Warranty repair: Is this car dealership trying to screw me?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hey, fellow Dopers.

Warning: This is kind of long, but it is relevant.

Any attorneys who are familiar with used car warranties out there? I hope so, becaue I really need your advice. Here’s the situation:

In late April, I bought a 2004 Lincoln Town Car from a dealership (in Philadelphia, PA, in case it matters, and the car was financed). The car came with a 30-day/1,000 mile drivetrain warranty. I began to notice a whining noise whenever I got above 40 mph, and which became louder with increased acceleration. I took it to my mechanic, he drove it around for a few days, and he told me that the problem was the rear differential.

Okay, no problem because I have the warranty, right? Well, not exactly. I took the car to the dealership, and after they drove it around, they told me that the whining was (a) common to Town Cars (and Crown Vics and Grand Marquis), and (b) quite normal and therefore nothing needed to be repaired. I responded by telling the mechanic that I’d driven many, many Fords and Lincolns (including Town Cars) going back almost 20 years, and I’d NEVER heard that whining. (Now, of course, those cars were rental cars and were thus current model years, not nine years old like my baby.) The mechanic kept insisting that this was normal, so I finished with him and went to the dealer’s used car manager, where I politely raised hell. Before long, he said that if I could get a second opinion from another mechanic, they would reconsider their position.

Well, I got opinions not only from a 2nd mechanic (who is a transmission specialist), but also from a Ford dealer, and there opinions were consonant with that of my personal mechanic (who, by the way, is a very good and honest mechanic, and whose word is like gospel to me). (And I had to pay the Ford dealer $50 to investigate and diagnose the problem.)

Okay, so I PDF’d the written diagnoses and sent them to the original dealership. They agreed to pay for the repair, but, apparently not feeling experienced enough to do it themselves (and they certainly didn’t want me going back there), they said that they could (a) send the car out so that someone more experienced could fix it, or (b) cut me a check, provided that I get a couple of estimates. Since I feel that anyone they sent the car to would be tainted by association, I chose the latter option. I got the estimates and sent them off, and the used car manager called me today. I thought that, at the very least, they’d offer to cut me a check for the lowest of the estimates (about $1,400, from the same Ford dealership that confirmed my mechanic’s diagnosis), but they offered to cut me a check for only $1,000. Now, the part at the Ford dealership will cost about $600, and they would charge me $800 in labor. This means that, if I accepted the original dealership’s offer of $1,000, I’d still have to come up with an additional $400 our of my own pocket (again, for a warranty repair).

I asked the used car manager why they were offering only $1,000 and not the $1,400 which represented the lowest estimate, and he replied that they were really obligated to pay for just the parts. Since I’m taking the car on a road trip in a few weeks, and since I want to get this fixed before it becomes a more expensive problem, I told him that I would take the $1,000, which I’m supposed to pick up from them on Thursday afternoon.

Fellow Dopers, was the used car manager lying with respect to their obligations under the warranty if the work is done by someone else (in which case, I’ll reverse course and consult a local attorney), or was he being aboveboard (in which case I’ll take the money and run)?

There are quite a few smart and knowledgeable people on this board, so I’ll certainly look forward to, and most definitely appreciate, any advice that you can give me.

Thank you very much.

2

Their obligations under the warranty will be spelled out by the warranty documents. Did you read them?

3

I believe that the only thing I have related to the warranty indicates only that covers the drivetrain, but I’m currently at work (until midnight) and don’t have the papers with me. I’ll check when I get home just to make sure.

Yes, I am a first-time car buyer.

4

It would certainly be odd if the warranty only required them to pay for the parts, but they were paying for some of the labor out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s possible the warranty only covers 50% of the labor, but then he would have just said that. So, yeah, shenanigans are likely.

But as has been said, your documents should spell it out.

5

Pennsylvania does not have a Lemon Law covering used cars (most states don’t).

I think you’d be justified in taking them to Small Claims if the warranty doesn’t specify parts only. Good luck getting any money from them though. You may have to pay for the repairs yourself if you want to be going anywhere with that car, and recover that money through legal action.

BTW: What’s the $600 part?

6

Okay…so I got home from work, and I looked for my warrantie documents. The only document that I have (the one that dealers stick on the car windows) states that the dealer will pay 100% of labor and parts on anything that is covered by the warranty within 30 days/1,000 miles.

