Friday 11/17/06 I bought a 98 Kia Sportage, Within just a few days I find out the gas tank leaks, an oil leak,

Question

and there's an exhaust leak. The dealer has been out of town till the 27th. I've already put on new tires. The sticker on the suv when I first looked at it said it came with a 3 month warranty. When I went in to sign papers they had one that said, AS IS, w/ customer purchased warranty. Do I have any rights. Is there such a thing as a 3 day or 30 day turnaround. I'm just sick, do I have a leg to stand on? HELP PLEASE HELP.

Answer 1

If the papers you signed said "As is" when you bought the vehicle, that is the prevailing document. If you found out all those things within a few days of buying it, you should have been able to find out those things before you bought it, when you would have had some bargaining power. Did you test drive the vehicle? Did you take it in for inspection before buying it? If you did not, sorry. You're stuck with it. There is no "You can return this in 3 days" since you went to them, and could have walked out at any time. The 3 day cool down period only applies when a salesman comes to your home and pressures you into buying something.

Before anyone tries to tell you about Lemon Laws for your state, they only apply to new vehicles, and only after you have given the dealer a number of opportunities to solve the problem, and only if it's the same problem each time. If you have a series of problems the lemon law is not in effect, and if it's used it doesn't apply.

Sorry, you have an as is vehicle that you obviously didn't check out enough before buying, and it's your problem.

Answer 2

Before you panic about the problems your Sportage is having, consider these things. You say that you bought the vehicle "As is, WITH customer purchased warranty." This sounds like you purchased an aftermarket warranty. Did your salesman say anything to you about purchasing an aftermarket warranty? You might want to check through your paperwork and see if you have any aftermarket warranties. If you do have one, you can have major components repaired for a small deductible fee, usually no more than $250. Aftermarket warranties are a lot like insurance in their nature...... you may not need it, but when you do need it, you might have to pay a deductible and then the aftermarket warranty pays for the rest.

Secondly, the problems you are having may have simple fixes. I worked as a mechanic for a Kia dealership in TX for three years. Kia had issued a recall on their catalytic converters because they would break apart and cause exhaust leaks. As long as your Sportage is under 80,000 miles, they might replace the catalytic converter for free, depending if the recall has already been performed or not. To check and see if any recalls need to be performed on your Sportage, call your local Kia dealer and tell them your VIN number and ask them to check for open recall campaigns. They will be more than happy to check because Kia corporate pays the dealership for each recall completed. Another common source of exhaust leaks on a Sportage is the exhaust manifold. Most of the time, it will need a new oxygen sensor that goes in the manifold because it seizes inside of the manifold from the constant expansion and contraction from the exhaust heat. This will run about $500 for a new manifold and oxygen sensor..... but if you have a good aftermarket warranty, these should be covered items. I can't remember how many Sportage customers had these items replaced w/ aftermarket warranties back at my old dealership.

As far as the oil leak goes, there may be a simple fix to this. There is a skid plate on the bottom of the engine and during oil changes, oil often drips all over the skid plate and many mechanics don't bother to clean it all off before releasing the vehicle. This often gives the appearance of an oil leak when in fact, there is none. You might have nothing more than residual oil on the skid plate that is still dripping from a recently performed oil change. Another common source, but cheap to fix source of oil leaks is loose oil filters or a bad drain plug gasket. Check the drain plug and the oil filter to make sure these are not leaking. These are really easy to fix. If there is a leak from the valve cover gasket or any of the cam seals or crank seals, an aftermarket warranty should cover these items.

A few more things you need to consider...... if the vehicle has never had it's timing belt replaced, I would definitely get this done because they rarely last longer than 80,000 miles on Sportages. If the timing belt breaks, the engine will not run. It's not cheap to replace, but it's worth the money. Most places will put one on in the $400.00 to $500.00 price range. Almost any vehicle, be it a Kia or a Mercedes, will not run well if it is not properly maintained. Don't let everyone here tell you that you just bought a POS. I've seen Kias with over 300,000 miles on them because the owners were dedicated to having their service performed in accordance with manufacturer's specifications. With a little investment on your part, you should be able to keep your SUV running for a long time to come.

I just hope that you have an aftermarket warranty because it will save you a lot of money in case you have a few major issues. One of the previous posters made a very good point. Most dealerships will be more than happy to work with them if you have a level head when you speak to them. Even though you are afraid that they may try and take you for all you're worth, every service department I've ever worked at tried their very best to provide value for our customers. Treat the people at the dealership with respect, and they should recipricate it back to you. If you call up and are rude and accuse the dealership of ripping you off, you are much less likely to recieve a good deal, even though they will still probably try and help you.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 3

You can check with your state. Some states have a mandatory warranty on used cars, of 30 days, for example. I'd go back and talk to the sales manager and explain the problems. Tell him they switched the labels and you didn't buy a warranty. If they don't do anything, tell him you'll file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office. It should at least get him to help you. But as most people will tell you, a used car is usually sold "as is". If you signed papers stating that, you may not have a leg to stand on.

Answer 4

I'm not buying gas. I think this might work I've gotten text msg about it seen it on Myspace bulletin's a few times. I worked at a gas station and the tankers can't stop the gas once they start pumping it in the ground or it will overflow which is a huge safety hazard. If no one is buying gas they can't pump it into the ground so they have to take it back to their headquarters or whatever until there is room. If we could go a couple days it would drop prices for sure. One day drop in sales I'm hoping will do a little bit.

Answer 5

I think Kia was bought out by Hyundai in the last couple of years. I have a 2001 Hyundai and really like it a lot. Try getting a newer car or SUV if you can, because with Hyundai and Kia they have a great warrenty on them Even if you buy one used. I think that the car has to be less then five years old to get the used warrenty.

Answer 6

Sounds like you got suckered sweetness. You need to go back to the dealership and demand all those to be fixed, as well as the original warranty or to be completely refunded, Try looking into your states " Lemon Laws" its a term used for people who sell a car as new or good condition, when in fact its junk. If you cant get things fixed or get out of the purchase, maybe you could sue?

Answer 7

By your screen name, it looks like you are based in Kentucky. Here are your rights by Kentucky law (if you are in another state, you can choose the law for the state you are from on this site as well):

http://www.yourlemonlawrights.com/state_laws/kentucky.htm

I would pay particular attention to the The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. There is a warranty on the vehicle regardless of whether you bought "as is" per the lemon law in your state.

The dealer has to fix the vehicle immediately per the law. Is there NO ONE available to talk to at the dealer?

Answer 8

Why are people so dumb here?

Lemon Law only applies to *******BRAND NEW********.cars!

And does this person who quoted the "The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act" understand the law????? It specifically states that it only protects products that comes with express WRITTEN warranty!

Geez, so many clueless people on Yahoo Answers!

Answer 9

i own a repair shop,and here's what id do on that situation,id call and talk to them and see if i did indeed have some kind of warranty,and if nit try talking to them ,and see if they,ll agree to have it repaired or at least pay half the cost of the repair on it,if your nice about it they may even pay all of it,but if you call and jump on them they wont do anything to help you ,,i know this because some of my family own a small dealer ship,and they go out of their way to help a lot of people ,but those who call and curse them out ,,they don't help them,,try being nice ,and see if they,ll agree to help you ,,best of luck with this,,i hope this help,s.

Answer 10

if the miles are over 100.000 ,,,its as is,but most car are covered for 30 days,,a dealer also can not sell a car with bad tires its a safety factor sue him now