Zabriskie Chevrolet v. Smith

Alfred Smith (defendant) signed a purchase order and paid for a new car from Zabriskie Chevrolet (plaintiff). When Smith's wife drove it off the lot, it broke down within a mile and became nearly inoperable. Smith immediately stopped payment on his check and told Zabriskie the sale was cancelled. Zabriskie discovered a defective transmission and replaced it with one taken out of another car on its showroom floor. Smith refused to accept the repaired car and reasserted the cancellation. Zabriskie sued for the balance of the price, and Smith counterclaimed to recover his deposit.

Whether a seller's statutory right to cure nonconforming goods within the time for performance extends to a new car so that replacing the defective transmission with one taken from another showroom vehicle counts as an effective cure.