Three weeks ago, I was a dealer in Huntington Beach and I completed a deal to purchase a Ford Escape. When I was signing the final paperwork to close the deal, I was told by the finance manager that I had to purchase a surface protection product ( 3 years paint/interior) for $1,288. I really wanted the car, but didn't want the "product" (isn't it a warranty, not a product?). I was told that I had to buy it to get the car. I finally agreed to it, but I feel this is unfair. Although I signed my name to receive the product, is there anyway I can cancel it and get the money credited?

In Maine at K & S Enterprises, bought a used 2000 GMC Sierra, had inspection sticker and dealer warranty. E brake was rusted out. Dealer fixed that, but while at dealer's local mechanic, found out the the whole front end is broken. Dealer says he won't fix it because he found out about it on the 34th day (from the mechanic) and we only had 30 days to bring any problems that needed to be fixed according to their warranty. But state of Maine, I believe says within 60 days anything that would cause the vehicle not to pass inspection the dealer must fix. They aren't answering the phone now or returning our calls. The truck is still at their mechanics. It's been 6 days already.

Hi,

I traded in my old car back in 03 for a 2000 Saturn,during the paper work i was asked if i had anyone that could co-sign for the car with me. Well to make a long story short everytime i call the people that gave me the loan for the car they tell me that my name is no where on the loan and that they can't talk to me. i traded in my old car for this 2000 Saturn, i make the payments and everything i have explained this to the people that have the loan out for my car they told me that this is considered i straw purchase and it is illegal. Not to mention that the dealership i got the car from is now closed down and theres no one that can help me now. Now when i call to try and get someone to tell me what this purchase means everybody wants to act like they don't know what im talking about. So my question to you is what steps do i take in getting some help to get this problem worked out do i get a lawyer and take it to court or try and talk with the bank i got the loan from. Thank You

My husband wanted to purchase a used car from a "friendly guy." The guy wanted a $500 "Deposit" to HOLD the car. My husband & him signed something to the effect of my husband would make payments to him for this car & he paid him the $500 Deposit. So my husband returned to pay the some money toward purchase of the car but the car was smoking(THANK GOD) & the man had MISREPRESENTED (lied about) some things concerning this car. The guy asked for our address to return the $500 but never sent it. OK, Now this man is calling saying that they had an agreement & my husband is obligated to buy the car. My husband finally figured that the man was dishonest & looked at the $500 as a lesson learned and money lost. This man is keeping the money & insists that he has a contract binding purchase..This is ridiculous. What legal recourse should we take?

My husband and I have took out 2 car loans with inth 2 years with the same savings bank. Neither loans were ever reported to any credit bureau. In addition an inside source at the bank informed us that the bank does not nor has ever reported any of their car loans to any bureaus the dealership and bank is owned by the same person its supposed to be one of those last chance savings banks..
In addition we were charge ridiculous interest rates that we we're told would go down after 6 months of on time payments.but never did....also the monthly statements we receive are very fishy they do not disclose the vin number in its entirety only the last 4 digits their is never any date marked on the invoice nor loan information
My husband was also never sent a title ispite of being promissed he would.
The bank does not report any of the sales taxes either
We don't know what to do....he has not payed in the past 3 months we still have the vehicle but the bank is being perssitent is asking us to bring it back....we are worried if we return the car before gaining any legal addvice we won't have a leg to stand on....for all we know we can give the car back and they would deny we ever had the loan....the loan invoices look like they could be printed from anyones home computer. Its a very shady situation.

Please help any advice is appreciated

I live in Ohio. The sales person at the dealership asked me to put down $500.00 on my VISA for a Jeep over the phone. I asked if it was refundable and he said yes. The next day I contacted him and told him that I changed my mind and wanted a car with better mpg. He said I have to take the jeep. I DID NOT sign anything. Can they keep my money?

