[6] Used car transactions have their rules; details of accident cars need to be known.
[2] Compiled from: Shandong High Court
Case review
In October 2020, Xiao Zheng from Ningbo High-tech Industrial Development Zone purchased a Volkswagen used sedan for 80,000 yuan at a local used car dealership. The vehicle had no issues during use, but when Xiao Zheng applied for an online exemption from inspection at the end of the year, he was informed that the car had been involved in an accident causing injuries and must undergo an offline inspection. After learning this, Xiao Zheng confronted the dealership, questioning why a vehicle promised to be accident-free, flood-free, and fire-free turned out to be an accident car. The dealership replied that an accident had indeed occurred, but it was only a minor scrape with a curb, causing no major damage, so they forgot to disclose it when selling.
Still skeptical, Xiao Zheng decided to hire an appraisal company to inspect the vehicle. The appraisal revealed major defects, including "repair marks on the front of the left side rail, slight deformation of the right front rail head connector, and scratch marks on the middle of both side rails," confirming it was an accident car.
Thus, Xiao Zheng filed a lawsuit with the Ningbo High-Tech Industrial Development Zone People's Court on the grounds that the car dealership constituted fraud, requesting the revocation of the second-hand car sales contract signed by both parties, the return of the 80,000 yuan purchase price, and compensation of three times the purchase price, amounting to 240,000 yuan.
After trial, the court found that the vehicle in question was acquired by the dealership from another party, and after acquisition, the dealership owner used it for a period, during which a traffic accident occurred, resulting in a claim of over 60,000 yuan. The dealership repaired the vehicle on its own and then sold it to Xiao Zheng.
The court held that the dealership, knowing the vehicle in question was an accident car, explicitly stated in the sales contract that the vehicle had not been involved in any accident, which was clearly an intentional concealment of the truth, inducing the other party to make a false expression of intent, constituting fraud. Therefore, the court ruled in favor of all of Xiao Zheng's claims. After the judgment was announced, the dealership voluntarily complied with the ruling.
Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
Article 148
If one party, through fraudulent means, causes the other party to engage in a civil legal act against their true intentions, the defrauded party has the right to request the people's court or an arbitration institution to revoke it.
[1] The author's perspective
With continuous economic development, the proportion of replacement car purchases in China's automotive market is steadily rising, leading to an increase in second-hand car transactions. However, compared to new cars, second-hand cars inherently involve more uncertainties, making it difficult for consumers to grasp the true condition of the vehicle. Additionally, the lack of transparency in second-hand car sales prices and insufficient after-sales maintenance protection contribute to frequent disputes in the second-hand car trading market.
Currently, China lacks specific legislation and unified industry standards for second-hand car transactions, resulting in low market entry barriers and opaque vehicle information. Yet, such critical information is not only closely tied to the vehicle's value but also directly related to the driver's personal safety. Therefore, to avoid unnecessary disputes later and to act responsibly toward both themselves and consumers, second-hand car sales operators should conduct comprehensive inspections and tests on key information such as the legality of the vehicle's origin, mileage, maintenance records, transaction history, and existing issues before sale, and provide the accurate results of these inspections to consumers in written form. Consumers must remain cautious during the transaction process, proactively requesting sellers to disclose the accident and maintenance history of the second-hand car. If the seller cannot provide this information, both parties may jointly commission a third party to assess the vehicle's condition.
