Pelc v. Simmons
620 N.E.2d 12, 249 Ill. App. 3d 852 (1993)
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Rule of Law:
An 'as is' disclaimer in the sale of used goods effectively negates all implied warranties under the Uniform Commercial Code. A seller's general oral statements about a product's condition or past repairs do not create an express warranty that overrides such a disclaimer.
Facts:
- Mark Simmons placed his 1978 Pontiac Sunbird for sale on a used car lot with a sign on the vehicle that read 'sold as is.'
- The plaintiff's uncle, Donald Henson, inspected the car and spoke with Simmons by phone.
- During the call, Simmons told Henson he had personally rebuilt the engine and that the only thing wrong with the car was the air conditioning. He later told Henson's wife it was a 'good little car.'
- Based on these representations, the plaintiff, a 22-year-old student, purchased the car from Simmons for $1,600 on July 10, 1992.
- Simmons advised the buyer to check the oil frequently for the first 1,000 miles as the engine rings needed to 'seat'.
- Within four days and after driving only 103 miles, the engine began knocking and required oil.
- Over the next week, the car consumed oil at an extremely high rate, requiring daily refills, and was found to have very low compression in all cylinders.
- Approximately two weeks after the purchase, the car failed to start and became inoperable.
Procedural Posture:
- The plaintiff filed a small claims complaint against the defendant, Mark Simmons, in the circuit court.
- Following a bench trial, the court found in favor of the plaintiff, concluding that Simmons had breached a warranty.
- The trial court entered a judgment for $1,200 in favor of the plaintiff.
- The defendant, Mark Simmons, appealed the circuit court's judgment to the appellate court.
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Issue:
Does a seller's oral representation that he rebuilt a car's engine and that it is a 'good little car' create an express warranty that overrides a written 'sold as is' disclaimer, making the seller liable for subsequent engine failure?
Opinions:
Majority - Justice Welch
No, the seller's oral representations did not create an express warranty that overrode the 'sold as is' disclaimer. The court reasoned that the term 'as is' is understood to mean the buyer purchases the goods in their present condition with all their faults, and this language effectively excludes all implied warranties under UCC § 2-316. The court rejected the argument that stating 'I rebuilt the engine' created an express warranty, as this would turn any statement about a past repair into a binding guarantee. Furthermore, the plaintiff failed to provide evidence of the specific cause of the engine's excessive oil consumption, making it impossible to link the failure to any representation made by the defendant. To rule otherwise would render 'as is' disclaimers meaningless.
Analysis:
This decision reinforces the legal power of 'as is' disclaimers in the sale of used goods, significantly limiting a seller's liability for post-sale defects. It clarifies that casual oral statements or 'puffery' about a product's condition, even statements regarding specific repairs, generally do not rise to the level of an express warranty that can negate a clear disclaimer. The ruling places a substantial burden on buyers in 'as is' transactions to conduct thorough inspections prior to purchase. This precedent makes it more difficult for plaintiffs to succeed on breach of warranty claims when an 'as is' clause is present, unless they can prove the seller's statements created a very specific, explicit express warranty that formed the 'basis of the bargain'.
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