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Lemon Law Questions

205 messages,  Last post on May 08, 2012 at 3:53 PM

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What is this discussion about? Jeep Grand Cherokee, Car Warranties, SUV

Getting Some Lemon-Aid From Your Lemon Maker
 
Think You've Been Stuck With a Lemon?
 
My Used Car's a Lemon! Am I Stuck With It?

Messages Page 18 of 21

#166 of 205 Re: A different sort of Lemon? [exb0] by d1gges

Nov 23, 2009 (7:31 pm)

Replying to: exb0 (Nov 23, 2009 7:03 pm)
Hmm...Well, I'm disappointed to hear that this will be a difficult case. I was honestly hoping Honda might cave. Either way, though, I intend on taking this as far as I have to.
 
Essentially, what happened is this: We were on vacation. A dealer fixed the oil leak by replacing the short block and rebuilding the engine. That took a week. Two hours after picking up the vehicle from that repair, the car dropped all of it's coolant. Another week in the shop...at a different dealer. They also knocked the alignment out. Since then, we've discovered a crimped hose (which took 3 trips to the dealer), noises which were caused by missing nuts and bolts (another 3 trips to the dealer, counting an unnecessary strut replacement and the final repair), and another lesser oil leak. Add to that the fact that now the tie rod end boots are split and leaking grease (which I was told by the mechanic occurred during the engine rebuild) and I've about had it up to here. I'm not at 30 days yet...but I'm close.
 
The real issue is that first repair. I mean...who really forgets to put back all the nuts and bolts? And why is it my responsibility to hire a mechanic to identify things that were not repaired properly?
 
Thanks for your input. I guess I should be prepared for the long haul. Are there any car companies more interested in customer satisfaction than American Honda?

#167 of 205 Re: A different sort of Lemon? [d1gges] by exb0

Nov 25, 2009 (6:46 am)

Replying to: d1gges (Nov 23, 2009 7:31 pm)
Wow, that’s a lot of repairs, and they all seem to be related. Have you ever send the “last chance” letter to Honda? Generally it’s a requirement for lemon laws.
 
“which I was told by the mechanic occurred during the engine rebuild”. Get that in writing, and send Honda the last chance letter before you go to the dealer.
 
That’s what’s great about having a lawyer. They’ll tell exactly what you need to do, and my lawyer hired an expert who inspected the van and drafted a report. The same person would have been the expert witness at the trial. If you have multiple issues to fix, don’t fix them on same trip. Have them fix it one at a time, after you send the letter.

#168 of 205 SOMEONE PLEASE HELP !!! This used car is full of .. by aarango24

Dec 01, 2009 (9:10 pm)

......DRAMAAAAAAA !!!
OK so let me start and mention that I'm a 24 yr old female and this is my 1st car purchase( WHAT A NIGHTMARE!). I purchased a "certified" used Chevy equinox 06 on October 16th,2009. The day of the purchase I had gone back and fourth with the dealership, loved the car and wanted it. I needed a cosigner so I had my grandpa help me. The dealership calls me and says " Wow, amazing your credit score combined has got you a even better interest rate something like 7%". I'm think oh shindig that's awesome. The say we go to sign all the paper work I ask to see the car before going through. The dealership says its being prepared and is not ready so I should just take care of the paper work and then I'll have the car. Whatever okay I sign but wait, NOT THE TOP LINE the sales man says the bottom... okay?? But.. I thought my grandfather was the co-signer so isn't her supposed to be on the bottom line ...? Well yeah..? no..? You are both the owners but this is the way it has to be done says the sales man..
OK so we get in the car and the cars odometer says that the car has 43,500 miles on it?? But all the paper work and the mileage advertised
was 38,500.
Once I realize I try and rectify the problem with GM corp and I contact the dealership. They both say that the problem will be taken care of and that it will take a few weeks to be updated in their system. I was very concerned because I didn't want warranty to be affected.Then, 4 days after purchasing the car and 3 days after realizing the mileage was incorrect the ENGINE LIGHT comes on.
Fast Forward to today... ( December 1st)
Ive been to the Chevy mechanics in my hometown 4 times because of the same on going problem that can't be solved. The dealership has been dodging our calls, not returning our calls or giving me the paper work with the correct mileage.I am becoming increasingly concerned about this issue and very worried. Should I return the car..? If so how can I have the lemon law apply to me when the mileage on the car is what determines how long you have the lemon law. And with that said the mileage on the odometer was different from the one written on all the paperwork.
Now fast forward into the FUTURE.... If I cannot get this problem with the engine light solved after FOUR times of going to the dealership in a 6 week period, then it will never get solved and I won't be able to ever pass inspection in the future.
 
Is it a lemon? Because I think it is..? And what can I do ?? I feel stuck ... :O(*************

#169 of 205 Re: SOMEONE PLEASE HELP !!! This used car is full of .. [aarango24] by dtownfb

Dec 02, 2009 (10:29 am)

Replying to: aarango24 (Dec 01, 2009 9:10 pm)
I doubt your car qualifies as lemon but since it was a Certified used car, your problems should be covered by warranty. here's a link to the GM Certified web page: http://www.gmcertified.com/certified/whatis/
 
I would contact GM customer service and talk to them about your engine light problem. I would also discuss (calmly) the problems you had when buying the car.

#170 of 205 Re: SOMEONE PLEASE HELP !!! This used car is full of .. [aarango24] by bolivar

Dec 02, 2009 (11:08 pm)

Replying to: aarango24 (Dec 01, 2009 9:10 pm)
Let's see, you have several items here.
 
