I bought a used car from a dealer and it broke down, am I covered?

In the United States? This answer is Québec and Canadian law. The US side of this site answers different questions, state by state: different law, and different coverage. Go to the US side

In detail

The classes in s. 160 are read on two axes, the age of the model and the mileage. Class A: not more than four years since automobiles of the same model and model year were put on the market, provided the automobile has not covered more than 80,000 kilometres. Class B: not more than five years and not more than 100,000 kilometres. Class C: not more than seven years and not more than 120,000 kilometres. Class D: an automobile covered by none of those paragraphs.

The s. 159 warranty carries exclusions written into s. 161: normal maintenance service and the replacement of parts resulting from it, interior trim or exterior decoration items, damage resulting from abuse by the consumer after delivery, and any accessory prescribed by regulation. Section 162 adds a label mechanism: the merchant may set out the defects and an estimate of the cost of repairing them; the merchant is bound by that estimate, but is then not subject to the warranty for the defects listed on the label.

A class D automobile is not outside the law for all that: the general warranties in ss. 37 and 38 apply to any goods sold by a merchant, the latent-defect warranty in art. 1726 of the Civil Code applies to the sale, and s. 54 allows the claim to be brought directly against the manufacturer.

A specific mechanism added in 2023 concerns recent automobiles. Section 53.1 allows a court, on the application of a consumer who owns or is the long-term lessee, to declare an automobile a "seriously defective automobile"; the defects must have appeared within three years of the first sale or long-term lease and while the automobile has not covered more than 60,000 kilometres, after three unsuccessful repair attempts for the same defect, one or two where the vehicle was held more than 30 days, or 12 attempts for unrelated defects. Once the declaration is obtained, the presence of a latent defect is deemed to affect the automobile.

What to document

The invoice or contract, with its date. The method of payment · a bank or card statement carries a date no one disputes. Exchanges with the merchant, with their timestamps. The condition of the goods when the problem appeared: a photograph carries its date; a recollection does not.

Official sources

• art. 159 de la Loi sur la protection du consommateur (RLRQ c P-40.1) · read on 2026-08-09

Related questions

• What is the time limit to sue for a latent defect?
• My appliance broke after the warranty ended, do I still have a remedy?
• Is a formal notice mandatory before small claims?
• What kinds of claims are accepted in small claims?

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