I bought a 2007 Silverado w/ 9700 miles. On my way home from the dealer (Greg Leblanc Toyota - Houma, La) I realized something was wrong w/ the transmission. I brought it back to the dealer, they gave me a loaner vehicle and said they'd call when it was fixed. 5 days later they called & said it wqas fixed. Went pick it up & the same transmission problems occured again. I brought it back & they put me back in the loaner. It has now been 1 1/2 wks. & still no truck. I really fed up w/ this dealer.
*** Do I have the right to cancel the deal on that truck? ***

HI HAL I WOULD LIKE SAY I HAVE BOUGHT 3 DIFFERNT VEHEICLES OFF THE SAME DEALER SHIP AND WELL MAYBE A 4. WELL I OWNED A JEEP AND SOLD IT X AMOUNT DOLLARS ANYWAY MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT WE NEEDED A MINIVAN 4 ECONAMOIC REASONS AND TO GET OUR BABY IN AND OUT MUCH EASIER THAN A JEEP. SO I WENT TO A AUCTION AND BOUGHT A VAN WELL BEFORE I GOT HOME IT OVERHEATED ANYWAY THE NEXT DAY TOOK IT IN TO THE SHOP AND HAD ALL REPAIRS DONE , SUCH AS NEW INTATKE GASKET,WATER PUNP AND THERMOSAT AND BATTERY AND BRAKES. WELL IT RAN FINE BUT GOT THINKING IT HAD ALOT MILES SO I DECIDED TO TRADE IT IN . WELL CALLED SALE MEN UP WHERE I BOUGHT BEFORE AND TOLD HIM WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR [VAN] HE SAID WE HAVE PELENTY OF THEM HERE BUT I HAVE TO RUN A CREDIT CHECK SO I GAVE HIM THE IMFORMATION THAT HE ASKED FOR AND SAID ILL GET BACK WITH U . ABOUT A WEEK LATER I SEEN A VAN AT A DIFFERNT LOCATION BUT SAME DEALERSHIP ANYWAY WENT TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND IT WAS THE ONE I WANTED SO THE SALEMAN CAME OUT AND I TRIED TO FINANCE IT. WELL I WAS GOING TO TRADE THE OTHER VAN FOR DOWN PAYMENT, ANYWAY BOTTOM LINE WAS I WAS TURNED DOWN FOR THE LOAN. I WAS TELLING THEM ABOUT THE SALESMEN AT THE OTHER DEALERSHP AND THEY SAID OHHHH HES GOT U LOCKED IN FOR FINANCEING THATS WHY YOUR BEING DENIED AND U HAVE TO GO THEIR. SO I SAID OK ANYWAY CALLED MY SALESMEN UP AND ASKED HIM IF I WAS APPROVED HE SAID 100% AND ASKED WHEN I WAS COMING DOWN WELL I TOLD HIM ABOUT THE VAN I LIKED AT THE OTHER CAR LOT ANYWAY HE SAID NO PROBLEM I'LL HAVE IT TRANSFERED HERE I SAID OK. COUPLE DAYS LATER HE CALLED THE VAN WAS HERE SO I SAID ILL BE RIGHT DOWN,GOT THERE NO VAN WELL I WASNT A HAPPY CAMPER SO I BOUGHT ANOTHER VAN LEFT WITH DEALER PLATES TILL I RETUNED MY TITLE NEXT DAY RETURNED WITH TITLE ASKED FOR MY T-TAG HANDED THEM MY TITLE SIGNED THEY SAID HOLD ON THEY HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY FINANACING DID NOT GO THROUGH I SAID NO DEAL GIVE ME MY KEYS AND TITLE SO I CAN LEAVE WAITED 20 MIN. THEY OFFERED ME A NEW DEAL 50.00 CHEAPER A MONTH SO I TOOK IT LEFT THINKING I BOUGHT IT 10 DAYS LATER THEY ASKED IF I WOULD COME IN SIGN TITLE WORK I REFUSED KNOWING YOU DONT SIGN TITLE WORK AFTER THAT MANY HARRASING PHONE CALLS UNTIL 34 DAYS LATER THEY CAME FOR IT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WHAT DO I DO NOW?

