What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York
Details: I found a car off craigslist in Brooklyn New york. The ad mentioned that it has no issues, runs excellent, and needs no work done. I go check out the car but the address he gives me is not his address. But he eventually meets me there 5 mins later. The car he brings is different from he one he posted in the picture on craigslist as well. I looked at the car and it runs pretty good at the moment. He guarantees me that the car has no problems. We agree on a price of $5700 (edmunds.com states for average condition, the car is worth $5800 or more) . I tell him I will come back tomorrow and bring the car to a mechanic to have it looked over. I bring the car to Meineke and the mechanic says his inspection machine operator is not there today and can't perform a proper inspection. The mechanic drove the car though and said it drove fine. I decide to buy the car. When I bring the car back to Meineke the next day, it fails the inspection due to an emissions test and a check engine issue. The mechanic said the light had come on before but that the previous owner had most likely turned it off without addressing the problem. I then drive the car back home to connecticut and that's when I have problems. The car is a 2005 Nissan Maxima. After driving it for 20 miles, the automatic transmission acts up and jerks when shifting gears. It eventually gets stuck in 5th gear and won't downshift, even when traffic came to a standstill. It took me forever to accelerate to a normal speed. I almost got into an accident when trying to turn on a corner being stuck in gear and not being able to accelerate. I look online and found that many people are having this exact issue with this specific car especially at around 600000 miles or more. The car currently has 94,000 miles on it. After reading reports online, it seems the transmission works fine when it's cold, but after it heats up it has the jerking motion and issues with changing gears. Problems I would not be able to know about since I would need to test Drive it for 30 min. The problem is only going to get worse. The average costs of repair for a new transmission cited by these people to have fixed by Nissan was $3500-$4000. When I tried calling him, he ignores my calls. I'm not sure what I should do now. Should i Lawyer up? Should I handle this on my own and bring it to small claims court? Do I have a case or intent to defraud? If he refuses to give me my money back, can i make him reimburse me for the transmission costs in small claims court? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Details: I found a car off craigslist in Brooklyn New york. The ad mentioned that it has no issues, runs excellent, and needs no work done. I go check out the car but the address he gives me is not his address. But he eventually meets me there 5 mins later. The car he brings is different from he one he posted in the picture on craigslist as well. I looked at the car and it runs pretty good at the moment. He guarantees me that the car has no problems. We agree on a price of $5700 (edmunds.com states for average condition, the car is worth $5800 or more) . I tell him I will come back tomorrow and bring the car to a mechanic to have it looked over. I bring the car to Meineke and the mechanic says his inspection machine operator is not there today and can't perform a proper inspection. The mechanic drove the car though and said it drove fine. I decide to buy the car. When I bring the car back to Meineke the next day, it fails the inspection due to an emissions test and a check engine issue. The mechanic said the light had come on before but that the previous owner had most likely turned it off without addressing the problem. I then drive the car back home to connecticut and that's when I have problems. The car is a 2005 Nissan Maxima. After driving it for 20 miles, the automatic transmission acts up and jerks when shifting gears. It eventually gets stuck in 5th gear and won't downshift, even when traffic came to a standstill. It took me forever to accelerate to a normal speed. I almost got into an accident when trying to turn on a corner being stuck in gear and not being able to accelerate. I look online and found that many people are having this exact issue with this specific car especially at around 600000 miles or more. The car currently has 94,000 miles on it. After reading reports online, it seems the transmission works fine when it's cold, but after it heats up it has the jerking motion and issues with changing gears. Problems I would not be able to know about since I would need to test Drive it for 30 min. The problem is only going to get worse. The average costs of repair for a new transmission cited by these people to have fixed by Nissan was $3500-$4000. When I tried calling him, he ignores my calls. I'm not sure what I should do now. Should i Lawyer up? Should I handle this on my own and bring it to small claims court? Do I have a case or intent to defraud? If he refuses to give me my money back, can i make him reimburse me for the transmission costs in small claims court? Any help would be greatly appreciated.