imaginis

Ok, I just graduated college and was looking to purchase my first car. I spotted a 01 CL on a little rinky-dink lot in a small town. I new it was a lot that "fixed" cars who had body damage. Anyways, to make a long story short, the dealer told me that they had replaced the front bumper, and left front fender and door panel. It had been sideswiped, but no structure, suspension, or frame damage was done to the car.

I noticed over the past two weeks, that my car would pull to the right when accelerating and braking. So I took it into Acura yesterday. They said a nut had come loose on my steering and the only thing holding it on was the pin. Well, they couldn't get it aligned right so that had to take off my steering wheel. When they got up in the car, they saw all types of structure damage. In addition, they found over spray where the whole car had been repainted, the bumper was hanging a little low on the right, my fog light seal is broken and collects water.

They also were not too happy about my airbags not being replaced. When I bought the car, the guy told me they do not have the facilities to replace airbags, and they have to deal with insurance and such. I was cool with that, cause I always wear my seatbelt anyways. But now after having the car, I'm having second thoughts about the no-airbag thing. At the time, I guess I was so excited to be getting the car, I wasn't thinking clearly.

So now, I'm stuck wondering what to do. Should I take the car back to the dealer and demand my money back (I've had it for 2 months), or should I just make him pay for Acura to fix everything.
What are you thoughts on the airbags? Should I turn the car in because of that, make him pay to have the airbags fixed? But I think I may have signed something acknowledging the airbags didnt' function.

Oh well. I need some advice. But make it good. Any lawyers out there?

jimcol711

i would definately go back to that dealer and demand a full refund, if they dont want to pay, get a lawyer involved..its obvious that they lied to you and they are at fault here.

haiduc

get a lawyer..... the car is also a hazard to you. in MD, it's illegal to drive a car that came with airbags w/o them.

demand a refund and get a 6spd.

JRock

This is the whole point of why used dealers sell cars - people like you who don't get a proper mechanical inspection of the vehicle on your own before you buy the car and get suckered into this crap. You just learned to be more careful. Hopefully they'll be willing to take it back or something. I feel for you, but it's still mostly common sense to get a used car checked out by a mechanic before buying it.

TypeSKid

What he said.


You should've set up an appointment with Acura, prior to buying it. Taken it in the dealership during a test drive at least.


Its going to be a bitch to get $$$ out of a used car dealership. Be prepared for a fight.

Shawn S

YES !!!

Shawn S

ruvz

dude..
It is buyer beware... especially when you are dealing with a used car dealer... Usually dealers will deliver the line "As far as I know.... the Car is...." That sorta acts as a disclaimer...

I wouldn't bother fixing a car with frame damage as you're only gonna get more problems in the long-run... It may start with alignement, uneven brake pad wear and even broken engine mounts..

Does Acura even warrenty your car?

Shawn S

True, but if they didn’t tell him of all the damage when he bought it they probably broke the law and could have their sales license revoked.

At lease that’s the way it is in PA.

When I bought my NEW car, the dealer gave me paperwork showing that there was no FRAME or FLOOD damage to the car even though it only had 9-miles on it.
I also had to sign a paper saying that this was true for my trade.
If either can be proved wrong, the “seller” is held at fault for the full value of the car.

Shawn S

4pumpedCL

All licensed dealers are required to have a surety bond. That bond is required for situations just like this.

Shawn S

I think it will be very hard to get warrantee work or even a valid insurance policy for this vehicle.

Suppose you get into a minor front accident?
Should YOUR insurance company have to pay to put it back in factory condition?
Or if you’re injured because of the lack of airbags. Who is responsible?

The place probably bought it with a “salvaged” title for like 10-grand from a dealer auction.
You didn’t mention what you paid, but I’m sure it was probably too much they way you describe the condition.

I would first try to take it back for a refund minus a couple hundred bucks for the use you got out of it.
If that doesn’t work, tell them you will be back with your lawyer.

Shawn S

Caddy©

**** Sigh ****

Another Life lesson learned the Hard Way !
Always Have it checked out before hand.

bigman

Not to be mean, but you are an idiot. You should have brought someone with soem type of knoledge with you. Or the least you could have done was bring the vehivle to acura and have them do a full inspection to make sure what you were buying was up to standard. Why the hell did you by a car without airbags anyway. The seat belt wont keep you from ramming your face againt the steering wheel in a 50 mph impact. I'm sorry man, but unless you got all the stuff the guy said in writing or have him recorded you wont get anything back. If i were you, i would go to him and be like, hey my steering is pulling a little to the right, are you sure it has no structural or frame damage, he will hopefully say no, and you can recordit on a micro recorder. That's your only real chance man. No offence about the idiot thing, but you have to wake up and realize that what you just did was very dumb.

SundanceCLS

Ay yay yay..
Yes, always have a used car checked out - maybe even a dealer one! im still a little unsure of my tranny/motor mount issues on my Acura certified 01!
but hindsight nonwithstanding, i am sure you DID sign your life away on this one..so you should not be looking for $ for reparations or hardships at all..if however they lied about the cars condition, and theres nothing in writing that trumps that, i would demand the transaction be null and void, and get your $ back! yes, consult with a lawyer 1st..everybodys got a relative or friend of a friend for free advice and a free note on legal/law officees of... Letterhead!
good questions RE insurance/Acura warranty - geez i wonder..