(Being a 1st-time car buyer, I neglected to get a copy of the full warranty. Naturally, I feel stupid, but this is how we learn, right? I guarantee that I won’t make THAT mistake again. In my defense, however, at the time, I was working a full-time job–and I still do–and I was attending university part-time, and travelling 200+ miles several times per week to do so–yippee for summer break–so I, who normally does research out the wazoo for any major purchase, and who needed a car quickly, didn’t do my usual due dilligence and therefore didn’t know all of the questions to ask. Stupid, I know, but there it is.)

So, now that I’ve seen the short-form warranty that states that the dealer will pay 100% of both labor and parts, I’m leaning towards asking the dealershiop for a copy of the full warranty, and if they don’t give it to me, or if they do give it to me and it also specifieds that the dealer will pay 100% of both labor and parts, I won’t take the check, and I’ll consult an attorney.

Again, any thoughts would be appreciated.

7

Thanks for the info re PA’s lack of a lemon law. As I understand it, the part in question is a rear assembly. I’ve looked online, and the prices that I’ve seen are similar, give or take, to what the Ford dealership quoted me. It’s their labor charge (approximately $800) that I’d be grabbing my ankles for. Oy.

8

I wouldn’t go in asking for a copy of the full warranty. They’ll just take that as a sign of weakness. Tell them that the warranty states 100% of both parts and labor, and that they need to cut you a check for the full $1400.

9

I am not sure how this is relevant.

But it might be tactically better to force them to give you a copy in order to prove their point. (I.e. just telling them what you’ve go says they’ll cover labor and parts, then leaving the ball in their court to produce the entire text if they think it’ll help their cause.) If you go in asking for a copy, they could always stall or outright refuse. You can probably force them to give you one but it’d take a lawyer.

10

Don’t know about “sign of weakness” or not, but if the short form says “100% of parts and labor,” then you don’t need the long form. Walk in, tell them what the short form says, and politely ask them to pay up.

11

I agree. Don’t ask for the full warranty. You’ve got something that says it’s covered; it’s up to them to rebut that.

Just bring what you have in, say “It sure seems to me that everything is covered. Right here, where it says 100% of parts and labor.” Then ask for the check.

12

Since this involves legal advice, let’s move this to IMHO.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

13

Agree with everyone who says eff the “long form” warranty. Even if it says something different from the window sticker, that’s their problem. You have the right to rely on the dealer’s advertising and documentation (at least to the extent that it’s not hyperbolic, which this clearly isn’t).

14

The relevance is how much longer the car dealer will continue to argue with the OP. Presumably, the goal of the OP isn’t just to get his $1400, but to get his $1400 with minimal effort.

15

Hmmm…

I could swear that I posted an update a few days ago, but now I don’t see it. Something wrong with the hamsters, perhaps? At any rate, please forgive me if this is a repeat of an earlier message that, for whatever reason, I’m not able to see right now.

Okay, anyway, what I posted (or, rather, recall having typed out) was that, after receiving an e-mailed letter from me on Thursday in which I reminded the dealership that the warranty that was in my possession indicated that the dealership was responsible for paying 100% of the labor, and 100% of the parts, for repairs within the warranty period, and after I mentioned that I’ve been employed by multi-national corporate law firms for almost 20 years (very much true; I’m a legal word processor/document specialist), and after I mentioned that I shared my situation with several attorney friends and acquaintances (also true, as “friends” and “acquaintances” means my synagogue’s listserve and the SDMB, both of which are populated by attorneys), they apparently saw the light, because they relented and offered to cut me a check in the full amount of the estimate (the lowest, of course, but that’s okay) to repair the car.

Yay, me! My mother will go to the dealership tomorrow and take delivery of the check (a medical emergency has had me hospitalized since Friday afternoon), and that should be the end of that.

I want to thank all of you for responding to my query. As usual, the Dope didn’t disappoint. You all offered well-considered and intelligent advice, and I truly appreciate it. Thank you very much!

16

Glad it worked out for you.
For future reference there may / probably isn’t a long form of the warranty.
The used car buyers guide (legally required) which is taped to the window has 2 boxes
No warranty
Warranty. the are several blank lines under this option for the dealer to spell out the details.
One of these two boxes will be checked.
In the case of warranty it might say things like
30 days / 1,000 miles 100% parts and labor
30 days / 1,000 miles 50% parts and labor
Balance of factory warranty (late model car obviously)
Etc.

17

Thank you–I’ll certainly keep this mind for future auto purchases! And yes, what you describe is exactly what I have. “Warranty” is checked, as is “30 days/1,000 miles,” with 100% parts and 100% of labor spelled out beneath that.