Screwed on a Used Car— Options/Suggestions

Good Morning!

Two weeks ago a friend of mine bought a used sedan (2013 Chevy Cruze, 97k miles for $7k) Long story short, the day she drove it off the lot, the check engine light came on. Took it back to the dealer and they said “nothing is wrong with it” but they changed the oil, spark plugs, and water pump… just because. They specifically said the catalytic converter was fine. She took the car to a mechanic and on the mechanic’s test drive the car broke down and required a tow. She’s got a running tab that’s approaching $3k (including replacing the catalytic converter).

She’s been talking to the dealer and has received a mixed bag of “it’s your problem now” and “we’ll see what we can do”

— I’m pinging the collective wisdom here… is she screwed? Or is there any recourse? Thanks in advance!

 

She’s probably screwed. Just look at it as a (very expensive) lesson learned.

 

Was there a warranty?

Sounds like a cluster F*** though. Sorry for your friend

 

Any written warranty docs?

 

No, unfortunately no written warranty. I think she’s mentally prepared to accept it’s just an expensive lesson learned :-|

They really got one over on her, thanks for all the feedback guys!

 

I had a big Toyota dealer sign an IOU letter stating that the cats would be "fixed," which they didn't and shipped the car basically across the country on my dime. It took a LOT of back and forth over the course of a month to get them to acknowledge fault and fix the issue. Without something in writing or a warranty you'll have limited options.

1- Check whether the cats themselves are still within manufacturer's warranty. If I remember correctly, cats are covered under a federally mandated timeline and are covered not to fail way above the typical 3year/36k miles dealer warranty.
2- Check for lemon law protection. If the car threw a CEL after purchase and the new owner cannot register the vehicle because it won't pass inspection(VA?), the dealer might be on enough of a hook to fix the issues that are required for registry. Just enough to pass inspection.
3-Check the paperwork. Used cars are sometimes sold with written warranty, but are almost always sold "as-is." Nothing implied is valid. In writing only.
4- If you don't have anything in writing about purchase/timelines of faults/CEL/breakdown/first communication with the seller, get moving quick. Phone calls are good to get attention but document everything.

Also regardless of situation, make sure you forget about the "might be screwed" attitude. Sometimes being loud is more effective than being right. Stay on them and stay aggressive. Dealer apparently doesn't think much of doing the right thing so your friend shouldn't either.

 

They were in the process so I say they are responsible because they start the repair but did not get it right???

 

Sorry to say - but I’d lean towards screwed.

3k in repairs AFTER what dealer did ? Seems excessive to me. I mean an emissions issue can certainly cost that to fix - but why invest that kind of cash in a 2013 that cost 7k over a converter - at a point cut the losses, ignore the light and run it as long as you can before moving on.

Honestly not “bad” cars and good mileage and mileage and I wouldn’t feel bad about paying 7k for one in this market with all the work done by the dealer. 10k and counting though chasing a code - I’d start being a little more upset.

Best bet is to pressure dealer to give you something- and if they refuse - try small claims for the entire bill. A judge is unlikely to give it all to you - but it gives leverage - no one wants to have their names out there as a defendant and they might try to work something out.

If nothing else - tell them you want the 7k back in trade and half the amount spent. Losing 1500 on a car you don’t own sucks - but a lot less than losing 10k on a non running Cruze.

 

So there are Dealers and then there are "Dealers".
This does not sound like any Legit Dealer at all.

I would NEVER let this go,not sure what I would suggest bit can not just let it slide.

We dont have enough actual details to be much help either.

 

And start blasting them on Yelp and social media.

 

My state has a lemon law. Don't most states have something similar?

 

Does it apply to used vehicles?

 

One thing you might check is when the CEL was reset/cleared. I believe most cars can tell you it’s history, it’s possible the “dealer” cleared it for the sale and it came right back. I seem to have read somewhere this is good advice when checkout of used cars - to see if someone had recently cleared the CEL.

 

Many independent shops have Used Car or Pre-purchase inspections. Anywhere from $100-150. I did a ton of them and saved many people headaches and a lot of money. Always a good idea to have a 3rd party who knows what they’re talking about check out a used car if there is any question. Certified used or dealers that give you a warranty or grace period are safer bets but not ironclad either.
Sorry, but your friend is probably screwed unless they’re willing to contact BBB or get a lawyer involved. May not even get her $ back.

 

Well, I always assumed so but I may be wrong now that I look it up. I thought even with a used vehicle you had a few days you could return it.

 

Yeah it happens unfortunately, but there are good sellers out there. Sometimes just hard to differentiate.

 

https://youtu.be/W814jvc389A

 

I think this depends on the state. I bought my GTI used off a shady, shady, used dealer lot. I signed 2 waivers and one of them was something like a cool down period.

In the OP situation, before hurling $3k at the car I definitely would have got 2nd and maybe 3rd opinions. Bad cat is so often a sloppy diagnosis for what is really bad sensors, might have been a $200 problem. I would want to know how it was diagnosed and what else had been looked at. I cant see how a bad cat would cause a car to "break down" on a drive. It would just throw a cel and run rich.