hi Hal,
My boyfirend bought a 2004 dodge durango on 6/6/2008. A few days later the bank called and talked to him and asked him questions. They asked who the primary driver would be and he said me, his girl friend. we live together and he bought this car as a family car for us. The loan officer had called the car dealer and said that they voided the contract and that the only way he would look at it again would be to have me on the loan. So the car dealer called and told us that on the 24th of July. We told them that we don't want it bacause with me on the loan would raise the interest rate to 21% instead of 15.25%. They said that they would discount the vehicle 1,500 dollars so that the payment would drop down, still $30 above what it was... We decided to go through with it and when we went in to sign again he said that all the other paperwork is still the same and that we only needed to sign the contract. We signed on June 27th, our car payment is 30 dollars more than what it was and is still due on the 6th of july. I got home and realized that he lied and only dropped the price by 400 dollars. On June the 30th they called and said that they forgot to have me sign on all the other stuff as he had signed all that on the 6th. Do we legally own own the vehicle now? I didn't sign anything but the contract.. can i back out??? they lied and messed up so much i'd rather go find a better place. also i read something about they can't change anything after 10 days and it was 21 days after he had originally signed??? Can you help?I also live in Indiana.

hi Hal,
My boyfirend bought a 2004 dodge durango on 6/6/2008. A few days later the bank called and talked to him and asked him questions. They asked who the primary driver would be and he said me, his girl friend. we live together and he bought this car as a family car for us. The loan officer had called the car dealer and said that they voided the contract and that the only way he would look at it again would be to have me on the loan. So the car dealer called and told us that on the 24th of July. We told them that we don't want it bacause with me on the loan would raise the interest rate to 21% instead of 15.25%. They said that they would discount the vehicle 1,500 dollars so that the payment would drop down, still $30 above what it was... We decided to go through with it and when we went in to sign again he said that all the other paperwork is still the same and that we only needed to sign the contract. We signed on June 27th, our car payment is 30 dollars more than what it was and is still due on the 6th of july. I got home and realized that he lied and only dropped the price by 400 dollars. On June the 30th they called and said that they forgot to have me sign on all the other stuff as he had signed all that on the 6th. Do we legally own own the vehicle now? I didn't sign anything but the contract.. can i back out??? they lied and messed up so much i'd rather go find a better place. also i read something about they can't change anything after 10 days and it was 21 days after he had originally signed??? Can you help?

Hal, I purchased a brand new vehicle last night (Sunday) at closing - We did sign a contract agreeing to purchase a service warrenty on the new vehicle. I called the dealership first thing this morning to cancel the warrenty contract & the Manager is telling me that he can't do it. He says once it is signed, he can not change it or cancel it. Is this true? Thanks so much - I live & purchased the vehicle in Georgia from a dealership.

Dear Hal,
I recently bought a Ford F250 truck on Ebay. It was advertised as a "theft recovered vehicle" with a salvage title. The sellers have a truck dealership called TruckKing located in southern Califorina near El Cajon. I had been looking for a truck for several months when this one came up. The story I told them and the results are as follows.

I told them right off that last year I bought a 05 Honda Van salvaged due to collision from a salvage yard in New Hamshire. I thought I could fix it for less than the quoted insurance estimate that came with the van from the salvage yard. After many hours of my own labor and shop painting and frame repair costs I finished it. I swore I would never fix a salvage vehicle due to collision again. I told Truck King that I would only consider a theft truck if it had little or no damage and that I could register it as such.

That said, I contacted the seller asked all the right questions and bid on this Ebay advertised theftrecovered truck. Truck King told me that the truck was salvaged due to theft and that the only damage was small and to the rear side panel of the bed. They went on to say that it was easier to replace the bed with one with no damage and paint it than to repair the body damage to the panel. I asked again and again if the frame or any other part of the truck was damaged and they assured me that the bed panel was the only repair. I requested Mercury Insurance or IAAI insurance estimate and was told that none was available because it was a theft truck and was paid out as a total loss to the owner, only what they paid for the truck at the sale and was only on there band statement. They advertised the truck as a theft recovered truck and that the bed was professionally painted, driveaway condition.

