What should I do about being screwed over by a private car seller?

Question

I bought a car from this guy yesterday who so-claimed to be a mechanic. If he was a mechanic, then why didn't he fix the problems on his car, knowing he was gonna sell it? The car is a 1994 Honda Prelude with over 206,000 miles on it. It was running fine yesterday, but today when I got out of school, it wouldn't start, & now I can't get in touch with him. I bought the car for $1,300. & I had to get it towed & taken to a mechanic today.

The serpentine belts gotta be put on it, & there's something wrong with the computer in the car, which causes the shifts to mess up when driving.

Now my family is laughing @ me & calling me vulnerable & stupid about being taken advantage of. & I was told that I can't get my money back because the guy already sold the titles over to me. I feel like such an idiot.

Should I feel shamed?

Answer 1

Sounds like your a young person. If your underage the seller has intered into an unenforceable contract.
You can take him to small claims court for misrepresenting the cars soundness if in fact he told you nothing was wrong with it, however, if your of legal age and the seller told you all the things he thought was wrong with the car then your just in a bad spot.
If this is the case then chaulk it up to experience and move on.
You should never buy a car with such hi milage unless you have all the maintenance records and the car was driven on the hiway over long distances. These type cars are usually very well maintained and are in much better shape than a car thats driven around town on short trips.
Serpentine belts are a normal maintenance item--should be changed every 60,000 miles. As far as the computer these can be picked up at your local parts store if in fact something is wrong with it..pr find one for your car at a local salvage yard. I am very curious--was it working alright when you picked up the car? if it was then its most likely something else like a control module in the transmission or shift relay. Your family will be your hardest hurdle but in time they will be on your side. Keep your chin up and charge ahead..In time you will be the winner.

PS: Look into your local state consumer laws on line. A lot of states have a 3 day rule where if your dissatisfied with your purchase you can returne the merchandise
Good Luck

Answer 2

You made a bad purchase, and cannot do anything to the seller. Used cars are sold "as is", meaning just that. Had you taken someone with you that was knowledgable about cars, this situation may have been avoided. The car has any awful lot of miles, replacing the belt will give it renewed life. Normally these are changed out, at 100,000 miles, if yours got 206,000, you were indeed lucky. As for the computer, did you not notice that things weren't operating right when you test drove it? Your family shouldn't be laughing at you, and calling you names, you would think they would be more supportive. Regardless of your lack of family support, you should not feel shamed, or stupid. Replacing the belt won't be so expensive that you can't handle it. The computer issue I don't have much knowledge of, but it sounds like it is a reasonable fix. Being young, you were vulnerable, it's interesting to me that your family can sit back and laugh, yet they made no effort to help you, that's just plain wrong to be treated in that manner. Hold your head high, you haven't spent a huge amount of money, and once those repairs are made, you will have a very nice vehicle, you can be proud of purchasing with your hard earned money. Regarding the mechanic story, he may be a mechanic, it doesn't mean he is any good at his job, but he very likely knew the belt was going to snap at any time. It's not required by law to disclose that to you, if the car has a branded title, as a salvage/rebuilt car, he was required to disclose that. Good luck and tell your family to shut the hell up and show you some respect. I certainly hope it's not your parents talking to you this way, if it is, their parenting skills need some serious work.

Answer 3

Should you feel shammed? Not really. I took a quick peek @ Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com), and it looks like a 205Kmile car in "fair" condition has a value of about $2900. (Take that for what it's worth.) "Fair" means that it has some mechanical or cosmetic defects and needs servicing but is still in reasonable running condition.

So it ran well enough for you to not fear driving away, and you paid $1300. That still COULD be a deal, after getting it repaired.

Now, did you do what you SHOULD have done when buying the car? Nope. Any quick guide on buying a used car would tell you to check some things (like the belts). And they would also recommend taking it to a mechanic. Shouldn't you have felt the shifting was strange???

