Weigel v. Ron Tonkin Chevrolet Co.

The Unlawful Trade Practices Act makes it an unlawful practice for a person to represent in the course of business “that real estate or goods are original or new if they are deteriorated, altered, reconditioned, reclaimed, used or second-hand.” ORS 646.608(1)(f). The chief issue in the present case is whether an automobile dealer violated this provision in selling as new a car that an earlier customer conditionally contracted to buy and took home but returned for lack of financing. We hold that an automobile is “used” rather than “new” within the meaning of the statute when a dealer…