I finally had it shipped from California to Pennsylvaina last month due the high cost of shipping a vehicle across country and finding a carrier. At the same time I also took the truck title to be processed and register the truck with PA DMV. I was told that the DMV requires that a theft vehicle be disclosed and registered differently than a salvaged due to collision vehicle. I called Truck King where I bought it from to get any additional documentation about the theft. They said they had no other information. I then called Mecury insurance company that had the vehicle sold through IAAI at the Anaheim CA location noted on the title. IAAI said the truck was not a theft vehicle and that there were pictures of the truck prior to when it was sold to Truck King of El Cajon showing rear and frontend damage. I had to call the corporate law department at IAAI and finally the request put through to have the buyer send me the pictures. Finally Truck King sent the pictures and it turned out the truck was hit in the rear and front as stated by IAAI.

After finding out that there was collision damage I took out the bedliner and found that the bed was not painted as advertised in the Ebay sellers ad in fact it was so severally damaged in several places on the bed floor, holes, dents, and large rusted areas that it needs to be replaced.

Originally I told Truck King that I needed the truck to haul my fifthwheel horse trailer and will need to put a fifthwheel hitch on it. After seeing the damage to the bed I took off the bed to install the fifthwheel since it needs to be installed under the bed and found that additional frame damage was there and that the frame was also twisted. I was told by a professional frame person that you could not tell the frame was twisted until the bed was off anyway so you could not see it upon visual inspection from underneath which made me feel less a fool.

I called Truck King and they said I bought the truck as salvage and that they were not responsible anymore. I asked about their bodyshop that did the work there in El Cajon and was told that they were out of business. I told them about the bed condition and they said that the bodyshop must switched the beds since the one they sent to have put on was like new. They said that any additional repairs would have to be my responsibilty.

Now I am the proud owner of a truck that I cannot put a fifthwheel on until I repair the bed and fix the frame. The bed was never painted, the truck was never theftrecovered as advertised, the frame was damaged along with the bed and sold at the IAAI sale. Also there is the issue of the missing batteries, floormats, running boards that should of come with the truck that Truck King now says were stolen at the orginal IAAI sale. About 2000.00 dollars worth of accessories. I paid 16000 for the truck since I believed the sellers that I would not have to put anymore money into to get it safety inspected. There is also the issue of a a theftrecovered vehicle being able to be reregistered and resold for more money since it was possiblity not involved in a collision. That is the main reason I paid what I paid for it with the belief it was worth more as a theftrecovered that a collision. I might have to put a whole new frame under it if it turns out that it is not safe to haul horses around.

They did a really good job on me as you can see. I pride myself as a fairly good mechanic too. Lies, lies and more lies. What is a honest working person to do when the badguys are so good at what they do. I feel bad for the not so knowledgeable and are stuck with having it all done again by another shop. Only on Ebay could this happen. I called Ebay and there is no help there. Thank You, Stephan

Hallo Mr. Hal
I purchased a vehicle Mercedes SLK280, VIN WDBWK54F07F159106 on Ebay in GA. The car was paid by wire a Bank in Switzerland to Bank in Alpharetta. The seller went to Jordan and cleans his company Elite Auto Buy. The car is selling again on Ebay by new dealer and I bought it on 6/26/2008. The police is involved and say, the title that Elite/Buy sent was counterfeit. On the legal sense belongs the car to me or not? What can I do?
Leopold

Hi Hal,

Couple of questions....I just traded in my 1997 Pontiac Sunfire that had a salvage title (drove fine for 4 yrs) for a 2006 Jeep Liberty Sport at a dealership. I signed my life away on Friday and the dealership let me drive off the lot w/the Jeep and said I could come in for my inspection sticker (I live in Massachusetts) once they get my transferred registration sent to them from the RMV, which is in a few days. My question is, is this how it normally works? Or will they end up calling me and saying I have to bring the car back and it's a "no go", so to speak....this is my first time EVER buying from a dealership and my credit score is 677. They also said I have to wait until the bank that's financing me (Wells Fargo) verifies things w/me and my employer....sorry for seeming dumb, but I CAN afford the payments they set and have all the paperwork, so they can't back out now, right?