1) Top line or bottom line. You have two things here. To me, 'co-signing' mean a second person signs as being responsible for paying for the LOAN if the first person stops paying. But, more than ONE person can also be the OWNER OF A VEHICLE (me and my wife both own all our cars). A loan co-signer does not necessarily have to be a co-owner. So, you need to look at your paperwork and determine what went on with your purchase. There should be loan papers showing who is the primary on the loan and who co-signed. There should be ownership/title papers showing who owns the car.
 
2) Milage. Look at the paperwork for the 'certified' policy. It will show what is covered, for how long (time), and how many miles. Some 'certifications' are only good for 3 months/4,500miles after you buy the car. Some are for 4,5,6 years/60, 80, 100,000 miles total age/milage of the car. You need to look and see what you got with a 'certification'. If throughout the purchase you thought you were buying a car with 38,500 miles, but the odometer says 43,500 miles, this difference could be a problem. If you only have 'certification' that lasts for 4,500 miles after you bought it, then you are already out of this milage period. The dealership needs to resolve this problem and get the appropriate paperwork corrected and re-issued.
 
3) Check engine light. What is the 'unsolveable' check engine problem? Is this being covered under the 'certification'? The answer to this question should be a Yes or No answer. (Am I right in that you bought the car in one place and are taking it to another place for this problem's repair?) If this is a covered item, and is not going to cost any money to repair, ask a direct question - Can you fix my car? If they answer No, then take it somewhere else.
 
4) What state are you in? In general, most used car have NO 'Lemon Law' warranty, only new cars can be. But I think some states do require even used cars to have some kind of 'implied' warranty. Give the state you bought the car, people in that state can respond and tell you if there is some state law that might cover the car.
 
I'm sorry for the problem you are having with what is probably the first car you have ever owned. If you spend some time reading the paperwork you received, and giving more info on the above items, there may be some additional answers the readers of this forum can give you.

#172 of 205 Re: Solution to car issues... [cbui] by bolivar

Dec 10, 2009 (6:56 pm)

In general, I don't agree. I feel in 90% of the time, an inspection is almost worthless. You will pay $100/$200 and have little more idea about the future reliability of a car.
 
The best mechanic does not have pre-cognition or x-ray vision. He will have no idea if or when something is going to fail in the future.
 
For finding things already wrong with the car - I think people should be able to decide during test drives if there is something significantly wrong with a car.
 
Does it start quickly? And idle smoothly?
Is the check engine light on? (For any car, if it is on, run away. Why would anyone buy a car with something wrong staring them in the face?)
Are there any strange sounds when at idle or when driving. (A test drive is not for testing the radio. Keep it turned off. Play with the radio while sitting on the car lot.)
Does the heater work?
Does the AC work?
Do the brakes stop the car? Are there any noises when braking? Does the car/brake peddle pulse/vibrate or make any noise while braking.
Does the car pull? Drive the car at highway speeds. Does it vibrate or not track well.
Look at the tires. Are they 'matched'. Do they have a lot of tread left?
Do all the lights, turn signal light, and brake lights work?
Open the hood. Even if you have no idea what's under there, look. Is it dirty, oily, greasy? Is there a missing cap or dipstick? Has someone been cutting into the wiring, hoses, or ducts? (Also inside - if there are wires handing down under the dash, this is bad.) Are there unplugged hoses?
Does the car have an aftermarket security system, remote starter, or an aftermarket stereo system? All of these WILL cause problems.
 
If any of these items are not right, walk away. There are thousands of used cars for sale nearby, in anyone's location.
 
Other than the above, no one is going to be able to tell if, for example, the alternator, battery, transmission, power seat, etc, etc, etc is going to soon fail. Or continue to work fine for 10 years and 100,000 miles.
 
Of course, the above is for someone with some amount of what is called 'common sense'. For people with none, maybe spending $200 would be a good deal.

#174 of 205 Help! Conufsed and Dont know what to do by brown2428

Mar 28, 2010 (10:12 am)

A week before i was supposed to go to arbitration with the BBB agaist GM, GM offered to repurchase my vehicle, if I stopped arbitration. Well, I believed them and stopped arbitration and started looking for another vehilce. Little did I know they were going to treat the replacement like a trade. The car dealer wanted over 3,000 dollars down and tried to charge me 13% intrest. I walked out on the deal because my understanding of replacement is you exchange cars. I didn't know I would have to pay a higher interest than what I already have on my previous car and put money down. Everytime I call the GM rep that is dealing with the car dealership,he tells me he will take care of it and contact me back, but he always go to the dealership first and most of the time I hear from the car dealership instead of him. The car dealer lowered the interest to 9.39 then 8 then back to 9.39. The car dealer changed the down payments and interes rates so much, I didn't want to work with them anymore. They told me they had to go back up on my interest rate because they had to run my credit again and my score ha dropped 12pts, which was not true, according to the credit score I paid for through the credit bureau. I told GM person I didn't want to work with this car dealership and he said I didn't have to, later changed that statment and told me I had to. I don't understand why i have to drive 19 miles to work with a dealership of their choice, when I have 3 GM dealerships within 5 miles of my home. I don't uderstand why a replacement is being treated as a trade. I don't understand why the GM rep never calls me back when I call him with questions or problems with the dealership, he aways go to the dealership and they call me with more bull. Can anyone give me any insight on how a repurchase deal is suppose to be handled? I am thinking about contacting a lawyer to handle this for me. Any advice, information or suggestions will be most welcomed. Thanks in advance for any help or advice that anyone can give.
 
Sheryl

#175 of 205 Re: Help! Conufsed and Dont know what to do [brown2428] by duke15

Jun 01, 2010 (7:16 am)

Replying to: brown2428 (Mar 28, 2010 10:12 am)
I recommend using a lawyer. I did with another manufacturer and they bought my car back, to include any interest I paid on the loan and insurance on the car, plus my lawyer's fees.

Messages Page 18 of 21

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