Liability of the automotive agent in the event of a hidden automotive defect

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You purchased a vehicle from a company specializing in the sale of motor vehicles. You only had contact with this company, even though you signed a certificate of transfer bearing the name of a particular seller.

To guarantee the reliability of the vehicle, the company may have offered you paid insurance.

Perhaps you even bought the vehicle because the company assured you that it had carried out a thorough check or that there were no costs to be expected…

In short, a well-established professional, perhaps with a large fleet of vehicles in his showroom, has reassured you about the qualities of both the vehicle and the after-sales service.

There are also agents without a sales area, who sell in public places, such as station car parks… Pay attention to this.

After a few turns of the wheel, or a few months of use, your beautiful object shows major problems (gearbox – engine – brakes – steering – mileage etc.), prohibiting you from using it.

You then turn to the professional, to ask him to take charge of this disorder, whether it is a hidden defect (defect of the vehicle) art 1641 to 1646 civil code or a lack of conformity (vehicle not corresponding to the vaunted qualities: vintage , origin, accident defect, apparent mileage etc…) article 1604 civil code.

And this one answers you that he is only an intermediary and that it is advisable to request the guarantee from the private seller, the one precisely who was mentioned on the transfer certificate and on the crossed out gray card (which you do not you may never have had in hand), but which you have never seen!
And this particular seller may have disappeared without leaving an address, or may turn out to be insolvent…

In addition, if you have purchased a guarantee, the insurance company replies that it only covers fortuitous cases (exceptional and excluding however vehicles with a lack of maintenance) and excludes the consequences of normal wear or a hidden defect… And in your case it is precisely a hidden defect (we will deal with this problem in another article)

You feel like you’re going in circles and see no way out. Make no mistake, there are avenues available to you.
Indeed, this professional intermediary may be held liable if he behaved like the real seller or if he did not respect his obligation to provide information and advice.

The cases are multiple and complex, judge it :

The intermediary who conceals from the purchaser his quality of agent and behaves like the seller of the vehicle engages his liability for the Hidden Defects (Civil Cassation first chamber December 18, 2014) and the announcement and presentation in a showroom which suggest that the vehicle is the property of the agent will give the judge information on the appearance of quality of ownership of the seller.

It is also the responsibility of the intermediary to ensure that the information put forward was accurate (State of the vehicle and necessary work. Court of Appeal of Versailles third chamber April 1, 2021)

Falsely declaring that the maintenance of the vehicle has been done, which suggests that it is in good working order, also engages the responsibility of the intermediary.

And this guarantee will be all the more retained if the intermediary is a professional mechanic.

As you have understood, each case is specific and requires careful examination by an expert lawyer in automotive matters, who will be able to diagnose whether your file allows the liability of the automotive agent to be engaged.