Thanks for your help!!!

My husband and I needed a bigger vehicle so we purchased at a buy here pay here dealership. We are active military and the man who owns it is retired military so we trusted him... Well...since then, my husband had extensive surgery and is being medically discharged out of the military. Yesterday a man showed up to reposess the vehicle we have been paying on for months now. Also it has FINANCED tires and rims (2000.00 worth) on it and they still took it with the reasoning that the contract says that if he gets out of the military then they come and get it. Supposedly he thought we were going to leave the state with the vehicle....My husband doesnt even get out of the military until later next month! Not only has he left us without a vehicle but we have to continue to pay for the tires while he gets to keep them! My husband was planning on paying the vehicle off when he got his severance pay and he even told them that before they came! We are going to talk to Jag office monday...we are totally devastated that someone would do this right now. I am 5 months pregnant and have an ultrasound coming up this week...unfortunately we dont know anyone here to take us...but thats just the tip of the iceberg. This whole situation is messed up!

If you have been following this site and my advice you have a good case. The key is I always tell people to make their payment on time to the dealer. I just got one reader a offer that gives her cash for a free car where she made her payments. If you dont pay it gets very sticky but you do get your downpayment back. good luck and tell the naca attorney to call me if they need any help or forms. ahl

About 8 months ago I bought a certified used car and when I bought it the A/C didn't work. I informed the dealership and they said Ok and would have it serviced. Well I never recieved any of the paper work that we signed when we bought the car. When we bought the car the sales man followed me home and had my husband sign the papers and said they would mail us our copies the next day. Well that never happened and the paper work stated we only had 45 to get the A/C serviced. Well sometime had gone by (about 9 months) and I finally had a chance to bring the car into the dealership to have it taken care of, when I brought it in I told the service man the senario and he said he would verify that and call back. Well he called back and said that they were authorized to serice the vehicle only, but there was a bigger problem. He told me that because the A/C went so long with out service the compressor leaked it's oil and I needed a new compress and it would be over 1K. I ended up getting in a heated disscuion with the manager of the dealership and they refused to have it fixed because I came in after my 45 days. My question is, because it was certified used and everything was to be working perfectly and the A/C was broken when I bought it are they still required to fix the problem because it is a certifed car? Would the fact that I didn't recieve my contact until 9 months later give me any leway? Or does the fact that I didn't get it taken care of in 45 days leave me caught with my pants down?

Hi Hal,
My name is Joshua Escobar and i need mayjor mayjor help I was getting help from your lawfirm January This year with my case of possible "auto fraud". I was working with Cecilia Brennan and she was extreamly helpful to me and i have a lot a respect for her for that. I was later sent to in Febuary San Diego to see a colision specialst to get the car looked at and there they found the car has been serveraly damaged and minamal repairs were made. There was substantionial evidence that the car was in a prior accident but your lawfirm didn't want to move forward with my case. During the point f sale this was not disclosed to me and the carfax report wouldnt have shown anything if I even looked it up because the report was ran when I made the trip to go see the car. I have been through about 3 other lawyers an they all give me the run around "I dont have time for the case". I dont really see what else is there for me to do and time is running and to make matter worse for me I just got Fired from my job wrongfuly and thats another case i got going and i was told will take 6 months up to a full year to resolve i really need help im left in the dark about what I can do. I felt like I was getting help from you guys more than anyone else that I have been working with and i can sure use that help again. I always hear that its clear that i have been wronged and mislead by this dealer but no one can seem to help me and I dont know whats else to do this has really taking over my whole life

