Hidden defects in a car, can they be claimed?

Do you know what hidden defects are? When you buy a used or second-hand car and, shortly afterwards, it starts to fail. Finding hidden defects is not common, but it still happens. However, hidden defects are a serious fault affecting the car that cannot be seen at first glance. This can be a serious problem in the day-to-day use of the vehicle and can even reduce its useful life, and the truly difficult part is proving that the car was sold with hidden defects.

Even so, the buyer is not left completely unprotected. Article 1,484 of the Spanish Civil Code states: “The seller shall be liable for hidden defects in the thing sold if they render it unfit for the use for which it is intended, or if they diminish that use to such an extent that, had the buyer known of them, he would not have acquired it or would have paid a lower price for it.”

How can hidden defects in a car be proven?

A breakdown or defect must meet a series of requirements in order to be considered a hidden defect:

• A defect existing prior to delivery, or a fault whose origin predates the sale and which the seller was unaware of or concealed.
• It must be a serious fault that is not visible at first glance. Experts in expert assessment have stated that “this type of damage must entail a substantially serious negative effect on the correct functioning of the vehicle”.

Once hidden defects have been detected, how could they be claimed from the seller? The law establishes that the claim for the breakdown should be made within six months following delivery of the car. Once that period has ended, it cannot be considered a hidden defect due to the impossibility of proving that the seller did not deliver the car under the agreed conditions.

To get the seller to take on the repair of a hidden defect, the buyer only needs to demonstrate that it exists. The simplest approach is to rely on the testimony of a expert assessment firm that identifies the breakdown and certifies that it could have occurred before the sale. Once the buyer has this certification, they can demand from the seller the return of the price, the cost of the repair and even financial compensation. There may be cases so serious that the seller must pay the buyer compensation for damages and losses.