Luxury Land Cruiser for $98 thousand sold as new, although it already had 8 thousand kilometers on the odometer

Scandals with selling used cars as new in Florida

Car dealers do not always have an impeccable reputation, and such stories only confirm this fact. In addition to inflated prices, some dealers are accused of deliberately misleading customers about the condition of the car.

This data is based not only on complaints on social networks but also on official court documents. Let’s consider two separate cases to understand the details.

The case of the Jeep with a hidden history

Lilly Althauser-Benson claims that the Jerry Ulm dealership sold her a Jeep, passing it off as new. Although the mileage is not specified, the dealer refused to provide the title document. According to the buyer, this was done intentionally to hide the fact that the car was previously owned by a leasing company.

“The mileage was not the issue. The title was hidden so the client wouldn’t see the previous owner. This is a violation of the Odometer Act,” stated attorney Joshua Feigin.

Land Cruiser for $98,000 with a “printing error”

Sean Crowley purchased a 2024 Land Cruiser from Sun Toyota. The documents indicated the mileage as 10 miles, and the car was marked as new. However, just two days later, the system indicated the need for an oil change, and the odometer showed almost 5000 miles.

The dealer offered to “resolve the mileage issue,” calling it a printing error. However, the price of the car was $98,719, which significantly exceeds the starting price of $56,000. Even with all possible options and trim levels, the price does not exceed $72,000.

Both cases remind us of the importance of carefully studying the documents and technical condition of the car before purchase. Even routine operations can turn into lawsuits if you don’t spend extra time on verification.

These stories raise questions about consumer protection mechanisms in the auto sales sector. The audacity of dealers trying to explain obvious violations as “technical errors” is particularly striking. Under such conditions, buyers should be especially vigilant and demand a complete package of documents even before signing the contract.