So the car you want to buy has an open recall. Now what?
“Consumers can make a demand of any seller that they fix any open defects before selling the car to them,” Wallace says. “And that’s a reasonable request, and the burden for safety in this case shouldn’t fall on consumers.”
Getting a recall repaired may take time, but it shouldn’t cost the seller anything, Epstein says.
“You can bring these vehicles into their respective manufacturer’s dealer, and they will be fixed for free if the parts are available,” Epstein adds.
Many dealers already make repairs on used cars. The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association (NIADA), a group that represents many independent used-car dealers, recommends that dealers repair any open recalls.
“NIADA recommends that as a best practice, all dealers should take steps to identify open recalls in their inventory and have those recalls fixed before selling a vehicle, if possible,” says Shaun Petersen, the group’s senior vice president of legal and government affairs. “NIADA also recommends dealers disclose the existence of any unrepaired open recall at the point of sale.”