Hi Hal,

In March of this year my daughter and I purchased a used car from a use car lot dealer. It was a second choice but we liked the car so we brought it. about three weeks ago my daughter
hit a curb and broke the axle and steering shaft on her car. (she said she was only going 45 mph when she hit the curb) any way after the mechanic fixed the car he asked us did we know that the cars frame was cracked up to the motor. I told him no we were not told that the car had a cracked frame. The only thing the dealer told us that the car was a salvage car. And I asked him why the car was salvage he told me he did not know. I asked him if the car had any major problems he told me no. Well... I went back to the dealer to see what choices we had since he sold us a car with no knowledge of the frame being damage, he told me that it was nothing that he would do about it but we could come up with a down payment on another car. I was out rage about this because he would not give us another car or even fit the problem with the car he sold us, which is all we wanted. Hal is there any law that can help us with this? . does the implied warranty of merchantability,covers this kind of sale? If we had been told up front that the car had a cracked frame we would not have purchased the car. This vechical is unsafe and would have never jepordize my daughter's life if I had known. Please shed some light to what I should do now.

Thank you

I paid $750 toward a down payment on a car I had $50 remaining. They repossessed my car the morning after I was supposed to pay the remaining $50. I had the car less than a week. Can I get the $750 I originally put down, because now they have the car and my money.

Hi my name is Dylan and I think my girlfriend might have been the victim of auto fraud. We live in California.
She went to a dealership by the name of "Credit Cars" that typically deal with bad credit low income people. They sold her a 2000 Ford Focus ZX3 for over $8000 after taxes. Kelley Blue Book puts the retail value for this vehicle at $5,600 in excellent condition. This Ford Focus was in poor condition. They had my girlfriend put $1500 cash down, they actually deferred $500 of this. On the contract it says $1500 but she only gave them $1000 at time of sale, and mailed them a $500 check directly at a later date. On top of this they got her a loan for the car in the amount of about $7,700. She has been making monthly in the amount of $247.83 and her interest rates by my calculations are over 30%. I was under the impression that auto loan companies only loan out as much as a vehicle is worth for obvious reasons. Why would they give someone a loan for $7,700 for a car in poor condition that is only worth $5,600 retail in excellent condition? Everything about this seems shady to me. Please let me know what you think of all this. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Dylan

Hi Hal, Thank you for you help. I bought a car on June 10 and as soon I start driving the car the check engine light came on and I told the sales rep and he said to take it back the next day that they will take care of it. I call them the next day and told them i got off from work but they said to bring the car next day so I did that took the car but the ask me to take the car next day 1 st thing in the morining. So on my way back from the dealer the car shut down and din't start on June 12.. When we signed the contract they offered me a 3000/ 3 months warranty hand writen on a Due Bill by Ricky the sales rep. I called them right when that happened and they asked me to pay for towing and I told them that that should be included in the warranty they offered me but they said no, to pay myself and they will do all repairs needed and I agree with that. They had my car for all this time and that due bill was in my car now I dont find it, I have all paperwork except that. It has been over two weeks and I haven't got my car. The shop where the asked me to take the car in called and said it was ready but after i picked the car up and drove for 30 minutes the check engine light came on and they said that the Rep from the Delaer asked them to reset the computer and just clean damage part see if that would take care of the problem. Finally yesterday they said that Ash sales rep. is not approving them to order the parts needed. So I when and talk to them try to have them repair the car and they said that yes they offered me a warranty but it only cover minor problems(wiper blades, etc) I stepped out of his office and called Better Business Bureu and placed a complaint. after I told them I did so they asked me to take the car to a different shop but I haven't heared anything back from them. Ricky sales man said the light was on before I bought the car and he told that infront of his Supervisor Ash. All I want my car to get fixed or have them buy the car back, pay me for my expenses driving 40 minutes one way from my house and the shop and pay remburse me for towing and all time lost from work and 2 weeks with no car. If you can please gide me thru all this I need your help. Thank you for taking you time to review my case.
Thank you.

