Bought A Deposit On A Used 2017 Civic, Then Found Out It Had 4 Accidents On Carfax. Seller Got Hostile And Played The "i'm A Veteran" Card. Should I Take Him To Small Claims Court?
Location: houston
I just moved from boston to houston, I’m a first-time car buyer with zero experience, and I need a car soon. Last week I saw a listing for a 2017 Honda Civic, 80k miles, clean title, for $16k. The price looked good, so I went to see it. The seller told me the car was fine and had only had some bodywork done, so I Zelle'd him a $500 deposit.
That night I ran a Carfax report and found the car had been in 4 accidents, one of them a serious rear-end collision. That's a very different story from "only some bodywork."
I politely messaged him and asked for my deposit back. If he wouldn't refund it, I said the price couldn't stay at $15,500, since multiple accident records will obviously hurt resale value. He responded with a long, hostile rant saying he would never lower the price and would never fix anything on the car.
I said I'd file in small claims court. He then replied that he's a US Army veteran, that I should go ahead and try, and that even if I sued, the judge would believe his word over mine.
Honestly, what does his military service have to do with whether he misrepresented the car's history? I thought everyone was equal under the law. It feels like he took my $500 and is now hiding behind this to act superior.
Is it worth filing in small claims court over a $500 deposit? What's the realistic chance of getting it back? I want to sue him not just for the money, also because I felt so humiliated
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