Auto fraud litigation · Michigan
Michigan Auto Fraud Attorney: We Sue Car Dealers for Michigan Buyers
Sue Your Dealer – A Law Firm is a Michigan auto fraud attorney resource for buyers who were lied to about a car, sold a rebuilt wreck as clean, or had a vehicle towed away without the right to. Attorney Joshua Feygin handles claims for Michigan buyers under the Michigan Vehicle Code's odometer and dealer statutes, the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, common-law fraud, the Federal Odometer Act, and Michigan's Article 9 repossession rules, for the buyer, not the dealer.
Michigan dealer fraud, at a glance
Michigan Dealer Fraud Law at a Glance
How it works
How Does a Michigan Dealer Fraud Case Proceed?
1
Free case evaluation
Tell us what happened and upload the purchase agreement, retail installment contract, odometer statement, title paperwork, and any ads or messages. An attorney reviews it in the order received.
2
Document review and demand
If we can assist, you sign a retainer by email. We pull the Michigan title history and send the dealer a written demand laying out the statutes we contend it violated, what we contend it owes, and a preservation notice for the deal jacket.
3
Settlement or suit
Most dealers respond to the demand. If not, we file in the Michigan district or circuit court for the county of sale, or in federal court when an Odometer Act claim supports it. Some cases proceed on contingency, with the firm seeking its fees from the dealer where the statute allows; others are handled on a flat-fee or hourly basis, set out in the retainer agreement.
What Counts as Dealer Fraud Under Michigan Law?
Michigan gives you, as a defrauded car buyer, several overlapping claims, and the one most people have heard of has the most complicated history. The Michigan Consumer Protection Act, MCL 445.903, lists dozens of unfair, unconscionable, or deceptive practices. The ones that fit a car deal: representing that goods have characteristics they don't have ((1)(c)); representing goods as new when they are used or reconditioned ((1)(d)); misrepresenting standard or quality ((1)(e)); failing to reveal a material fact the buyer could not have known ((1)(s)); gross discrepancies between the sales pitch and the contract ((1)(y)); a false statement of material fact ((1)(bb)); and failing to reveal facts made material by what was affirmatively said ((1)(cc)).
Section 445.904(1)(a) exempts a transaction or conduct specifically authorized under laws administered by a regulatory board or officer. For 27 years, under Smith v. Globe Life Insurance Co. (1999) and Liss v. Lewiston-Richards, Inc. (2007), courts asked only whether the general transaction was regulated, and because dealers are licensed under the Vehicle Code, Michigan courts routinely dismissed MCPA claims against them. On July 31, 2026, in Attorney General v. Eli Lilly and Company (No. 165961), the Michigan Supreme Court overruled Smith and Liss: the question is now whether the specific conduct at issue was authorized by law, and the dealer bears the burden of proving the exemption under section 445.904(4). No statute authorizes a dealer to misstate mileage or hide a salvage title. The decision is new and lower courts are still applying it, so we plead the MCPA for Michigan buyers alongside the claims below rather than relying on it alone.
The claims that never depended on the MCPA
Common-law fraud is a lie about a material fact, made knowingly or recklessly, that you relied on to your loss. Silent fraud is the same claim built on an omission where the dealer had a duty to speak, which Michigan courts have found where a buyer asks a direct question and gets a misleading answer, as in M&D, Inc. v. McConkey, 231 Mich App 22 (1998). Neither claim has a licensing exemption.
The Michigan Vehicle Code supplies the dealer-specific rules. MCL 257.233a requires a written odometer mileage statement on every transfer and, in subsection (15), gives a buyer three times actual damages or $1,500, whichever is greater, plus costs and attorney's fees, for an intentional violation. MCL 257.217c sets the salvage and scrap title thresholds and the rebuilt salvage brand, and Department of State Rule R 257.253 requires a dealer selling a repaired late-model salvage vehicle to certify in writing, before the sale agreement, that it was previously distressed. MCL 257.248a prohibits representing a vehicle as new, a demonstrator, or a leased vehicle unless it meets the Code's definition, and MCL 257.251 requires a signed written memorandum of every retail sale.
