Many individuals associate “car dealer” with negative connotations, and a recent incident involving a Ford dealership in Kentucky sheds light on this perception. The dealership found itself on the losing end of a lawsuit after selling a truck that had been involved in an accident, which they secretly repaired without informing the buyer of its history.
Paul Miller Ford, located in Lexington, Kentucky, got into trouble when the dealership’s new-car director crashed a brand new 2019 Ford F-250, resulting in a total loss of the vehicle due to a rear-end collision. As reported by Automotive News, the manager communicated the accident to their supervisor and accounts receivable department, and the repairs, costing $6,298, were subsequently made. However, the sales department was not informed about the incident.
Three months later, the F-250 was sold to Barry Smith, who was not made aware of the vehicle’s prior damage. Instead, he was told that the truck had accumulated its 656 miles as a demo vehicle. Smith later experienced several problems with the truck, including vibrations and steering issues. When he decided to trade it in with another dealer, he uncovered the vehicle’s history through a CarFax report. This revelation led him to file a lawsuit against the dealership.
In court, it was revealed that the manager had consistently minimized the severity of the truck’s damage and justified the lack of disclosure about the crash by claiming that “things fall through the cracks.” A salesperson testified that they had no knowledge of the truck’s damage and noted that the proper process would have involved adding a disclaimer regarding the wreck and repairs to the sale paperwork.
While the Kentucky Court of Appeals dismissed Smith’s fraud claim, it did hold the dealership responsible for breaching warranty and failing to disclose pre-sale damages that exceeded $2,000. Smith was awarded $8,026 in damages, along with $73,001 in attorney fees. In addition to this, the dealership faces $80,260 in punitive fines, which is alarmingly close to the cost of the F-250. It seems that poetic justice has indeed prevailed in this case.
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