I purchased a vehicle (make an model are irrelevent), and it turns out is has been in an accident and has serious issues. The Dealership I purchased it from made a very small effort to fix the issues but the bottom line is I purcased the car "as is" and I am stuck with it. I even tried calling my local Bar Association to see if I had legal grounds to sue the dealer, all the lawers said I have no case. So my question is has anyone ever found a palatiable way out of this situation. I currently owe about $20,000 on the vehicle. What if I stopped making payment and it was repossed? Would I be free from the loan? My credit is pretty good, and I own my own house, so I could take a minor setback to get out from this loan....
Any advice? I am loosing sleep over this! Any help would be appreciated.
2007-02-21 10:29:56 · 8 answers · asked by cj65jeff 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Buying & Selling
If everyone elses awnsers do no good then try this... Go to the dealership and park right up front. Go in and have words with someone. Come out angry and squeal tires...OH NO, you put it in drive instead of reverse!!!
Let your insurance take care of the rest. Insurance premiums will go up and will cost you, but not as much as those higher interest rates.
2007-02-21 10:54:43 · answer #1 · answered by ilikedagwoods 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In California we have a State department of Consume Affairs that would allow you to register a claim for bad business practices against the dealer. Also the CarFax company checks all the used cars that are sold around here and offer a buy back guarantee if something like what happened to you is found.
I would advise that you contact the bank or lender about the problems you are having and they in turn will put pressure on the dealer to make this right. There is a thing called voluntary repossession that you can do with the lender. Threaten them with that. It is less of a hit on your credit then going into default. You will have to repay whatever is not covered on your loan when they auction the car.
2007-02-21 10:38:10 · answer #2 · answered by yes_its_me 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was in a similar situation. My best advice is to go to a different dealer (save up a couple grand if need be), get your current car looking and running as good as possible and trade that sucker off. It's better to take the hit on the trade in than to have a repo hit your credit. FYI you would STILL BE LIABLE for the difference between what is owed on your current car and what it fetched at auction IF you let it get reposessed and the financial institution will sue you for the difference. I'd also make sure that everyone knew about how bad of an experience I had at the first dealership.
2007-02-21 10:46:25 · answer #3 · answered by xxted_strykerxx 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The lemon law only covers NEW cars.
If you hadn't been a cheapskate and got the vehicle inspected then you wouldn't be in the mess that you are.
The dealer doesn't care if you don't pay, they got their money already, but your credit will go in the dumpster. Plus the bank will still come after you for the outstanding balance after the car is sold at auction.
Carfax buy back guarantee is a JOKE. First it's only up to $3500!!!!! So it's worthless for someone who owes $20K.
Second you have to prove that they didn't include the accident info that is public knowledge not something that was never reported.
2007-02-21 10:39:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're going to get all kinds of legal advice here!
My suggestion, and only suggestion is:
Do not, and I repeat... do NOT stop making your car payments. You will not be debt free. The 2nd BIGGEST mistake anyone can make is to default on a car loan. The FiRST biggest mistake is on your house!
If you feel like you really have no other option, I would suggest the only (legal) solution: Voluntary Reposession of your vehicle. It's the same as stop making payments, but it doesn't look like they had to come get you.
The only other option (beyond your control) is if you had Gap Insurance and your car disappeared off the map when someone stole it
Again... do NOT stop making those payments. Your credit will take a dive the likes of which you have NEVER SEEN. And it takes forever to come back up! I'm talking years here!
Good Luck
.
2007-02-21 10:56:51 · answer #5 · answered by rob1963man 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Every state has a lemon law. Check with your state. You should be protected. Deferring on payments and having the car repossessed will do a number on your credit rating. You may be able to get another loan, but it will be at the cost of a high interest rates.
2007-02-21 10:34:59 · answer #6 · answered by millionsofsubys 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes there is definitely a lemon law. It would be beneficial for you to try and find out more about this. Defaulting on the loan is a bad idea. The dealership would take you to court and your own credit rating would be affected later.
2007-02-21 10:38:43 · answer #7 · answered by David M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In many states, if the dealer knew it was in an accident, they have to disclose that to you.
Contact your state consumer affairs and file a complaint. Try to get the dealer to buy the vehicle back.
2007-02-21 11:12:47 · answer #8 · answered by Tim P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