Description

FACT SCENARIO On January 15, 2019, Thelma Louise purchased a Blue 2018 Toyota SUV for $35,000.00 from The Real Deal Car Dealership, as well as a 5-year extended warranty for $3500.00.

The Salesman, Joseph Frank, told Thelma that the vehicle was brand new. The odometer showed 200km.

Thelma did a walk around of the vehicle and the Salesman, Joseph, showed her the interior of the car and some of the features on the dashboard and stereo/Bluetooth system. There was no other inspection of the car.

On June 15, 201, after returning to her parked car at a local shopping centre, Thelma noticed that someone had scratched the rear bumper of the vehicle while it had been parked. She took the vehicle for repair the same day since her car was new and she wanted to maintain its “ new appearance”. She took it to “Mighty Car Repair” in downtown Toronto. While repairing the vehicle, which required the mechanic to remove the bumper, the mechanic, Tommy Lee, recognized by the filler and bonding material on the bumper that the car had been in a previous accident. Tommy took pictures as evidence that the damage was not caused by him and he contacted Thelma and explained the situation to her and that the previous repair to the bumper was not done properly. 

Since Thelma’s purchase of the vehicle, she had not been in any accidents. She was very surprised to hear that the vehicle had been in accident and was repaired, since she remembers that the Salesman, Frank, told her that the vehicle was brand new.

Thelma gave instructions to Tommy to evaluate the extent of the damage, to provide an estimate of the cost of the repairs and to assess the value of the vehicle in its current state. 

Tommy completed the evaluation and diagnostics, and advised Thelma that the repair cost would be approximately $5,000.00 (including the paint job) and that the current fair market value of the vehicle was $28,000.00. 

Once Tommy provided his evaluation and opinion, Thelma advised him to complete the paint job repair and to fix the bumper to the standard required.

Thelma contacted the Salesman, Joseph, and complained to him that he sold her a “used” car and that she would like a refund equal to the cost of the repairs and taking into consideration of the current fair market value. Also, Thelma advised Joseph that she wished to cancel the extended warranty since she did not know that this was added to the Bill of Sale and she does not want it.

Joseph advised Thelma that his manager would not agree to a refund and that she could not cancel the extended warranty because she signed the Bill of Sale with the extended warranty included as part of the price and because the 30-day cancellation period had already expired. He further advised Thelma that according to the dealership’s internal policy and in accordance with the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, he was under no obligation to disclose that the vehicle had been involved in a previous accident since the damage was superficial and of a nominal amount (i.e. less than $3,000.00). He further advised that he 3 could provide Thelma with a copy of the repair receipt, in the amount of $1,299.50, as evidence that the damage sustained was superficial and nominal.