Auto dealership playing games big time, who can I turn to?

Question

Purchased car used from major dealership. They did not disclose it was wrecked. Was purchased As is. But they still lied.

1. Ask for $1600 to fix bumper. They decline.
2. File BBB complaint, give them two options, pay for bumper or take back car.
3. They decline, BBB sides in my favor, threatens dealer with bad mark.
4. Dealer manager calls, tells me "fine we will refund car, bring it back. This is now 2.5 months later.
5. Since dealer thinks I just wanted money, they play poker. I say fine, I'll bring car right over. Manager says to wait until Monday.
6. I purchase new car over weekend, thinking the will refund car.
7. I show up on Monday, they said I put too many miles on car (3K miles) offer $10,200 I paid $12,600!
8. I remind them this was a REFUND, not a purchase!
They say no, as me to leave!

What should I do now? This is a major dealership, totally playing games!

Answer 1

its too bad that this happened to you. Now you know that you should ask for a carfax when buying a car. Most places make them free upon request. But unless the insurance co. was contacted a small accident would not be on there anyway. "AS IS" is just that, as is. It means Nothing else promised, nothing fixed, in other words buyer beware!!
Since most Dealerships are not in it for charity I would say you got a good offer. Renting a car for 3 months is pricey.
The worst part is - no matter what happens the car salesman is the BAD GUY and you will never enjoy buying a car because you wont ever trust them again. Take the money and the free lesson on how to buy a car.
Final thought: we all know cars are bad investments. They go down in value ASAP. If you bought a TV that was used for 60,000 hours and a button fell off, would you be surprised? We just take it harder because cars are expensive and we pay for them everymonth.

Answer 2

The dealership is a business, not a charity. Could you rent a car (in any condition) for more than $0.00, for three months, and 3000 miles?

The dealership doesn't HAVE to disclose any crashes that the car was involved in, except in some states. I do not believe that in all states, the dealership has to disclose title brands.

If the title is NOT branded (rebuilt, insurance claim, etc) then they have absolutely zero responsibility (depending on the state) to tell you about it. So if you mean that the car was involved in an accident, and the title is clean, and they didn't tell you, they don't have to. They can't research every single car. And tons of used cars have repaired accident damage of some sort. Because stuff happens.

If they intentionally did not disclose something that they were required by law to disclose, THEN call the state regulatory agency that handles these types of problems. The BBB is one thing, but the state agencies are very problematic to businesses when a regulated business does not comply. For that reason, if you have legal justification to return the car, deal right with the agency that has the power to do something about it.

Again, if this is not a legal matter, then you can not expect the dealership to take the car back, 3 months and 3000 miles later. Sell it privately. The dealership has no obligation. If they failed to disclose something they were legally required to disclose, it is a different story altogether.

Answer 3

"Was purchased as-is" Who's playing games??? They are doing you a favor, it would have been virtually impossible for you to prove they knew it was wrecked. BBB always sides with the consumer, especially if the dealership isn't a member.

You had this car almost three months and you want a full refund? Your crazy. At current lease mileage costs , you spent 600 in miles, plus depreciation. I think a 2400 loss is just about right.

Answer 4

To Kevin and everyone else ...There is no "lemon law" for USED vehicles. Now...on to the question....To get any real action..Contact the Attorney general of your state. The BBB has no power to do anything except make a reference that there has been a dispute at the business. I really think you should have gotten the situation cleared up with the first vehicle before buying another. I am surprised they have agreed to refund anything. What you do will be your decision, but I think the offer they made was not unfair considering how much you used it .

Answer 5

unfortunately you really answered your question for yourself. you said you purchased the vehicle as-is. that really means as-is. when dealerships buy cars either from an auto auction or from a trade they dont always know the full history of the car. and even with an accident, if it was not turned in on an ins claim there is no paper trail to verify its accident history. and when people trade in it is usually because the vehicle has problems they dont want to deal with. i have an auto body shop and just a bumper should not cost that much money. if the vehicle have had that much in damages it would appear that you would have noticed it as you were checking out the car before you bought it. pretty much bottom line is that you bought the car so it is yours. your best bet is as someone else mention trying to sell it outright.

Answer 6

You can get your money back but you are going to have to spend about 10 hours over a couple of days. You are going to have to make a big poster board sign and stand in front of the dealership telling everybody that they "lied to you". Do this on their most busy days Sat and Sun or every day until they give you your money back. The car did not drop that much in value in 3k miles. If you do this they will pay you to go away. If you have a video camera bring a friend with you and have them video taping you do this. Just do not go on there property when you do it. Stay within 5 feet of the street or if they have a sidewalk in front of the dealer, stand on the sidewalk. Call the local police dept and check to see if you need a permit to protest. If you do this they will pay you to go away. My dealer always paid the few guys off who did this. It works.

Answer 7

Threaten to sue, or actually sue. Also keep BBB updated, and involved. Try also contacting the car company (if it s a ford dealership contact ford ect.) Also check your state law, most states have imposed "Lemon Laws" pertaining to selling of defective transportation vehicles. The more noise you make, the more likely they will give in, they are hoping you will just finally give up, or take whatever offer they make you, stand your ground..... See if any new channels have that "on your side" series where they expose things like this. Bad Publicity for a dealership is the last thing they want. good luck...

Answer 8

You bought the car "as is" which kind of implies the dealership has no obligation other than to give you the car "as is" which they did.

If you can show the dealership KNEW about the accident and did not tell you - then you have a legal matter. However, the key is having proof to show they knew and did not tell you.

Answer 9

To anyone.. the lemon law is a federal law, and it is for new cars only.. i had been in the car business for 20 years, and only had 1 car ever come back under lemon law, a brand new firebird convertible that would leak no matter what we did.. NO used cars are covered under the LEMON LAW.. now, there are times that the licensing authority might get involved in a dispute if you take a complaint to them, but that is not lemon law.

Answer 10

Well don't think you get the use of a car for free for 3 months. Think about what it would cost you to rent a car for that long. Perhaps what they offered isn't so bad- try the math and see what you think?