I hate to piss in your wheaties here, but according to the Sate of California the problem you are describing is not covered by the lemon law
An accident is not considered normal use of the car/truck. Also the car maker’s warranty will exclude any problems resulting from an accident. This is not a lemon law case.
You may have a case against the car dealer (IANAL and all that), but from what I read, I am not sure about that. You said that the dealer told you the carfax was clean, and when you ran it, it was clean. There is a strong possibility that the dealer did not know the car had been hit, as he may have bought it at an auction.
You might be able to get the dealer to unwind the deal, and take the car back. I would suggest that you consult a reputable law firm.
I hate to piss in yours as well, but I wasn’t talking about my case specifically, so you’re wrong. Lemon laws cover ALL vehicles, new & used, covered by warranties. Obviously, Song-Beverly doesn’t cover a vehicle in a wreck/impact incident, however, the Consumer Legal Remedies Act(CC sec. 1750), and the Deceptive Practices act(CC sec. 1770) probably do somehow in my case where a dealer sold me a vehicle that was in an impact incident and sold to me without diclosure(whether they knew that fact or not is in the minutiae, and I haven’t yet claimed that they did know or could have known).
I understand that my case isn’t a lemon law case, I was just trying to let Spoojer know that in Cali, the Lemon laws still apply to used vehicles.
Well, I work for a lawfirm, and I’ve already consulted with an attorney. I’m glad you’re with holding your official non-legal opinion, but under contract law I probably have a case. As to whether(as I said before), it is worth the time, energy, drama, anger, money and such to litigate, I doubt it and that’s why I’m moving on and making my opinion known to the dealer.
Well, the car was supposed to have undergone many multi-point(128?) inspections and if they had paid any attention, the damage should have been noted-it was not. Carfax aside, it is very easy for damage not to end up in a carfax report. As long as the VIN isn’t reported to an insurance company for a claim, there will never be an entry in the report.
Add to that the fact that another shop identified the problem in minutes, I have a less than stellar opinion of the stealership in question and their shop.
Why on earth would I do that? I love the truck, and aside from the fender issue and a slightly misplaced bumper that only a mechanic would notice, it’s trouble-free. I am still hot that I’m being dicked over. Wouldn’t you be? THose cocksuckers should have fixed the problem instead of blaming me, accusing me of being the wrecker instead of the wreckee, and generally showing apathy to a customer who has been let down by their establishment.
So, instead of screaming bloody hell, I will do what any good consumer should do. I’m writing letters, I’m sending faxes, I’m lodging the proper complaints for the proper reasons. Above all else, I am going to take steps to ensure that not a single soul in my family and group of friends-all of us Chevy people-allow a dime of our collective cash to get into their pockets again.
Sorry to hear about your aunt, my thoughts are with you. As far as the car, good luck with that, I’d be frothing at the mouth as well. If you need help breaking some legs, let me know.
Used vehicles are an ok deal as long as you buy from a representative dealer of whatever brand you’re purchasing from. They actually have a reputation to worry about and do damage control very well.
In my case, the salesman has already called me and asked me to bring the car by so they can get their body man to take a look at it. I don’t expect much, honestly, but as long as I can be reassured that they’ve not put a cheesy band-aid on the wound(the broken bolt tab on the fender, and aligned the bumper), I won’t bitch too much.
Thanks for the offer, Worldy. It was a biker funeral service on a Saturday. Nothing but Hell’s Angels at the service and about 15 of us(her real family), who weren’t bikers. Odd to say the least.
I wasn’t trying to say that you had done something wrong, it’s just that someone had to explain to me that if I had let a dealer do that ‘What are you willing to pay a month?’ for the car, I could’ve had a payment lower than the one I’ve got now, and been paying more in the long run.
I had to be taught before I went to buy my first car to be firm as all hell and be willing to leave. I didn’t want to be rude, see, but some dealers will outright strong arm you. I lucked out with the guy who sold me the car I have now. Being the dealership owner meant that commission wasn’t much a factor and he was willing to discuss with me the ‘out the door’ price, allowed for a hundred mile test drive including a stop at my mechanic, and then held the car for a couple of days with nothing down so I could decide if I really wanted it.
And he never called my house.
Which is OK for some, but some people love to haggle the price down and know they’re getting the lowest price they possibly can.
I bought my car from a Pontiac dealer (it’s a Chevy) which is related, but not the exact brand. What really interested me was that the dealership owner (who I dealt with) had absolutely no problem at all with my mechanic or my body shop guy looking things over and giving me a rundown before I bought it.
Since then, there’s been one recall (obviously fixed by Chevrolet) and one problem that occurred after warranty, but that Chevrolet paid for after I found out that they had completely redesigned that part the model year after my car due to problems with rust and vibration putting a hole in the power steering fluid line. Once I told them I knew they’d had that problem, and that I knew they did a redesign to correct it, they reimbursed me for the replacement.
I had a Honda Civic that was in two major accidents. One nearly tore the front end off the car. Our insurance paid to have it repaired both times to the tune of over 10k total.
So when it comes time to sell it we figure that given the history and the ubiquity of Carfax we couldn’t possibly sell it because of its accident history. Lo and behold the Carfax report was completely clean and showed no accident history whatsoever. We felt morally obligated to tell the buyer the history, but had they been relying on Carfax they would have been screwed.
I am not sure if getting the Carfax report in the OP’s case would do any good, I am betting it is clean despite the accident. My estimation of Carfax has certainly diminished.