Federal law applies in Michigan too
The Federal Odometer Act, 49 U.S.C. § 32705, requires a written mileage disclosure on every covered transfer, and 49 U.S.C. § 32710 gives the buyer the greater of three times actual damages or $10,000, plus attorney's fees, for a violation with intent to defraud. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and revocation of acceptance under MCL 440.2608 cover warranty and nonconformity claims, and the FTC Used Car Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 455, requires the Buyers Guide on every used vehicle a dealer offers.
What Kinds of Cases Does a Car Dealer Fraud Lawyer in Michigan Handle?
Eight claim types we bring for Michigan buyers, under Michigan's statutes and the federal law that applies to every sale in the state.
Odometer rollbacks
A mileage figure on the title or odometer statement lower than the car's true mileage. MCL 257.233a(15) adds three times actual damages or $1,500 plus fees to the Federal Odometer Act's $10,000 floor.
Undisclosed salvage or rebuilt title
MCL 257.217c brands a title salvage when repair costs reach 75 percent of pre-damage value and scrap at 91 percent, and Rule R 257.253 requires the dealer's written disclosure before the sale. How a hidden brand shows up in the title history is covered in undisclosed branded title.
Undisclosed prior rental or fleet use
Michigan's protection here comes from fraud law and the Consumer Protection Act. A dealer that represented a former rental or fleet car to you as a one-owner trade, or answered your question incompletely, may have committed fraud at common law and violated MCL 445.903(1)(c) and (1)(cc).
Dealer fees and the advertised price
The documentary fee on a Michigan installment sale is capped by MCL 492.113 and must be itemized in the cash price. A price higher than the ad, or an add-on you never agreed to, may be a gross discrepancy under MCL 445.903(1)(y) and a misrepresentation at common law.
Spot delivery and yo-yo financing
The dealer let you take the car, then called days later to say financing fell through and demanded worse terms, or the car back while keeping your trade-in or deposit. MCL 492.112 and 492.113 govern what a Michigan installment contract must contain.
Wrongful repossession
MCL 440.9609 allows self-help repossession only without a breach of the peace. Sections 440.9611 and 440.9614 require a notice before the car is sold, and section 440.9625 sets a minimum recovery for consumer-goods violations.
GAP premium fraud
You paid for a GAP waiver, which MCL 492.113(2)(e) requires to be separately stated in the contract, the dealer never forwarded the charge, and after a total loss you were left with the balance the coverage was supposed to pay.
Trade-in payoff not made
Michigan law treats the payoff promise as part of your contract. A dealer that took your trade, promised to pay off the old loan, and let it go delinquent may have breached the contract and misrepresented the deal. Credit-reporting fallout goes to Sue Your Credit Report.
Manufacturer warranty and lemon law claims under Michigan's New Motor Vehicle Warranties Act, MCL 257.1401 et seq., are handled by our sister firm, Lemon Aid Firm. A dealer that resold a lemon-law buyback without disclosing it may have a dealer fraud problem, which stays here.
What Can You Recover Against a Michigan Dealer?
The remedy depends on which claim fits the facts, and most Michigan dealer cases plead several:
- Consumer Protection Act. MCL 445.911(2) gives a person who suffers loss from a violation actual damages or $250, whichever is greater, together with reasonable attorney's fees. Subsection (1) adds declaratory and injunctive relief, and subsection (4) allows class actions. If the dealer proves a bona fide error, subsection (8) limits recovery to actual damages.
- Michigan odometer statute. MCL 257.233a(15): three times actual damages or $1,500, whichever is greater, plus costs and attorney's fees, for an intentional violation.
- Federal Odometer Act. 49 U.S.C. § 32710: three times actual damages or $10,000, whichever is greater, plus costs and attorney's fees, for a violation with intent to defraud.
- Common-law fraud and silent fraud. The loss the lie caused, typically the difference between what you paid and what the car was worth as delivered, and in appropriate cases rescission.