Also, curious why a dealer would swap a water pump just because. That's super questionable and makes me curious of a timing belt/chain was involved and if coolant was purged or just topped off. If a water pump is leaking, okay, but it doesn't fall into the category basic maintenance like spark plugs and air filters.

I hate hearing about people getting bent over by dealers and mechanics. It happens so often to people who are just not educated on vehicles.

 

Call local TV station, they always like a good buyer beware segment. (unless dealer is big time advertiser with them).

 

60 min do those

 

I'd straight up say, "you can either refund my money or plan on many rough days and nights ahead because I will not let this go, you have five minutes to think about it". No results, party starts!! One week later, "You have five minutes to decide, refund plus 2 grand or the party never ends!"

 

I used to feel the same way passing by a local corner lot dealer. There's no way a big dealer with lots of new cars, a big shiny showroom, complimentary coffee and lots of affiliates selling other brands would try some fuckery. Big dealer in Houston proved me wrong. All depends on whether the sales manager thinks he can skate.

 

The water pump immediately rang some alarm bells for me. Nobody does a pump just because, and the work is usually so intensive that nobody does JUST the water pump. Other than a substantial leak why would dealer opt to the the least amount of work and throwing in a water pump, which ain't a small amount of work and has nothing to do with emissions. Unless we're talking about a worn out belt, some slack in the timing and maybe pre-ignition and incomplete combustion. But then I'd assume knock sensor faults, bad smoke and the kind of idle that nobody could miss. In which case, again, just the pump?

Very odd.

 

Yea - realistically there’s a lot of unknowns here.

Not to defend a dealer - but it is entirely possible they got screwed too - if it’s a trade, lots of people trade in things ready to go - thinking “let the dealer eat this POS” - of course if it lets go 5 miles after the dealer resells it - not a lot you can hold the dealer liable for on used cars sold with no warranty. A good dealer doesn’t want this to be your experience and will try to help - but even the best have their limits.

Now when it’s a case of the dealer bought it at a local as is corral at auction with disclosed issues or took it back from a customer due to issues - different story. These are known conditions not disclosed at time of resale. Lemon law may only apply to “new” vehicles - but a judge is unlikely to view such behavior as ethical.

Buying a used car is always a gamble and the older/lower price you go - the bigger the risk. In this case I don’t think the price/vehicle should have set off any alarms that the buyer was purchasing a problem and if it was one before and can be proven known by seller -it’s a good case for full refund.

I get these sob stories every now and then - the “I bought a used car and it blew up or it needs a really expensive repair” - ask what did you buy and it’s “a 1994 Mercedes E class or something” and just immediately begs the question of did you have someone who knows these cars look at it in advance of purchase (no - the guy selling it said it was a great car and he had another buyer if I didn’t take it - other guy was coming at 2p so I had to make a quick decision) and didn’t you think maintenance on that level of a ride might be outside of your budget if you couldn’t afford more than 5-7k for a car (maintenance- my last car I never had to do any maintenance on and it ran fine till the day it died….explaining exactly why they seem to be in the market for cars every 2-3 years or 40k miles…run em to death never even changing oil).

Like I said - the OP describes a perfectly reasonable and normal purchase - hopefully the dealer was both honest and tries to help here. If the dealer is dishonest - my feeling is they bend quickly if the matter starts catching attention from people who have authority over them (ie courts, state attorney general) - stand in front of the place holding a sign - they are gonna laugh and call you a nut. Yelp/online - these guys pay for services to rid themselves of these reviews and can get them pulled down easily. New cars - they care about CSI/manufacturer complaints (although they say they don’t - they are scared to death by these) - but used is the Wild West - anything goes. Only thing that works is the threat of loss of license to operate or large fines for tampering.

 

BS all dealers are crooks, they have mechanic to check codes and real time info. They knows what’s up.

 

Exactly, nobody gets into the used car business for any other reason. It's all about the bottom line.

 

My thought is if they are truly shady they just named a few repairs the buyer would recognize and said yup we fixed that, when all they might have done was reset the CEL. Oil, spark plugs, and water pump wouldn't trigger a CEL until a much bigger problem was obvious. Way too much information is missing in the OP, like what did the other mechanic find and repair?

 

Here in CO, unless a used vehicle is being sold as certified or a warranty stated on the sales contract, the window sticker will state... "AS IS"....meaning AS IS. Once you sign and drive off the lot and you have an issue....it's on you. The exception is if the dealer offered a 3 day right of refusal for example and is stated in the contract. When buying a used vehicle here that is being sold AS IS you best do your due diligence by having the vehicle checked out first and ask for a reasonable time window to return the vehicle if not satisfied. All the complaining in the world by not performing due diligence with any used car dealer will usually not go your way legally. Shady dealers know this and don't give a rats ass. Unless you can prove a dealer did something egregious then SOL kicks in.....

 

A one owner Suburban that's immaculate for $5000. This is why he says women shouldn't shop for cars alone.

 

Park in front of the dealer with a big sign on the car saying Dealer Screwed Me.