When buying a used car, you hear it all the time: “accident-free, always serviced, one owner.” It sounds reassuring. But do you know that these words carry a specific legal meaning – and that the seller is accountable for them even when they did not know they were saying something untrue?
An Assurance Is Not Just a Sales Pitch
Polish law takes a seller’s assurances seriously. Under the Civil Code, a seller is liable for defects not only where the car has a technical fault, but also where the item “does not have the properties the seller assured the buyer it possessed.” In other words: if the seller said the car had never been in an accident and it turns out it was involved in a serious collision, you have grounds for a claim – regardless of whether the seller knew about the accident.
The Poznań Regional Court confirmed this in its judgment of 20 May 2014 (case ref. XV Ca 330/14), holding that a seller’s statutory warranty liability is absolute – it attaches regardless of whether the seller caused the defect, whether they are in any way at fault, or even whether they knew about the defect at all.
“We Never Had an Accident” – How the Court Interprets It
In the case before the Poznań Regional Court, the sellers argued that their assurance of accident-free status referred only to the period during which they themselves had owned the car – not to its entire history. The court rejected this argument.
In the court’s view, a buyer is entitled to interpret the statement “we never had any accident in this car” as an assurance about the vehicle’s general accident-free history from the moment of manufacture – not just the most recent period of ownership. From the buyer’s perspective, it is precisely the overall history of the vehicle that matters.
This has an important practical implication: a seller who wants to limit their assurance to a specific period must say so explicitly and clearly. If they do not, the buyer can rely on the assurance as covering the vehicle’s full history.
The Seller Knew – and Concealed It
In the case discussed, it emerged that the sellers knew about an earlier collision – the front of the car had been repaired at a service centre years earlier, on the instructions of the seller’s cousin. Despite this, they assured the buyer the car had never been in an accident.
An expert’s report revealed unprofessionally repaired structural body components and a faulty airbag system (SRS). The buyer withdrew from the contract, and the court found the withdrawal fully justified.
What a Seller’s Assurance Does for You
A seller’s assurance about the vehicle’s condition strengthens your legal position in several ways.
First, you have the right to demand repair, a reduction in price or withdrawal from the contract where the assurance turns out to be false – even if the seller acted in good faith and did not know about the defect themselves.
Second, an assurance that there are no defects extends the deadlines for making a complaint. In a private sale, the buyer must generally notify the seller of a defect within one month of discovering it. If the seller assured the buyer that no defects exist, however, the buyer does not lose their rights due to a delay in giving notice – the assurance prevents the seller from relying on that time bar.
Third, if it later emerges that the seller knew about the defect and deliberately concealed it, additional claims arise – based on fraud or mistake at the time the contract was entered into.
How to Protect Your Rights Before You Buy
Every assurance the seller makes is worth keeping in some written form. An online advertisement, a text message, an email, a note with the date and content of the conversation – any record is better than none. If the seller says verbally that the car has never been in an accident, ask them to write it into the contract.
It is also worth commissioning a pre-purchase inspection from an independent automotive expert. A professional technical report reveals defects that are invisible during a standard viewing and costs a fraction of what a later legal dispute might involve.
A Note on Buying from a Trader
The judgment discussed concerned a private sale between individuals, where the statutory warranty provisions of the Polish Civil Code apply.
If you bought the car from a dealer, car lot or showroom, a different set of rules has applied since 1 January 2023: the provisions on conformity of goods with the contract. The level of protection is broadly comparable, but the timescales and procedure for making a complaint differ in their details. A seller’s assurances carry the same legal weight under that regime and are binding regardless of the contractual terms.
Contact Us
If the seller gave you assurances about the vehicle’s condition and the reality turned out to be different, you have concrete rights – and a clear path to enforcing them.
It pays to be properly prepared: both in knowing what you can claim and in having a clear strategy.
We handle cases for drivers in Poznań and across the Wielkopolska region, with in-person and online consultations available for clients elsewhere in Poland.
Adwokat Marta Krzyżanowicz and Adwokat Michalina Koligot Law Firm “Adwokat dla Kierowców w Poznaniu”
ul. Adama Mickiewicza 18/3, 60-834 Poznań
tel. +48 795 001 536 · +48 531 335 713
kontakt@adwokatdlakierowcy.pl · www.adwokatdlakierowcy.pl
This text is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case requires individual analysis.
