Tips on Buying Cars: buying from an auction, honda civics, firt time

Question
Unfortunately my daughters boyfriend is already in over his head after paying $5000 for a 02 civic that won't pass MD inspection due to the frame being bent, cracked & basically patched together where it is considered unsafe. The auction of course sold the car 'as is' & the mechanic on the premesis raved about what great condition the car was in. Being a firt time buyer of any vehicle let alone from an auction he was sold because the car looked really nice not knowing what lies beneath. Does he have any recourse to get his mney back? He also had brake work done in preparation of the inspection at the tune of about $1500. He's 20 & in college so can't afford to throw money down the drain. A body shop said it would cost about another $5k to fix the frame! Any advice would be eatly appreciated. Bobby  

Answer
sorry theres no legal action if it is sold "as is" the only  thing i can say is try selling it on ebay or what i use....craigslist.com...in a state that doesnt have saftey inspections....i know here in chicago people drive cars no matter what shape there in...and theres a market for honda civics here too....another thing ive learned is that because the state says its unsafe doesnt always make it unsafe...so...5000 for an 02 civic in chicago is a steal....so find what states dont have saftey inspections,put the car on craigslist.com with lots of pics(its free to post on craigslist)in one of those states(hopefully one thats close).and its up to you if you want to say it failed md inspection....you can say it was in an accident and that it was repaired..the other thing is call around the body shops on the shady sides of town..tell them your situation usually they know how to repair or get around state laws and the work is alot cheaper...$5000 seems way too high to repair a frame....