If you are waiting for the right time to buy a car, the last weeks of August, and even Labor Day weekend are prime buying periods; especially for new cars. At this time of the year, dealers are pressed to make room for new model year vehicles, so they may be willing to part with old model year vehicles at a discount.
For consumers, this means that you can get a new car in August for much less than what you have paid for the same vehicle in March. While this certainly sounds like a good deal, new cars can still be sold even though they may be subject to a recall. To make matters more complicated, most consumers wouldn’t even know to ask whether a car that’s newly on the market would be on a recall list, and salespeople would not necessarily be inclined to inform a consumer.
Earlier this year, an investigative team from ABC News asked a salesperson these questions and he confidently denied that the car was subject to a recall, even though it was in a showroom. The investigators later learned that the vehicle was on a recall list.
While this may appear to be fraud, car salespeople are not required by law to disclose (or even know) that a new car is being recalled. However, this does not relieve the dealer of its duty to accept cars for repair under a recall notice.
Adherence to recall notices is important because a manufacturer can be held liable for failing to notify consumers of a dangerous defect if an accident occurs because of it.