Do I need a lawyer?

[maddoggyusa]

Originally Posted by BreakingBad

Well I plan on consulting with a lawyer regardless.

Then why ask? You might have $2,000 worth of damages... retaining a lawyer will be more than that. A year or more from now you might get half your money back. Or you might get nothing and be out a couple thousand.

In the end, it's up to you to inspect the vehicle properly prior to purchase.

PO might have backed into a pole and had a friend do the repairs out-of-pocket. The used car dealership might not have had a clue. Probably best you could do is talk to the used car dealer and hope they pony up some money for you to repair it.

[gringo]

No offense, but you have a quote made by Ron Paul in your signature about freedoms and the choices we make that can cause risks to those values which no one should be liable for. Yet, you seem to espouse a safe bailout and even a reward from buying a used car in less than optimal circumstances.

I mean, am I totally out of line here?

You decided to buy a car out of state. You decided to inspect the vehicle in less than optimal conditions. Heck, you didn't even take it to an independent mechanic before purchase to have it checked out.

Now, you found a few issues and realize what appears to be a repainted bumper and you want them to pay for everything and even through a few grand on top? I think that's ridiculous.

You bought a used car and did not fully check it out to your satisfaction before purchase. That responsibility is on you unless they committed fraud which in this case does not appear to be so.

A lawyer will probably tell you the same thing.

[Rock-It Man]

Originally Posted by gringo

No offense, but you have a quote made by Ron Paul in your signature about freedoms and the choices we make that can cause risks to those values which no one should be liable for. Yet, you seem to espouse a safe bailout and even a reward from buying a used car in less than optimal circumstances.

I mean, am I totally out of line here?

You decided to buy a car out of state. You decided to inspect the vehicle in less than optimal conditions. Heck, you didn't even take it to an independent mechanic before purchase to have it checked out.

Now, you found a few issues and realize what appears to be a repainted bumper and you want them to pay for everything and even through a few grand on top? I think that's ridiculous.

You bought a used car and did not fully check it out to your satisfaction before purchase. That responsibility is on you unless they committed fraud which in this case does not appear to be so.

A lawyer will probably tell you the same thing.

I don't think you are "out of line". Inexperienced, yes, but not out of line. It's not fun to be cheated, and it's costing you.

In my opinion you should seek recourse. But maybe you haven't yet done everything you can do before contacting a lawyer. Do you know what the laws are in the state where you bought the car? Is it it even legal to have an "as is" clause in the contract? Is this a licensed dealer you bought from? You haven't mentioned what state you bought the car in and whether you have looked into this.

The first place to look would be that state's motor vehicle registry website.

[lawdog]

Maybe he did not understand that I AM a Lawyer. LOL Oh well. I don't practice in his state though.
Maybe he has some magical grits in his frying pan in his state as Vinney would say. LOL. Always Check the laws in your state before you waist time paying a lawyer that promises you a rose garden. Lawyers like doctors are expensive !

[STUNNAH]

I haven't looked at a Carfax report in awhile, but if I recall correctly I believe they offer a buy back if any unreported issues arise with a car that they approved...

[BreakingBad]

I understand that I purchased the car under less-than-ideal circumstances (ie., taken car to 3rd party shop for inspection, not went at night, weather was on and off, etc.) I am aware that I could have taken 2 or 3 days off of work, spent 12, 16 hours driving back and forth, take a hit on the paycheck due to missed work, but 'properly' vetted the car before purchase. I also understand that *not* doing those things can result in the situation I am in, as well as many other problems when buying a car 'as-is'.

So maybe I understated how much I HATED the charger I had. Any time I would go down a hill (I literally live in the 'South Hills') the transmission would spike, RPMs jump to over 5-6k and it would just stay there - all the while the engine is screaming as if I was on the highway going 110 trying to hit 120 or 130....but I am going 25-30mph down a regular ass hill. Took it in, Dodge basically said they flashed TCM and PCM, which made absolutely no difference. Looking around for forums to talk about the issue I found 'charger forumz' of which many people have reported similar/transmission-related issues specifically with the model year 2015 (and I think 2016 too). Anything from the car jerking back and forth when trying to brake to all kinds of other weird behaviors. It wasn't coincidence that this was affecting tons of other people and Dodge was dismissing it saying, and I quote the tech when I say this, "The car is drive by wire which is why you will sometimes experience delays in braking and sometimes it will jerk around. Also this is an 8 gear system, thats why your transmission is jumping around like that."

...I simply had it. I wanted to get rid of the car and into something else ASAP. I saw the deal on the Camaro online, the price looked good but I *expected* there would be some issues due to the much lower price. I am good with paying a good detailer to do a nice paint correction job on the car, maybe look into dr. colorchip, and I planned on replacing the wheels and tires at various points over the next 2 years. So a good majority of the cosmetic flaws seemed ~90% fixable while I inspected the car. So all in all, in the end I'd probably end up paying the same amount for a Camaro in better cosmetic condition except in this case I was able to save the money upfront, not have to finance the extra money and spend it when I have the ability to do so. Not only that, there is something satisfying about fixing up a car whether it's a basic detail, putting new wheels on, etc.

