ethics and laws.

[tirebird]

Should a licensed dealership acknowledge the restamping of a block? I know of one car for sale that has been restamped and the dealership, although not advertising the car as "original" or "numbers matching", is not telling customers up front that the engine has been restamped. My answer is an unequivocal "yes", whether it's a dealer or individual seller. However, many friends say, "caveat emptor",.that the buyer should ask the right questions and if he or she doesn't, then too bad. Now, if the dealer were asked whether the engine was restamped, he would have to say "yes" or be guilty of fraud. But, to not say anything unless asked,..well, I think that's borderline fraud too. What do you think?

[mudjnky]

Thats a tricky one, here's my take on it. If he was asked about it, he needs to answer honestly. If he is not advertising it as original or numbers matching, and the buyer "presumes" that it is a matching car, without asking, the fault is with the buyer. If the buyer doesn't ask, and no lies were told, it is on the buyer. If the seller is aware of the situation and blatantly lies about it, that is fraud, and he should be accountable. I think the saying is "Don't ask, Don't tell". Personally, I'd like to see some people carry around an "R" stamp and hit the pad when no one is looking!

[elcamino72]

From a legal standpoint just by selling a vehicle which has an engine which carries a restamped code, you are opening yourself to a possible lawsuit if you do not disclose it as it could be seen as a representation that the engine is original especially if the buyer relied upon the stamping when deciding whether or not to purchase the car. (Whether or not he asked if the stamping was legit is immaterial, the seller had a duty, if he could have even reasonably foreseen the possibility that someone would rely upon the stamping to decided either the pedigree of the car or whether or not to buy it, had to disclose the fact that it's been restamped)

While you may believe that it's "caveat emptor", the law is clearly slanted in favor of the buyer, it's much more so seller beware.