- Article 9. For a repossession that violated the notice or breach-of-peace rules, MCL 440.9625(3)(b) sets a minimum recovery for consumer goods of the credit service charge plus 10 percent of the principal.
Under MCL 257.248(2), every Michigan vehicle dealer posts a $25,000 surety bond, raised from $10,000 by Public Act 224 of 2022, that indemnifies a purchaser for monetary loss caused through fraud, cheating, or misrepresentation in the vehicle business. The surety pays only after a judgment or a final Department of State order, and its total liability is capped at the bond amount, so it is a collection source, not a substitute for the case.
Dollar figures above are statutory amounts set by law, not results in any case. What any client recovers depends on the facts, the documents, and the dealer's ability to pay.
How Do You Sue a Car Dealer in Michigan?
- Evaluation and document review You submit the purchase agreement, retail installment contract, Buyers Guide, odometer statement, title paperwork, the ad, and your messages with the dealer through the free case evaluation. An attorney matches the facts to the statutes. If we can assist, you receive an intake questionnaire and a retainer agreement by email.
- Demand and preservation letter Michigan has no statutory pre-suit demand requirement for these claims. We send one anyway: it puts the dealer on notice, demands preservation of the deal jacket and auction condition report, and gives the dealer a chance to resolve the matter before litigation costs mount.
- The agency complaints In parallel, we often file with the Attorney General's Consumer Protection team (877-765-8388), which mediates complaints, and with the Department of State's Regulatory Monitoring Division, which takes dealer complaints on form SOS-197 and can suspend or revoke a license for a fraudulent act under MCL 257.249. Neither awards damages, but a final Department of State order is one of the two triggers for a bond claim.
- Filing suit If the dealer will not make it right, we file in the Michigan district court, which has exclusive jurisdiction when the amount in controversy is $25,000 or less under MCL 600.8301, or in the circuit court above that, in the county of sale. When a Federal Odometer Act claim supports federal jurisdiction, the case may be filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern or Western District of Michigan. An enforceable arbitration clause moves the same claims to arbitration.
- Discovery, resolution, and fees The deal jacket, the auction condition report, the prior title records, and the advertising are where the case is built. In most cases we accept, you pay nothing up front; we seek fees from the dealer under MCL 445.911, MCL 257.233a, or 49 U.S.C. § 32710, and the retainer agreement sets out fees and costs at settlement.
The Michigan Consumer Protection Act, general Michigan fraud and contract law, and the Federal Odometer Act each set their own deadline for a claim, and those deadlines are not the same. Every claim has a deadline, some are short, and the clock can start earlier than people expect. Which deadline applies to a particular purchase depends on the claim and the facts, and is a question for an attorney who has reviewed the documents; evidence disappears far faster than any deadline runs.
How Does the Firm Handle a Michigan Case?
Remotely, on the documents. The firm's office is in Hollywood, Florida, by appointment only; we do not maintain an office in Michigan and walk-in visits aren't accepted. Attorney Joshua Feygin is admitted before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and Michigan state-court matters are filed in the Michigan courts. A client in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, or Flint works with us by email, phone, and video. More about the firm. The office number is (954) 321-0507.
Two Michigan-specific points. Michigan has no periodic safety or emissions inspection, so a used car's condition is whatever the dealer's reconditioning and the Buyers Guide say it is. And there is no cooling-off period for a car purchase: as the Michigan Attorney General's contract-cancellation alert explains, a consumer has no general right to cancel a sale of goods once the contract is signed.
Questions for a Michigan Auto Fraud Attorney
Can I sue a car dealer in Michigan for lying about a car?
Does the Michigan Consumer Protection Act apply to licensed car dealers?
Does "as is" protect a Michigan dealer from a fraud claim?
Can I return the car if I change my mind?
What does a car dealer fraud lawyer in Michigan cost?
Did a Michigan dealer take you for a ride?
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This page is attorney advertising and general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Results depend on the facts and law of each matter; prospective clients may not obtain similar results. Statutory damages described are as set by law and are before deductions for attorney's fees and costs. Sue Your Dealer – A Law Firm, Hollywood, Florida · By appointment only · (954) 321-0507.