Used car buyer sues after vehicle broke down while he was learning to drive stick

Car sales are usually a long process. After all, it’s a big investment. However, one seemingly quick sale of a 2006 Mazda became an even longer process in court after the buyer decided to file a lawsuit against the seller after the vehicle broke down.

According to a recent decision posted by the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, Ashton Andrew Grunow purchased the used car from Amber-Marie Molema for $3,500 on March 10, 2023. Grunow’s father took the car for a test drive before the sale as he “did not know how to drive a manual transmission.”

They bought the car because “it seemed to drive nicely.”

Unfortunately for Grunow, the car broke down 12 days later. According to the documents, Grunow took the vehicle to a mechanic after noticing the engine was making strange noises, and the mechanic told him the “engine was blown and would cost over $7,000 to replace.”

Grunow argued that Molema misrepresented the car’s condition and sued for $3,800. But she hit back.

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Molema told the court that the only issue the car had at the time of the sale was a wiring issue in the radio and that both Grunow and his father were aware of this when they bought the car.

She also argued that Grunow may have “damaged the engine himself as he was using the vehicle to learn to drive a manual transmission.”

The court ultimately decided in the favour of the seller.

According to the decision, the general rule in the sale of used cars is “buyer beware,” which means that the buyer is not entitled to damages if the vehicle breaks down shortly after the sale. The court said that Grunow failed to have the car professionally inspected and that he simply made a “bad bargain.”

Not only that, but Grunow failed to prove why the car broke down or what repairs were necessary, as he did not provide any receipts or photos of the damage.

It looks like he got his gears in a grind, literally.