Buying from a car dealer that scams
 

Hi everyone, just wondering has anyone ever buy from a used car dealership? And once they show you the carfax or the inspections sheets they have, you end up believing that it would be okay right?

Well in my case it didn't went good, couple months later it had engine, cooling, leaks and problems. Then later I went to a well known shop to get it inspected, they said that the engine was on it's last legs etc. So of course I would freak out at that time, they told me that I've should of gotten it inspected again before buying this lemon. Now the damage cost is half of what I've paid for the car. And the mechanics said that my car has a obviously awkward setup, and the evidences are right in front of them in the engine bay, and that the dealership owners have already known about this.

In this situation would you try to ask them for help? Or even ask them to pay half of the damage cost? If they don't, what should I do? I do got witnesses, such as mechanics, false or fake paper work from the dealership and also a friend of mine that also inspect the car when he was there. Who do I call for help? should I get a lawyer?

Thanks all

It's been couple months, its your problem now. Next time get it properly inspected before buying.

If the dealer guy gave you papers and inspections saying the car was in "pristine" condition and now you've taken it to a seperate mechanic who told you the thing was a lemon. If you can probe that in the couple months you've owned it none of this could have happened and that it was a problem with the car when you got it then you can say that he misrepresented the car.

Go talk to a lawyer and see what he says. The dealership is in the wrong you just have to figure a way to show that he fraudulently misrepresented the car.

isnt there a new law introduced about buying used cars from dealerships..

i was at the dodge dealership on marine, and the used car manager or assassint manager told me that...

"if the dealership sold you a car and didnt tell you what exactly is wrong, and if you can prove that you didnt do it, you can bring it back to them and have a FULL refund, even if its after 1 or 2 years"

so you might want to check into that.. im not sure if was BSing with me.. but he seems legit..

i traded in my civic for a lemon.. stupid chinese dealership... but this was almost 5 years ago.. didnt want to deal with them... but after 4 years when i came back from AB, i went by there.. haha they not there anymore... good riddence..

How much did you pay? Might not even be worth getting legal help in this case. If you paid 2-3k for it maybe try selling the car and take the loss for it. Would seem kinda hard to prove that they lied and it was infact a lemon.
Posted via RS Mobile

The car didn't come with any sort of warranty?
Usually cars will come with a 6 month warranty.
Talk to the VSA.

most likely he bought it from a shady used car dealership in surrey/kingsway so no warranty whatsoever.

I've never used carfax but carfax is just based off of insurance and inspection information is it not? If it is, mechanical issues would not be listed on a carfax report.
Car salesmen aren't generally mechanics so if your car has some mechanical issues they might really be ignorant to such issues. Thats the main reason why you have independent inspections done on any car you are purchasing.
Your circimstances may be different but with or without a lawyer you may be in for a costly fight.

Even then, they cannot sell a car without warranty. They cannot put AS IS or anything on the bill of sale. There must be some sort of warranty. But he OP should contact VSA and he might be able to return the car for a FULL refund.

Really? My 2nd hand car was purchased with an AS-IS letter attached to it.

But of course, I checked my car out thoroughly and it's still running tip top today... Dunno about the "cannot be as-is" part...

At the VSA course, they said no dealer in BC can put as-is. Well, they can put that but its not valid. It's like when someone tells you that you can't have your deposit back so that you will have to take the car.

^ agreed with Simon.

I too have taken the course and everything Simon has said above is correct. Again, contact the VSA, they'll be able to provide you with direction and knowledge. What you need to provide on your part is:

- Documentation that you received from the dealership, including car fax and what not

- Most importantly, all the inspection reports you received from the shop that you went to afterwards.
- Any and all receipts that were required after the inspection.
- Pictures or descriptions from the mechanic as to what was wrong, and why it should have been obvious to the dealer that there was a problem would be very useful.

The more evidence you have (hard evidence, not "I think it was damaged before" type crap), the more likely you are to get results.

http://www.vehiclesalesauthority.com/

They're actually quite helpful and will fight for you if you have a case. They've been quite effective and stopping "curbers" and fraudulent sales in BC.

what car is it? :confused:

thanks for the help guys, its a car that has a bit value and close to 20k mark. No it was shameful that I didn't got any warranty. But then again they did "insist" because I assume that they know something. And its a used dealership, but they are trying to help atm.

Thanks for the heads up. Good thing I don't really have anything to claim or it'd been such a hassle.

oh a sidenote... how good are the BCAA inspections? (I've gotten one when I bought my car off BJBMW, but I'm just wondering how in depth do the mechanics actually check it)

Carfax is crap as a source to find a car's history. I find ICBC's claim history report way more helpful (and less expensive). Of course the car must have been local.

BCAA inspections are pretty good... since they're sort of responsible in case something happens. But I'm pretty sure you sign a form waiving them of that responsibility. The credibility of what BCAA stands for is on the line so they're pretty good.

A lot of shops are authorized gov't inspection centres... I wouldn't go to one unless you knew the people that worked there or know for a fact that they're a reputable shop. A lot of these so called "gov't inspection centres" work with shady dealers to give out of province/countries a clean bill of health, when in fact they're rolling death traps.