Jury Awards Consumer $81,000 for Damaged Jeep Cherokee Sold as 'Brand New'

    CHICAGO, April 24 A jury in
Illinois awarded $81,000 to an Illinois consumer deceptively sold a new Jeep
Cherokee damaged before purchase.  Consumer protection laws provide for full
disclosure of the exact condition of a new or used car at the time of sale.
The buyer was not informed of any damage and found out later that some
important information concerning this particular new car's history had been
withheld.

    The Jeep Cherokee appeared to be in perfect condition when the consumer
inspected and purchased his first new car at Clifford Chrysler of Buffalo
Grove, Illinois.  The investment for this "brand new" vehicle was $28,294.58,
which included all fees and taxes.  After owning the car a few months, the
surprised consumer discovered the paint flaking off the left side of the car.
On closer observation, he noticed more than one area of paint peeling away
from that same side.  When the salesman was questioned as to the condition of
the car he claimed no knowledge of any prior damage, implying something could
have occurred during the Jeep's delivery to the dealership.

    Repeated phone calls to various other employees of Clifford Chrysler and a
call directly to Chrysler Corporation still did not provide the consumer with
any insight into the cause of this damage.  Finally, a dealership customer
service rep let the truth slip.  The car had been vandalized at the dealership
four months prior to its purchase, along with several other vehicles.  The
damage, keying down the entire side from metal panel to metal panel, was so
severe that it was taken to a body shop for repairs.  The repairs were
performed and the Jeep Cherokee went back to the dealership, tagged as new,
ready to be sold to a buyer.

    "A vehicle that has incurred damage before it ever leaves the dealer's lot
should not be falsely represented to a prospective buyer as new or free from
defect," claims Adam Krohn, of Krohn & Moss, Ltd., the law firm that
represented the consumer in this case.  "A buyer has the right to know and the
laws offer protection when a consumer has been dealt with in a deceptive
manner," adds Krohn.  The law firm of Krohn & Moss, Ltd. handles thousands of
cases each year involving lemon law, breach of warranty, auto and other
consumer fraud issues, without charging their clients any fees.  Under the
law, the dealer or manufacturer is responsible for the attorneys' fees if the
claim is successful.