My issue wasn't that I bought a car that had some outstanding issues. My issue has and still continues to be that the dealership lied to me during the sale of a vehicle, which does not protect them from litigation or bad business reviews to the AG, BBB, various auto sites, etc. I spoke with a lawyer based in Ohio and she was able to provide some good information, but during this time I was also in contact with the local Chevy dealer and the manager of the used car lot where I bought the car - I don't remember if I posted this here or in another thread but as it stands I will be getting an estimate on fixing the bumper in a week or so, I already have an estimate for 2 tires, alignment, keyfob - so the used manager is waiting for me to send this all to him. They've already sent me 1 check, but I have not cashed it and the guy has been receptive to looking at the final quote and seeing what kind of check they can cut me.

During some back and forth with the used car manager he said he spoke with the salesman who helped me and the salesman told him this this and that about the car, as far as the condition of the tires and brakes go. When I showed him the job order from Chevy that clearly pointed out that what the salesman told me was a lie, they immediately became more receptive to me as far as working with me to get the major outstanding issues corrected after they had physical proof that what their salesman told me was BS. Yeah, I could take this the litigation route, but if I did that it wouldn't be for $2-3k in repair money - it would be to demand the dealer buys the car back. Even still it would be a waste of money because it's not like I'm going to have no equity in the car for 5 or 6 years, so the moment that I have some decent equity in it the option to search for a new car opens up.

The biggest thing I took away from this debacle is that I probably won't ever buy used ever again. I love the Camaro, but my car purchases using the last decade as reference round out to me having the car for roughly 3.8 years, on average - sometimes longer, sometimes sooner. I will enjoy the car while I have it, I will probably grab a set of wheels and tires to keep me mobile year-round then consider a new car around 2019-2020.

[WoodBoss]

Have the bumper repainted by a good shop and get the light fixed. You bought a used car out of town and did not inspect it thoroughly. You didn't even really look at the tires closely, don't try to blame everybody else, man up !!!

[Mongo RS]

Caveat Emptor

[airos4]

I recommend you listen to a podcast called Lehto's Law. Steve Lehto is a well-known lawyer working with automotive issues. He practices in Michigan, but a lot of what he says is applicable in other states as well.

In short, the car was sold to you as-is. In your purchase agreement it almost certainly says something to the effects of "Statements made by the seller's agent are not included in this agreement and the seller will not be held liable for any statements made."

If they offered you anything, take it and run. They don't have to.

[MyLocalDJ]

I have read through your statements and the related comments from others. I also tend to agree that pursuing an attorney is throwing money out the window that you could otherwise use to make the repairs.

I understand that you may also have been in a time crunch given the car was out of state and you running back and forth to acquire it and not thinking about running around looking for an independent inspection before hand. We all make mistakes and try to learn from them. Getting wound up tight about the issue is not going to help anyone, especially yourself at this point.

Have you thought about trying to negotiate to have the selling dealer help you some with the cost of repairs? That's assuming of course that you haven't already become irate or threatening to the selling dealer.

On the issue of tires being less than desirable, that my friend is something you should have been able to notice regardless of the cleanliness of the car. Making an issue of the tires only makes you look worse in my opinion.

[Moto-Mojo]

Never call a lawyer when you need a mechanic. And never ask your mechanic for legal advice. I always say...

[Swacer]

From the way I understand this, you pretty much wouldn't have any legal grounds to stand on. You signed for the car "As-Is". CarFax are not always reliable, the information in them is only what is reported. So its possible the car was wrecked, and the person had it "repaired" on their own penny. In that event, you'd never see it.

Couple things that confuse me:
1. How do you mistake near bald tires? 3/32? Did you not have a coin?
2. Why didn't you have an independent dealer look at this? Could have cost you $100-200 for this dealer to take the car to a Chevy dealer to do a once over?
3. What was this bulb issue? the 2015s are LED tail lights. The minute there is a "light" issue with an LED board, that's your sign to quickly walk away.

ugh...bad situation man...sorry to hear this

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by BreakingBad

Well I plan on consulting with a lawyer regardless.

Putting aside the idea of pushing the dealer for a buy-back, it's evident and clear as day the paint is now bubbling and peeling off the bumper - there is no way to 'catch' that at pre-purchase inspection as the problem just started happening.

That being said, I could push the local chevy dealer and see if they will address the bumper/paint issue under factory warranty. If the carfax is clean, which it is, just as you say I have no 'leg' to stand on when it comes to saying the dealer 'knew' it was in an accident, seems to me the Chevy dealer should cover it under factory warranty and replace/paint a new bumper. If they try to say 'no, this was aftermarket work, can't fix under warranty' then I take that back to original dealer and negotiate because the problem stemmed with them.

I guess a lawyer though is the only one who can look at the entire situation and gauge whether or not I have the leverage to entice the dealer to buy the car back or get them to pay for any necessary repairs, in full. Otherwise it's simply whether or not the manager is willing to work with me to make things right.

Sorry, but in my opinion you are about to throw more money away. A Good Lawyer ( I was married to one) is going to cost $$ and will probably not win, unless you have something that you aren't telling us. Bald Tires, A Taillight Housing and now peeling paint that the the Used Car Dealer never saw is not going to get you much. You have said the Dealer cut you a Check and might cut you another - if so, take them & run to your Bank and be Happy!

The Chevy Dealership in No Way is going to re-paint your Bumper under Warranty!

But at least your out of that Dodge!

[Renald]

You keep mentioning that they did not disclose the issue with the car you purchased and you mentioned that you traded in your charger because of transmission issues did you disclose that to them if not you are just as guilty as they are just saying