"As is" means that you accept the vehicle in the condition that it is represented to you at the time of sale. It doesn't mean that the dealer can misrepresent the vehicle's condition to you, before you buy.

If you had a witness to the sale and that witness is willing to testify that the sales rep stated that the dealership inspected the vehicle and found that it was in great shape, etc., then you could sue the dealer for "mutual mistake," which means that the parties to the contract made a material error as to the subject matter of the contract (the car), and therefore, the deal should be rescinded/canceled.

The reason why this rarely works in the real world, is because there is never a witness to the transaction other than the buyer and the dealer, and consequently, it's one side's word against the other -- which is insufficient to win in court.

Without a witness to the transaction, you could take the vehicle to an independent mechanic and see if he/she would be willing to testify that the transmission was so bad, that the dealer must have known that it was defective at the time of sale. If you can do that, then your claim would be for misrepresentation/fraud.

Either way, you would probably sue in small claims without a lawyer, because the cost of hiring an attorney would be more than the transmission repair.

The only other option would be to file a complaint with your state attorney general -- but, it would be entirely up to the government to decide whether or not to investigate and prosecute the dealer -- and your complaint could simply fall down a black hole, and you would never hear from anyone about it. But, it doesn't cost anything to complain.

Those are your options.

Please let me know if you need clarification or you have other questions.

Hope this helps.

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