a demo vehicle. Smith unsurprisingly had problems with the truck, which reportedly vibrated and had steering issues. He decided to get rid of it and only discovered what the dealer hadn't told him while trading it in at another dealer. Upon learning about the incident via its CarFax report, Smith sued.

The manager is reportedly said by the court to have "consistently downplayed the damage" to the truck, and excused not disclosing the crash during the sale because "things fall through the cracks."

The Kentucky Court of Appeals dismissed Smith's accusation of fraud, but it did find the dealer liable for breach of warranty and violating a law requiring disclosure of presale damage exceeding $2,000. Smith was awarded $8,026 in compensation plus $73,001 in attorney fees. On top of those, the dealer will also pay $80,260 in punitive fines.

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