Deception in Car Sale

Question

Hello! A person wanted to buy a car. He saw an advertisement for a car for sale at 20,000 NIS. He went to the person who advertised and asked him if the chassis had ever been damaged. (This is a very expensive part of the car. If it is damaged, the car's value decreases from 20,000 shekels to 15,000 shekels.) Now, the seller knew in his heart that the chassis had been damaged once, but he told the potential buyer, 'I don't know, you should check at the garage.' Now, the buyer didn't have the energy to go to the garage and pay the 500 shekels for the car inspection, so he just bought the car. In short, there was a minor accident involving this car, so the person went to the garage, they lifted the car up and told him, 'You know, your chassis was damaged once!' Now, two questions: Can the buyer cancel the purchase because the seller didn't tell him that the chassis had been damaged once? And a second question: Does the seller have to pay him the difference of these 5,000 shekels (the difference between 20 and 15 thousand)? I would appreciate a quick response. Thank you and good night!

Answer

Shalom!
Since the buyer could have checked this matter making the purchase, and the seller even recommended that he do so, and it was the buyer who decided not to check, the buyer has no claim or monetary right against the seller.

Source

"Sma" on Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat, Chapter 232, Paragraph 10

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