Wednesday, April 28, 2010

as is

You’re about to buy a car and the owner tells you he’s selling it “as is.” You suddenly feel uptight. What is he hiding? A missing gear shift, faulty brakes, a dead body in the trunk? A century ago, all purchases were “as is” and the buyer had an obligation to seriously inspect every purchase before making it. The age-old legal rule was caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware. But during the 20th century, laws were enacted to protect consumers, including laws requiring that goods and services be merchantable and useful for their intended purposes. This implied warranty of merchantability does not apply when property is sold “as is.” As long as the buyer had a reasonable opportunity to inspect the property beforehand, the “as is” buyer takes the goods in their current condition and cannot complain about problems later.

See: warranties

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