Tips on Buying Cars: purchased car from friend, private transactions, lemon laws

Question
My boyfriend purchased a car from a friend/co-worker and has only had it 2 wks and the engine went--what can he do about it????

Answer
It depends on where you live, as "lemon laws" vary from state to state.  I don't know of any state that provides lemon-law protection to consumers in private transactions; they only protect you if you bought a used car from a dealer and are having problems.  Contact your state's attorney general to see if there's any recourse.

If they're of no help, you might be able to take the seller to court IF you can prove that there was fraud involved.  This would cover two areas: you specifically asked if there were any problems with the engine that the seller knew about and he or she assured the engine was fine, or a mechanic can prove that steps were taken to hide or disguise engine problems from you, disguises that would only last a week or two.  You'll need a really good mechanic and an even better lawyer to pursue this in court.