2weeks ago my husband and i bought a used car through this local dealership that deals with people that don't have the best credit. I really didn't want to go here, but we couldn't get credit anywhere else and the car we had was slowly dying and we dipped so much money in to that piece of garbage it wasn't worth it to us anymore. Well the van we got from this dealer is really nice has all the bells and whistles and really fits our needs. When we went to pick the car up he said it got serviced and everything was fine with it when we took off i noticed the heat was blowing out cold cold air and the van was warmed up, so we turned around and he said oh thats cause the mechanic put in the wrong fluid for the radiator and we will need to flush it out. Great!!!! so now on a rainy cold night we freeze our butts all the way home. The next day he told us to go to this radiator place and get it flushed out and it worked fine. Few days later i noticed that the gas meter was fluxuating up and down rather quickly, i had just put gas in it a day before and now it was saying i had no gas and then it would go to half a tank as i was driving. We also noticed the air conditioner doesn't work either. My husband called him up and he said to come by wednesday and he would look at it and have it fixed. So my husband gets his schedual altered and we go by wednesday morning first thing and no one was there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My husband called continually and left messages on the answering machine and no call back!!!!! He called every day since wednesday and no one has returned his phone call and we can't just go down there because my husband works till 5:30 and by then the place is closed. I am really irritated as we only have a 30 day warranty and i feel this guy is screwing me around so that the 30 days are up and he will say to bad. How would you handle it? I told my husband to leave a message sayingf that if he doesn't call me back in a day or 2 that i would seek further action. Thoughts? opinions? TIA!


I could not get down to the dealership as my husband had to work and i can't take him to work early in the morning so we called and finally got someone on the phone. The car is being fixed tommorrow morning at 11. I also went through all my paperwork and since they failed to give me a written warranty i am letting him know that they have to give me a written warranty and form the date i receive the written warranty my warranty starts. I am one step ahead of them and they may have fooled me once, but they will not fool me twice.

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SAHM of Bailey 12, Tyler 10 , Emily Ann 6, and Ryan Matthew 4 yrs old.

Do you have an e-mail address for the dealership? If so, I would definitely send an e-mail immediately documenting all the facts. At least then you would have documentation in case you have to take the matter to small claims.

I don't think I would bother with the Better Business Bureau. In my opinion, they are useless and are more for the businessman than the consumer.

I couldn't find any email for the dealer, but i will look more extensive for one if there is one. I agree with the bbb that they are useless. I am going to go by there wednesday on my husbands day off and demand something be done thats the earliest i can go. He tried calling today as they are open on saturdays and still they refused to pick the phone up or call him back. ugh what a nightmare.

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SAHM of Bailey 12, Tyler 10 , Emily Ann 6, and Ryan Matthew 4 yrs old.

Go down to the dealership and stop calling them. They've probably got Caller ID and know it's you calling. Just pull up with the van, write down a list of everything wrong with it, hand it to him and tell him you want the items repaired immediately. Tell him you will wait (and watch what they're doing when they're working on the car). Most places have a waiting area for the customer to wait and you can look at what they're doing. Since the owner knows you have little money, he's trying to wait out the 30 days. Surprise him early Monday morning and don't leave without every item fixed.

Send a certified letter!!!

They have to sign for it and that will be your documentation that they recieved notice that there were problems.

I HATE DISHONEST PPL!

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Vicki


TLJ Women united in Spirit!

What state are you in? How many miles are on the car? What did the 30 day warranty cover? (there should be a window sticker that lists EXACTLY, word for word, what is covered.

I worked for in the car business for many years and can provide some advice, but need to know the answers to the above questions first.

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"It's not about how much baggage you have, it's about whether or not you can carry your own baggage with grace and dignity."

I'm guessing it is not the kind of "dealership" that has a waiting room and service bays like those big guys. Most of the poor credit places here are pretty much just car lots and while they may do minor repairs on site, they take the vehicles to other places to have them worked on (brakes, radiators, etc). I too suggest stop getting yanked with the phone deal and go down there. I would also send a certified/registered letter, detailing the problems and requesting resolution. How about contacting your state's attorney general? Your local county licensing board? BBB is better than nothing (but not much). Sorry this is happening to you. It's always when you can least afford it when people take advantage of you.

I'm wondering if the place has caller ID and their just ignoring your calls? I'd use the good ole *69 and see if you can get through.

Good luck and sorry this is happening. Nothing worse than a dishonest person.