Scrib

I think your response could have be written without using the words 'idiot' and 'dumb'.

This guy says he just graduated and wanted to buy his first car. People make mistakes... I just don't see the need to rub his face in it.

YMMV...

2Sxy4YoMama

That is true. I was watching a tv show about this yesterday too. How funny. They have to disclose all the damage to you, if not you can go to court and asked for remedy.

mistacanyon

In the end you may be pretty screwed on this one. You won't be able to get money back for airbag repair or the bumper or anything else you knew of when you bought the car. The only hope is that you can get the guy to make another statement about "no structural damage." It's probably even enough if he says "as far as I know, there is no structural damage." For this reason: Being that he knows what happend to the car (accident wise), he repainted the car, fixed the bumper, fender, door panel, and knew there were no airbags; most likely a judge will realize the dealer probably knew about the structural damage also. You never know, this dealership may have a history of this kind of crap also.

Actually as I type this, I've changed my mind. I think you may have a good chance of getting you're money back for the vehicle. Get a good lawyer and start hacking away at this guy...Good Luck!!

gmilian

look them up and report them to the BBB (better business bureau) to see if they had any complaints. do this in addition to what everyone else has said. btw, you graduate from high school or college?

codehead

Aw cummon--the guy said he was just out of college. Lighten up. People learn.

It had better. Airbags are primarily there to bail out people who don't wear seatbelts. People assume that they are there to increase protection, but in fact they were sold to our lawmakers as a way of protecting knuckheads who don't fasten their seatbelts. Yeah, side/head airbags add additional safety, but if a seatbelt doesn't keep you from hitting the steering wheel it's because its broken or you didn't put it on, or the car caved in so badly an airbag isn't going to help either.

But the car originally came equiped with them, and they should be functional.

bigman

I didnt call him an idiot to put him down, i called him that to make him understand that whether you are fresh out of college or high school, buying a car that has been in an accident like that is ver stupid. You may save money at first but 75% of the time you will spend it all plus more later. I have done stupid things before and i will do stupid things in the future. But when i do stupid things i rather have people call me a moron and an idiot for doing them, then babying me and telling me not to worry.

Nicky Pass

KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL

zeroday

ok, you are a moronic idiot for what you said in your first post. Glad to be of service

imaginis

Ok....not only do I not want my car anymore....but I don't want to be on this board with a bunch of assholes.

Thanks to those of you who posted excellent advice, it will come in handy this Saturday when I go to the dealer.

Piss on those who criticized, your support was extremely appreciated.

peace

charliemike

I am completely flummoxed ... I mean stunned that you'd find a car in that condition and not have a mechanic check it out before buying it.

mistacanyon

Well at least someone uses their 'Word of the Day' toilet paper

imaginis

If I would have known it had STRUCTURE damage, I WOULD have had it checked out. The dealer told me the no damage was done to the frame, suspension, etc.

Obviously, you people are unclear. I don't want to hear about what I SHOULD have done, I realize now what I SHOULD have done.

The question now is what can I do now.

Shawn S

You’re going to have to get used to that if you hang out here.

There’s plenty of FARTING, (Assholes talking) that goes on here.
You just have to learn to ignore the BS and read the good info.
There’s a lot of THAT here too if you look hard enough.

Good luck on Saturday and let us know how you make out.

Shawn S

EricL

1. See if you bought the car "AS-IS". If you see "AS-IS", you are in "murky" waters. (Further inquiry couldn't hurt and laws vary quite a bit from region to region.)

2. If you have a contract and/or the dealer made any "claims" about the car (verbal or written), you have a shot at getting your money back (once again, depends on lots of factors).

3. There could be local laws or ordinances that "regulate" the sale of used vehicle by a commercial vendor (some ‘Googling’ about used car dealer sales and laws regulating them, in your county/state might, help).

As for the buyer beware -- of course. And it "usually" helps to have the car checked out. But, for those people who assume that a mechanical checkout by a dealer or mechanic is a sure fire way to insure getting a "good" car.... WRONG!

My second car was checked over by an authorized dealer and was even checked by a local mechanic. Both places said the car was in great shape.

I bought the car and took it over to a friend's house. His friend (now one of my best friends) was curious about the car and took it for a test drive and read off a list of mechanical problems and said, "Hey, the kid who drove this thing was probably on two wheels for all of the 12,000 miles on your clock... you got screwed." He mentioned about eight things that were probably going to fail and within a year they did.

People get taken every day.... and I'm not saying that a car doesn't need a good checkout!

charliemike

My vocabulary is up 80% since I started eating beans every meal =)

bigman

Look man, i dont care what you think about what i say, i'm just trying to say that buying a car from a place that fixes accident cars up is stupid. Frankly if the place has them then they must be buying them from insurance companies that totaled them. And buying a used car without checking first with a mechanic or acura is just plain dumb. Acura isnt gonna cover shit, they will blame everything on the accident. Good luck though. This is a lesson well learned.