Used Car Problem?

I just bought a used car. I originally bought the car on May 14th and put $1000 down. The vehicle came with a 30 day warranty. There were 88,000 miles on the car. I got a call 2 weeks later stating that they couldn%26#039;t find financing and that I would need to put another $1000 down. The car cost $11,125. I went back in and gave the dealership another $1000 and signed a new contract as of May 31st but the contract had the same number of miles as the original. On June 28th the transmission went out. The dealership said that I had to pay $500 and they would cover the rest since I originally bought the car on the 14 and it was over the 1000 miles warranty.

1. Is this basically bait and switch with the financing? The told me one thing and I got another?

2. Does the dealership have to cover the repair of the transmission?

3. Is the contract valid? The second contract had incorrect mileage on it. Can I get my money back?

Used Car Problem?

Under the lemon law all car dealers are obligated under the law to give either full or partial guarantees on there vehicles and must state it on the vehicle per say before the car is sold. According to what you have stated, they must by law give you the same guarantee as imposed by the first initial contract. They are required by law to extend this 30 day guarantee to you from May 31. Its not your fault that the vehicle wasn%26#039;t financed when you left that property. It%26#039;s the dealerships finance manager who is at fault for not getting you the proper financing on that vehicle as required by law. Tell them that under the lemon law they must reimburse you if you have already put this money out to have the vehicle repaired. If they don%26#039;t do this, you will immediately file a complaint with the consumer affairs department or better business bureau close to you. That%26#039;s the best I can offer. Good luck.

Used Car Problem?

First, there%26#039;s no lemon law protection on a used car.

If you hadn%26#039;t agreed to sign the second contract, would they have taken the car back?

Not necessarily bait and switch, this goes on all the time. I don%26#039;t think the mileage is a big deal, as long as it%26#039;s somewhat close. Now if the dealer had turned back the odometer, then yes. I presume you can read the odometer, so you should know what the mileage actually is.

I%26#039;d contact an attorney and ask about which contract, #1 or #2, established date of purchase. Probably #1, since you took possession on the 14th.

Used Car Problem?

Let%26#039;s tackle these in order.

1. Bait and switch does not apply in this case. You obviously did not qualify in some way to the original terms of the contract. The dealership is doing what is directed by the finance company in order to get the contract cashed. If you could not have met the down payment requirement and other requirements of the second contract, then the dealer would have asked for the car back.

2. The contract is still dated for the original date of the 14th when you took delivery of the car. In all fairness, you have been driving the car during this period of time putting on those miles. If the transmission failure took place within the 30 day warranty, then they have to repair it; otherwise, it is your responsibility.

3. The contract is valid. The second contract has the original mileage prior to you driving it since the 14th, and no you cannot get your money back.

What happened to you is very common in the car business. One of two things happened, either they had you sign a contract based on what they thought the finance company would approve or they had an approval from a secondary lender and once the paperwork was received something did not match; ie, income, bookout or something that changed the condition of the loan. Either way, you had to resign and come up with more money. The one thing that irritates me about this deal is that it took 2 wks to get handled. This should have been done within 3-5 days of the original contract.