I live in mass and there is 114k miles on it. When we bought the car he told me that to always bring the car to him for repairs and that he would take care of whatever problems there was with it and that there wasn't any problems with the van that he knew of. I am going to go through my paperwork and see exactly what is covered. I will let you know exactly what i find out. And everyone is right here Sending a certified letter is a good idea. I am going down first thing monday morning as im really irate over the whole deal. Thanks everyone for the support and advice i really apreciate it.

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SAHM of Bailey 12, Tyler 10 , Emily Ann 6, and Ryan Matthew 4 yrs old.

Just wanted to correct this, its *67 to block your phone number

Something similar happend to me one time.. I drove my happy ass up to that dealership with shoepolish on the windows stating that they sold me a lemon.. I drove around their parking lot and honked my horn for an hour... They finally came out and asked me what it would take to get me out of their parking lot... I said a new car and the deal was done!

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Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. - Will Rogers

Please look into the lemon laws for your state. In most places, you have rights beyond what the dealer advertises.

COntact the Division of Cunsumer affaris and tell the dealer you did! I had a similar problem with a dealer over a truck a few years back and they chirped up mighty quick when they heard I was going to file a complaint.


Refundsrus, I lOVE that approach, it all of this doesn't work maybe that's the next step!

Certified letter is a great idea, let us know how you make out!

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

Depending on how much you paid for the vehicle, the dealer will not be able to afford to pay others to fix or repair the vehicle - why he told you that he would is beyond me. Most of these dealers buy these vehicles at auction and don't know that much about them as a result, so he is probably telling the truth when he says that there is nothing wrong that he is aware of. Perhaps you can ask to return the vehicle and get your money back - although it sounds like you purchased on credit with him.

On the flip side, I don't really think that you can expect a new car experience with a used car that has over 100k miles on it, especially if it's domestic.

cj/

refundsrus... great story! LOL.

I'd also check into the lemon laws... But, as cj said, if it has over 100,000 miles (and is domestic, I'm a Toyota/Honda girl!), it won't be 'like new'.

There have been so many Katrina cars that are still being shuffled around the USA and a car that has been through a flood, is not one that would be worth fixing... my opinion, of course.

You can pay something like $20 to do a Carfax Report at www.carfax.com It might be worth it to see what the history of this particular car is. All you need is the Vehicle Identification Number which would be inside the driver's side door frame or on registration card.

Read that Warranty word-by-word... before you confront them.

Best of luck! and let us know how it goes.

I don't feel the van is a lemon it just has those minor problems that need to be fixed. I love the van and we paid over 7k for the van. I do not want to return the van i really love the van and have had no other issues with it except the air conditioner and the gas gauge. All i want is for him to fix those issues and things will be fine.

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SAHM of Bailey 12, Tyler 10 , Emily Ann 6, and Ryan Matthew 4 yrs old.

I'm just curious.. what kind of van is it? we just bought an oddosey? did i spell that right?

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Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. - Will Rogers

We had a 1996 Ford Windstar that had similar problems after it hit 100K (A/C blowing hot, gas gauge going nuts). Hit 140K and it was no longer feasible to repair it as repairs were more expensive then it was worth.

Oddysey is Honda, right? Smart choice.

Even though you don't think it is one, I recommend you look into the lemon laws for MA. Even if you love it, you can use the lemon laws to your advantage. The Web site has some recommendations on keeping records and so on to strengthen your case. They also have a site where you can check the dealer's complaint history and stuff like that.

Take a look at the official Mass lemon law Web site:
http://www.smalllinks.com/1JD

Its a 2000 chev venture warner brothers edition. Its really nice in all other aspects, cept those few issues we are having.

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SAHM of Bailey 12, Tyler 10 , Emily Ann 6, and Ryan Matthew 4 yrs old.

The thing with these newer cars is most everything is connected to the electrical system. When what looks like a minor thing goes wrong, it seems to affect other things due to the electrical system. Do you have any of the papers showing who owned it before you? You could call the person and ask them what problems they were having with it when they sold/traded it. I've done this before with some of the used vehicles we've bought. Most people are more than happy to help you.

