Is a Seller of An Extensively Used Vehicle Required to Inform the Buyer of All Repairs ?

In Henderson v. Martin Burks Chevrolet, 183 Ga. App. 868 (360 S.E.2d 430) (1987), the truck which the plaintiffs bought had been used as a demonstrator, and the plaintiffs were aware of this fact. After they bought the truck, the plaintiffs asked the salesman whether the truck had been involved in a wreck and were told that it had not been. Later the plaintiffs learned that, in fact, the truck had been involved in a wreck, and they sued the dealership for fraud. The trial court granted the car dealership's motion for a directed verdict, and this court affirmed. In reaching its conclusion that there was no liability, the Henderson court reasoned that because the plaintiffs knew of the truck's prior use, they knew of "the potential for its having been damaged as the result of that use." Henderson, 183 Ga. App. at 870. The court stated that it was aware of no authority, "which would require the seller of a vehicle which has been used so extensively to gratuitously inform the purchaser of all repairs which may have been done on the vehicle as the result of such use." Id. at 870. Moreover, the Henderson court found the plaintiffs did not ask about the existence of any previous damage until after they had bought the truck for a discount based upon its prior use as a demonstrator.