mschultz - 11/26/2016 09:47

If they represented it as a 6500 hour machine and they knew that the forklift had significantly more hours, they committed fraud. I see two issues:

1. Did the seller know that it had more than 6500 hours? If yes, you likely have a legal remedy.

2. If they did not knowing misrepresent the number of hours, it becomes a question of whether a valid contract for sale ever formed. The question then, as above, is what type of remedy is available to you.


In both instances, knowing misrepresentation (fraud) and mistaken misrepresentation (defect in contract formation), the initial issue is the same: What do you want? What remedy would make you whole?

1. Would you like to return the unit and be compensated for your time and expense?

2. Would you like to renegotiate the price to reflect the additional 10,000 hours of wear and tear and keep the unit?


My hunch, shooting from a running horse, is that you just want a fair deal on the equipment you purchased. Therefore, it is on you to calculate the difference in value of a 16k hour forklift versus a 6k hour forklift of the same make and model. There is a mature forklift market- you should be able to figure this out with some homework. Some comments here suggest that you still received pretty good value at 16k hours. I have no idea. Do the research- if you overpaid for a 16k hour unit, give them a call, nicely lay out the facts, and suggest a fair price term. The seller's reaction to "it appears the forklift has 10k more hours than advertised" will tell you a lot.

Finally, while the facts presented make it appear that the law is on your side- keep in mind that engaging legal counsel will likely cost you more than the difference in value at issue. So I'd recommend that if 16k hour forklifts of the make and model you just purchased are worth less than you paid, approach the seller respectfully and forthrightly in the hope of being able to resolve it yourself.



My $0.02

-Mike

Edit to add: One comment posted that the hours may actually be correct and the seat came off of another machine. Good point. You probably ought to do some more investigation and figure out whether the meter has actually rolled or not. Either way, a polite conversation with the seller will probably give you some insight to how you want to handle it.