I was in the process of buying a new car from a dealership. Since I dont have a credit score yet, I asked a friend to co sign for me. My friend lives on another state and the dealer will just mail the contract to her, so the dealer handed me the contract and had me signed under the co-signer portion (since my friend would be the main signer according to them). I signed the contract with the agreed APR. The next day,I went to the dealership to check if I could take the car home. The dealer told me that the APR changed and they want me to sign a new contract with the new High APR. I refused to sign the contract and demanded a refund on the downpayment that I gave since they have not sent the contract yet to my friend. Is the contract valid? Can I get the full refund on the down payment that I gave? Will I be liable for anything since i signed the contract (although it is a joint contract and my friend did not sign) ?

Hello thanks in advance your doing a great service. My problem is that I just bought a new 2008 Jeep loredo the other day. They held a check from me of 1000$ that they claim is a down payment. I traded in two cars and was suppossebly upside down. They added all the negitive equity on the loan. They made me sign a hold check agreement. Is there a way i can get out of paying this since its not on the contract also on the contract it says that I paid the 1000 in cash not that its a check on hold. Also its been almost 3 weeks and they just sent the payments to payoff the cars I turned in. They were short and money is still owed on both. I already paid the car off through my cridet union. Also on the contract next to the trade-in payoff it states estimted for both cars. Can I get away from paying those 1000 now that they havent did there part of the deal. Also is there any law where I can just cancle the whole thing and get my money and cars back.

Sorry for the long question!!! -Thanks

On 5/30/08 I was approved, signed contract and set up payments with $1000 down, (from a local used sale dealership). On 6/4/08 I was called and told that I needed to bring the car back because, the title was not secured? On 6/20, After being told day after day that they were getting a couple of cars in that would be the same price as the original car price, I finally agreed to purchase a car that I liked. My question is, what are my rights?(being as though they made the mistake). I was told that I still had to make payments from contract with the old car, and that the rest of the payment for tags and registration was due before the temp tags expired on the new purchase, that is 7/10/08. Please tell me if the dates from the unsecured car to the new contracted car are important.

Sticky situation
Hi I had posted the same question yesterday. I am not sure if there is a certain time before the post appears. My Wife and I purchased this vehicel but the financing thru the Dealers Bank did not go through. We got separated now but she does not want to return the car. Th delearship says it is my responsibility to return the car if not they will repo and charge my account as delinquent. What are my options? The car is jointly owned by both of us.

Thanks

Hal,

I live in Southern California and I purchased a '99 Tacoma in September of 2006 from a large Toyota dealership. Prior to my purchase, I asked if the vehicle had been in an accident, the salesman said no and showed me the clean CARFAX. The salesman also stated they inspect their vehicles and do not sell vehicles with frame damage. Within months I had very bad alignment issues so I went to get the vehicle aligned. The technician showed me how the driver side suspension showed significant evidence of a collision were the lower control arm was ripped off the frame. The portion of the frame that connects to the control arm is obviously deformed. The technician could not get the vehicle aligned to Toyota Specifications but it did drive better but has gradually gotten out of alignment again.

Fast forward to early June of 2008, I ran a CARFAX report that showed an accident that occurred in April of 2006, 5 months prior to the purchase of the vehicle. I went to the dealership that day and wanted an explanation for the discrepencies in the CARFAX report and explained the issues that I uncovered with the frame damage to the suspension. I asked why the frame damage was not disclosed to me since it was obvious the vehicle was in an accident if you put it on a lift. The Used Car Sales Manager reluctantly pulled up the inspection report from when they inspected the vehicle. In the mechanics notes, it specifically states "VEHICLE HAS FRONT FRAME REPAIR", so they obviously knew from their own inspections of this damage. I have a copy of this report and the final report that says the vehicle has no frame damage.