So the computer either needs to have software updated, or you need a remanufactured one. Belts happen (and would have been easy to see). Of course, if the guy's a mechanic, you'd think he'd have done those things if they weren't too much $$ or too difficult.

Get the stuff fixed. Have a mechanic check the car out--like you should have. And enjoy the car (because you don't really have any recourse with a private seller).

Live & Learn

Answer 4

No dont feel ashamed ,just learn from this mistake, and dont do it again. Ok the belt will cost some to have it put on at a shop and you should try to find a friend or family that knows about cars to help you out and teach you some things about cars so you dont have this problem in the future you can take it to one of the big auto parts stores and have them hook a tester to the computer port in the car and it will tell them what needs to be changed on the car. also if the computer should be messed up if you like the car you can replace them, I would suggest calling junk yards and tell them what u have and you can get one from a wrecked car alot cheaper than a new one , then find someone to put it in for u well anyway hope that helps u. Sorry to hear of your bad luck . In the future. If you are serious about buying a car, there are alot of people out there that try to prey on girls because most dont know much about cars, so learn as much as u can that helps an tell them u want to take t to a mechanic

Answer 5

The first thing you should know is..

Mechanics NEVER work on their own cars. By the time they get off work the last thing they want to do is tinker with another car, even their own.

You can take him to small claims court, I don't know where you live, but if you live in area where they film one of those "court tv shows", Like peoples court. they often will take cases like this, your fee is taken out of what they pay you. However you will need everything documented and not just the mechanic saying "he should have replaced the belt" You need to prove Negligence on his part..

Belts break, and sometimes it does break unexpectedly .

the computer problem however, he should have known about.

DO NOT take the first garage at their word. Get the belt fixed, that's a must..
but for the computer take it for a second opinion, Some garages make a practice of telling you have something wrong based solely on the fact that they are told.. "at 50,000 miles this breaks, at 200,000 miles, this breaks.. etc.. etc.."

If you have a technical school, like ITT take it to their autoshop.. the teachers are all ceritified mechanics and they aren't going to tell you something is wrong when it's not, they don't make money off the repairs.. it's strictly for the grade.. :)

Answer 6

If the guy sells cars regularly, he could be considered a dealer, even if he doesn't announce himself as such. Talk to the Better Business Bureau and see if there are any other complaints against this guy.

Also, see what the police have to say. It may be they've had complaints about this guy in the past and the Attorney General in your state could consider pursuing charges. If they can convict him, you get restitution.

And don't feel ashamed. People get screwed over every day.

Answer 7

Don't feel stupid or ashamed. Your family has some nerve to laugh at you; if they are so involved they should have helped you out.

When the mechanic checked your car, did you have him check everything? Does he think it can be fixed for a reasonable amount of money? I hope so. It could turn out to be a good car for you with a little work.

Answer 8

No you should not feel shamed, you learned a lesson that cost you $ 1300. and not several thousands like many other buyers ,i am sure you will not fall into a trap twice.

Bite the bullet and lets get you out of this mess, there are steps to follow when buying a car, when time allows go to my website and study http://www.usedcartips.org/ from there contact me with questions.

I will not make comments about your 94 Prelude, its history when you buy private.

Answer 9

chalk it up to experience and don't make the same mistake twice. next time do your research: how much are similiar cars being sold for, how reliable are these cars (what is their history). plenty of resources on-line. check consumer reports. but above all have a buyer's check performed by a reputable mechanic, usually costs around 50 bucks. be very wary of buying a car from a mechanic. they can fix up a car just enough to have it run just long enough to sell it, as you found out.

Answer 10

I don't believe you have any legal actions...I'm sorry your family is being rude to you about it, but they are right, you should have taken the car to be inspected by a mechanic you could trust, rather than believe someone who wants $$$ too get rid of a car...

Did you test drive the car?? you should have noticed these problems and either gone to the mechanic to get a quote or backed away from the deal...