Blog Post

Dealers Sell Salvaged Vehicles with Defective Car Parts


April 28, 2008
Topic: Motor Vehicle Defects

A new report in the Public Citizen warns of hundreds, if not thousands of accidents that could be just waiting to happen on our country's streets and highways. Unscrupulous dealers are passing off totaled junk with serious auto defects onto unsuspecting customers as second hand cars. The poor shape these cars and trucks are in, the presence of serious auto defects and the lack of safety mechanisms in these vehicles make them prone to dangerous accidents on the roads, and the owners aren't even aware of the problem.

This sale of potentially harmful vehicles has been happening all over the country for a while now. Dealers get hold of vehicles that have been damaged in fires and floods, or have been stolen, and are in a state of disrepair and riddled with auto defects. These vehicles are then given a makeover to look pleasing and new enough to prospective buyers. When the buyer falls for the bait, the buyer has no idea the car has been ravaged by a crash or a fire or flood. The only inkling they have that they have been scammed is when the vehicle begins to spend more time at the service center than on the road. Even then, there is no reason to suspect a scam - until it's time to sell the car. It's only then that the truth comes out.

The list of car defects that these salvaged cars have is long and extensive. Headlights don't work, and seat belts are defective. Plus, there are the many hidden safety car defects that are hidden inside the engine. With the kind of cosmetic alteration that these salvaged cars receive, it's safe to assume that the core of the vehicle is damaged, and unsafe for use on the streets.

The depth of deception and the dangers arising from this are shocking. One Illinois couple took their second hand car to the service center after the husband was involved in a minor accident. Imagine their shock when the service technicians told them that their so-called used car was not even a single car - it was made by welding the bodies of two separate cars! The husband was very lucky to be alive - in a car like that and in an accident, the chances of the body of the vehicle disintegrating are very high.

It's this callous disregard for safety of citizens and the government's apathy in dealing with unscrupulous practices that have led to citizen's rights groups fuming. In 1992, the government approved the setting up of a national database that would make information available to second-hand car buyers about the origins and the background of the car they were considering buying, which would alert them to the prospect of car defects. This would help people make informed choices, it was believed. It's been more than a decade later, and the government has not moved further ahead on the matter. The Justice Department keeps promising to proceed on the subject, but so far there has been no funding made available for the setting up of the database.

This lack of inaction by the government is baffling. In the meantime, we wonder how many cars with defective safety belts, malfunctioning brakes and other such car defects are out on the streets right now.

If you have been injured as the result of a defective car part, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.