We are in Ma and years and years ago my DH bought a used car from a 'private dealer'. Started acting up right away, the guy took it back and promised it back to us the next day for over two weeks. DH went to the repair place that had it- and there was no engine in it! Turns out the car had been rolled back , and involved in a fire. I think he got this info from the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The guy that sold it to him lived in a small town. DH went to the police in that town, explained the situation, and they worked with him to talk to the guy. Soon after, his money was refunded in full. I bet they will not sign for the certified letter- that's what this guy did- refuse to sign. But try sending it anyways. List the problems in full and state that these problems were present in your 30 day guarantee period.

A 2000 vehicle would be considered 8 yrs. old. You start counting the year of the vehicle and stop with the year models currently out. At 12,000 miles per year, that comes to 84,000. I just traded in a 2002 Venture LT with all the bells and whistles with the exception of a DVD. It had only 62,000 miles and we received $5,600. in trade.
I went to Kelly Blue Book and came up with $6,985. However, that's in excellent condition which means like new. Less than 5% of vehicles fall in this category.

My parents told me they did something similar, bought a car and after a while the dealership wasn't all that eager to help them, so they put signs on the windows and drove down there one busy weekend.... they got help QUICK!

We've dealt with the "buy here pay here" type places before... we bought one vehicle and then traded it in on another because the first one started having problems. Later the dealer told my husband he fixed the old vehicle by disconnecting the light that was coming on (alternator or battery light)!!!

My father picked me out a car from a lot one of his friends owned. That stupid thing had a light on when they drove it off the lot, we tried over and over to get it to turn off (went through oh so many oxygen sensors) but it never did. One of several reasons I'll never buy another Pontiac.

Ok, I am back......sorry busy weekend.....

The vehicle was sold used, therefore 'Lemon Laws' do not apply in this case. You are very lucky to live in Massachusetts....they have some of the best used car laws I have ever seen! I thought I was going to have to give you bad news....in MN that is an 'as is' car----if it breaks in 2 halves, you own both halves!

From the Mass.gov website:

The Massachusetts Lemon Aid Law allows you to void or cancel a motor vehicle contract or sale if your vehicle fails to pass inspection within seven days from the date of sale AND if the estimated costs of repairs of emissions or safety related defects exceed 10% of the purchase price. (M.G.L. c. 90 §7N) This law applies to both dealer and private party sales of cars and motorcycles purchased for personal or family use. Dealers must display your Lemon Aid rights by putting a sticker on the left front window of each used car at the time of delivery.

Implied Warranty of Merchantability:
In addition to any express written warranties given by the dealer, you are also protected by an Implied Warranty of Merchantability. This implied warranty is automatic with every car sold by a dealer. The dealer warranties that the car is safe and in running condition for at least a reasonable period of time. Consider such factors as the price paid, the car’s age, make, model and mileage to help you determine what problems the dealer should be required to fix.

You cannot waive the implied warranty of merchantability. This means that a dealer cannot sell cars "as is," "with all faults," or with a "50/50" warranty.

Used Vehicle Warranty Law:
Dealers must provide a written warranty to buyers who purchase a used vehicle with fewer than 125,000 miles at a purchase price of $700 or more. The law requires dealers to repair use or safety defects for either 30, 60, or 90 days, depending on the mileage of the vehicle. It also allows consumers to obtain a refund if during the warranty period they attempted to have the vehicle repaired three times for the same defect, or if the car has been out of service for repairs for at least 11 business days, and the defects still exist.

For General Information:
Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation
(617) 727-7780 or Toll Free: (888) 283-3757

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"It's not about how much baggage you have, it's about whether or not you can carry your own baggage with grace and dignity."

I threw in the part about passing an inspection, just so you would have that info........you didn't mention if you had an inspection sticker or not.

I would try to work with them on repairs, go directly to the general manager if possible. If you get no help, file a complaint with the Office of Consumer Repairs.

Good luck and I hope this helped......

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"It's not about how much baggage you have, it's about whether or not you can carry your own baggage with grace and dignity."

jeeplady,

The car passes inspection and the guy im dealing with is the owner of the dealership (great huh?) Ty for posting all the information for me it really helps a lot. I am going down there and going to see what is going on i just have this awful feeling that hes trying to wait out the milage or the 30 days whatever comes first warranty to expire. I will contact the consumer affairs if i get no resolution. Ty all for posting information and telling me your experiances. I apreciate all feedback. Last thing i want is to resell the veichle back as it mechanically runs very well, it just has these 2 issues that need to be fixed. Will update when i can.

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SAHM of Bailey 12, Tyler 10 , Emily Ann 6, and Ryan Matthew 4 yrs old.