They offered to either repair the vehicle or give me a generous trade in allowance on it. I do not want a vehicle with frame damage and I did not pay a price for a vehicle that has frame damage so I declined the repair. It took a few days for the General Manager to get back to me on the issue. His first offer was a slap in the face. I was then able to get the offer to a reasonable level slightly below KBB Retail and bring down the price of a used vehicle 'considerably'. The problem is that there are no comparable vehicles on the lot available for trade unless I get something much more expensive. I feel like they will be making even more money on this deal and are giving me the run-around.

So, I requested for them to buy back the vehicle. A day later, I got a call back saying that they refuse to buy the vehicle back.

Do I have a substantial case to bring this to court?

Hal, I forgot to add that I purchased this car in Georgia. Thanks

I purchased a BMW Certified Pre-Owned BMW 8 months ago. After 5 months I noticed that the car takes a long time to start and then black smoke comes out of the back. I took it to the dealer and after a couple days in the shop they said that they could find nothing wrong. They also replaced some squeeky shocks on the hood. After getting the car back I noticed the hood did not line up properly anymore. My first servicing was due in 2 months so I figured I would fix both problems then.

I just took my car in for servicing to another dealer. They are again acting like there is no problem. The car cranks for a long time before starting, runs rough for 20-30 seconds and sometime has black smoke out of the back. I cant see how this is acceptable for a 34K car. On top of that that they say that the warrenty does not cover the hood because its not the shocks, but it is actually a defect in the hood. Apparently the hood was fixed in some way and repainted. I do not know if this means there was some sort of accident or not. I was told this car had never been in an accident when I purchased it.

If they refuse to fix the starting problem and the hood do I have any recourse. The car is still under the original factory warranty until the end of the month and its CPO warrenty kicks in for another two years.

I just bought a 2006 Acura RSX-S with 32,000 miles from a luxury used car dealership. I specifically asked the salesman if the car had been in any accidents or had any prior front-end damage. He claimed no to both questions. The CARFAX report was clean, and I put $2000 and financed the rest. Over the weekend, the car started to vibrate at red lights and I could smell some gas fumes. Since they told me the vehicle was still under manufacturer's warranty, I decided to take it to the local Acura dealership to make sure nothing serious was wrong. The service man from Acura called me tonight and said that the car has had significant front end damage, and that at least 3 out of the 4 motor mounts are completely useless, and that basically, in his words, "the engine is just sitting on the frame." Also some issues with a missing valve (that's what is causing fumes because oil is leaking onto the manifold).

My problem is that I signed a seperate "mandatory arbitration agreement." Unfortunately for me, I didn't realize what it was or what it meant. The sales manager of course did not give me a good explanation of it and had me sign it immediately after signing the odometer disclosure, and I was under the impression that this was another required document.

Also, the dealer sold me an extended warranty through GE. I don't understand how this warranty could possibly be valid, considering that the motor was not even properly fastened at the time of the sale.

I'm wondering if there is anything I can do despite the fact that I signed an arbitration document. How can it be legal for them to sell a car that is not even safe, let alone the fact that they did not disclose any of this accident/damage information to me?

Thanks!

I purchase a car from Cross Country Auto located in Albuquerque NM on 5/23/08 and traded in my old car along with this purchase(with money down). After waiting 10 days for confirmation of the loan I called the dealership and was told they had not had any luck getting the car financed, the finance manager stated not to worry he would get the financing completed and the payments would be the same as agreed upon. Did not hear back from the dealership until I called 6/13/08 the finance manager stated to come by to re-sign a second contract, when I arrived at the dealership they told me they lowered the price of the car in order to have the payment relatively close to what we agreed on and the payment would be $2.00 more per month, I agreed to it... While talking to the finance manager was informed that my trade in had been sold three days after leaving in the dealerships car, the trade in had not been paid off so I still had a payment that was due... Can they sell the car without a title/or not paying it off? I still have not been financed for the used car 1 month and 2 days after the first contract, its been 8 days since the second contract was reviewed. What should I do?