A judge recently ordered a used car dealer to pay nearly $420,000 for selling over a dozen vehicles without working airbags
- A Kansas used car dealer allegedly sold over a dozen vehicles with blown airbags that were not replaced.
- To hide this fact, at least one of the cars was reportedly equipped with an “airbag simulator” to turn off the warning light.
- The dealership had its business license revoked and was ordered to pay $418,197.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that front air bags have saved more than 50,000 lives over 30 years. That’s about 1,666 deaths per year, and the government noted that front airbags have been standard equipment since the late 1990s.
Although their impact is undeniable, imagine buying a used car and then realizing that the airbags are not working. This is a frightening thought that you would probably never know until you were involved in an accident.
More: VW accuses used car dealers of “falsifying” the logo
Unfortunately, this is not a theoretical exercise, as District Attorney Marc Bennett of the 18th Judicial District of Kansas has revealed that a used car dealer sold over a dozen vehicles without functioning airbags. According to his office, a local dealer named Carnation sold a customer a car with an already deployed airbag. To hide this fact, the vehicle was reportedly equipped with an “airbag simulator device…which disabled the airbag light on the dashboard.”
This triggered an investigation by the Consumer Protection Division, which found that “in the first quarter of 2023 alone, twelve additional cars sold by Carnation LLC had blown airbags that were not replaced.” As if that wasn’t bad enough, Carnation issued a consent judgment in 2019, for failing to disclose a blown car airbag.
Google Street View
Judge William Woolley found the latest actions were “deliberate breaches” of the original consent judgment. This paved the way for a $418,197 (£332,947 / €388,381) default judgment against the retailer for “fraudulent acts and willful violation of a prior consent judgment under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.”
Affected customers are set to receive a refund of $2,000 (£1,592 / €1,857), but the majority of the money will go towards civil penalties, court costs and investigation fees. Additionally, the court revoked Carnation’s business license and issued an injunction prohibiting Carnation from selling vehicles in the state.
Although this is an extreme case, the district attorney used it as an example to remind consumers to “exercise caution” when purchasing a used car because “devices can be used to conceal the fact that a car lacks functioning airbags, even.” if it has been inspected by an auto inspection official. “Mechanic.” They also reminded consumers to obtain a vehicle history report and do a general VIN lookup online. The latter is free and can usually reveal whether a vehicle is damaged and was later auctioned off.