Short answer. You can either return the car and recover what you paid, or keep it and demand a reduction of the price. Article 1561 makes a seller answerable for hidden defects that render the thing unfit for its intended use — but not for defects that were plainly visible.

What the law says

The vendor shall be responsible for warranty against the hidden defects which the thing sold may have, should they render it unfit for the use for which it is intended, or should they diminish its fitness for such use to such an extent that, had the vendee been aware thereof, he would not have acquired it or would have given a lower price for it

Civil Code, Article 1561 — Warranty Against Hidden Defects. Read the full provision →

What makes a defect hidden

The article does its own defining. The seller answers for defects that render it unfit for the use for which it is intended, or that diminish that fitness so much that the buyer, had he known, would not have acquired it or would have given a lower price for it. A cracked block, a chassis welded up from two wrecked cars, a submerged flood unit sold as clean — these are the standard examples. Two things have to be true: the defect existed at the time of the sale, and it was not apparent to an ordinary buyer looking the car over.

You elect between unwinding the sale and cutting the price

Article 1567 gives the buyer a choice, and it really is a choice: withdraw from the contract, or keep the car and demand a proportionate reduction of the price, with damages in either case. You do not get both, and a buyer who has acted on one election is generally held to it. Withdrawal unwinds everything and puts the car back on the seller. Reduction is the practical route where you need the vehicle and simply want the cost of putting it right taken off what you paid — which is why an independent repair estimate is worth obtaining early.

The seller's ignorance is not a defence

The commonest answer a buyer hears is that the seller had no idea either. It does not work. Article 1566 makes the vendor responsible for hidden faults even though he was not aware thereof; his good faith limits his exposure to damages, not the warranty itself. That article also recognises a waiver, but only where the contrary was stipulated and the seller was genuinely unaware. Article 1561 cuts the other way too: nothing is owed for patent defects or those which may be visible, nor for hidden ones where the buyer is a dealer or mechanic who by his trade should have known.

The clock is very short

This is where most used-car claims die. Article 1571 bars actions on the hidden-defect warranty six months from the delivery of the thing sold — not six months from the day the fault revealed itself. A defect that only surfaces after a year of driving is already outside the warranty, and the buyer is left arguing that he was defrauded into the sale, which is a different case with different proof. So act unromantically fast: have the car inspected independently, keep the deed of sale and the date of release, and put the complaint in writing while the six months are still running.

Cases citing this provision

These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.