SpeedyV6

Guys I'm looking for legal advice on the behalf of my sister. Last year she bought a brand new AWD Toyota Sienna minivan. The tires were worn and so I suggested she replace them. When she went to a tire retailer to get a new set of tires the mechanic refused to replace them. He told her the car had been in an accident and that she needs to talk to the dealer.

The dealer replaced the original tires for free but denies that anything is wrong with the van. Needless to say I'm pissed. My sister bought this thing brand new for ~ $38K and may have wound up with a defective, poorly repaired car. The dealer never disclosed anything to her. What should she do??

Count Dracura

Are there lemon laws in TX?

SpeedyV6

She bought the car in Buffalo, NY.

paranode

You might contact the state Attorney General's office. I think you can even file an online complaint. Next perhaps talk to a lawyer of your own.

gthrow8awayr

not trying to be an asshole or anything, but you know when you scroll your mouse over the title? it said...blah blah legal advice last year my sister brought a Bra..."

So I was thinking t1ts and ass when I came in here...haha funny ,anyways carry on

F900

How many miles where on the Suv when she bought it ?

Moog-Type-S

It's a minivan..not an SUV

SpeedyV6

It was brand new. I'm not sure how many miles were on the odometer. Frankly i think the dealer should have disclosed the accident, even if it was something like a car that fell off the lift at the dealership when it was brand new the fact is she should have been told. I don't know what the law is on this matter though.

Scrib

New, but had worn tires????

What am I missing?

sipark

If the car was repaired at a prep center due to accidents during shipping and the damage was less than X% (I don't remember the exact figure) of the value of the car, they're not obligated to disclose the repair.

Having said that, if the damage was serious enough that the tire shop refused to replace them, then it must have been a pretty significant accident..

Good luck.

Moog-Type-S

damn you peeps can't read

gthrow8awayr

Brand new as in certified pre-owned? :shrugs: i agree with scribby

SpeedyV6

It was new last year. When I saw her over Christmas I told her it looked like her tires were badly worn. So she brought it in to replace the tires. The mechanic refused to do any work on the car and told her to take it back to the dealer.

And no it was not "pre-owned." It was an untitled brand new car.

dallison

sounds like it had 0 miles and while being shipped it prob fell off a truck and was repaired and sold as new, but wasnt "new"

Scrib

So what did the mechanic determine was wrong? A bent frame? Bondo? What made him determine the car was previously wrecked?

Any why wouldn't they work on it if it was wrecked? Most shops could give a shit if a car was previously wrecked.

Smalls

mechanic sounds fishey to me

Bdog

Sounds like the mechanic didn't feel like putting on tires. She went to a tire retailer and he refused to put them on... wtf. You can have a salvaged car welded together and a tire retailer will put tires on your car. I would talk to you insurance company and tell them what happened. Have them take it to a reputable place or another dealer to determine whats up or just forget about it and don't go back to where you went to get tires in the first place.

sleeper

find out if it's the tire retailer is wrong first before running around trying to find out if the car is f'ed up. after all, it was bought as a new car and has only a year on it. btw, lemon laws and other important mfg stuff are usually in the back of the owner's manual if i'm not mistaken.

ArN 2000 TL

Why are you believing a mechanic? Seriosuly though, bring it somewhere else. I know dealers suck, but don't automatically assume it was crashed, repaired, etc...without:

A. looking at it yourself to determine (if you are qualifed to do so)
B. Bring it to another mechanic for a second opionion

Cruz_msl

There are many levels here that are unclear to me.

Brand-new? OK. Let's say it is.

I can't see the thing "falling off the truck" at all. It's really hard to actually do that. Are you sure that she didn't hit a giant pot-hole and not tell you? Clearly there is a bent suspension componant causing the problem and it's pretty difficult to bend front end or frame componants and not know it.

What did the mechanic say? Why didn't you include this in your post? I have only been refused service from a mechanic when there is an insuance issue involved that he doesn't want to tangle with. If that's the case, then you have bigger problems.

If the tires are wearing that badly then that minivan would most likely be pulling hard in one direction. That should have been noticed right off of the showroom floor if it really occurred before you purchased the vehicle.


I think there is more to this story than meets the eye.

moomaster_99

Bring it to a specialist....ie a body shop....


This is all meaningless unless you can get someone that is actually certified to verify that the car had indeed been damaged.

F900

Maybe, but of that was the case, how where the tires worn.

I define a Brand new car with less then 5-7 miles on the clock and never been driven since it left the factory.

Something does not add up, or where not getting the full story. Either way you need to take it to a Toyota body shop outside the dealer and let them take alook.

Then based on that go from there.....

TypeSAddict

Didn't realize you had family up here! Anyway, I'm with everyone else. That is, very confused. Why did a brand new car have worn tires? Why would a mechanic refuse to put tires on a car that had been in an accident. Time to find a new, independant party to look the car over.

WhatTheScunt?

I say you go to the dealer and buss a cap.

Repo1234

The tires could have been worn because of alignment issues. Maybe she hit a couple of really bad pot holes and threw the whole alignment off which in turn wore out the tires. The mechanic could have thought it was because of an accident or something similar. I

Bdog

Don't you have to rotate AWD vehicle tires more often? If the vans a year old, she probably has 15,000+ miles on it and if she never rotated the tires they could have worn badly. Could have been driving over or under inflated and AWD cars can mess up some tires easier?

SpeedyV6

The car isn't brand new any longer, but it was when she bought it, which was just last year. The thing chewed up all four tires in a few short months but my sister never noticed anything. I noticed it when I visited her and told my sister to replace the tires and check the alignment.. The outer edge of all four tires was completely worn out. So she took it to a shop to replace the tires and align the car. Apparently the frame is bent so badly that the tire shop can't align the car. The guy at the tire shop told her that it wasn't repaired properly from the accident. To which she replied "what accident?"

Anyway the mechanic is certain that the car was in an accident and not repaired properly.

TypeSAddict

Aaaah okey doke, that makes much more sense now. Maybe Chief or Jared will stumble on this thread and have some more input from a legal perspective. And next time you're in WNY I expect a PM Good luck with the car tho!

SpeedyV6

Buffalo is nowhere near Albany. I used to have a friend who went to school in Troy NY but I don't plan to ever visit that area again.

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

i think there is a recall on the toyota minivans, isn't there?

SpeedyV6

I don't know. I know that Toyota used to have problems with their V6's developing sludge in the crankcase but I think that problem has been solved.

I told my sister to get an Odyssey or a Pilot but she insisted on a minivan because of the sliding door and demand awd because she thinks she needs it. That left few other choices aside from the Sienna.

Leviathan

Aaaaaaaaaaand we have a winner.

Infamous425

damn girls and not knowing shit about their own car

Crazy Bimmer

Well heres my take.

The dealer legally has to let you know when selling a new car if its been damaged. Theres a certain % of the cars value that is allowed to be fixed without informing the customer. But its a very small %.

Ahh 6% 6 percent law » video

Get a specialist and have the car checked out. Could be someone simple as an alignment...
I would trust a tire tech.. they arent certifed to make judgements like that. Kinda weird though.. many cars are in accidents and i have never heard of a tire place rejecting them tires.

If you find out there was damage the dealer disclose then i would call an Attorney.

Crazy Bimmer

I mean i wouldnt trust the tire tech.

If you find out there was damage then i would call an Attorney.

cambo

It could be as simple as the tire tech not knowing how to align the car. I had my car aligned and the tech told me he couldn't and that i would need an aftermarket camber kit, to which i quickly replied, "give me the keys, i'm going elsewhere because there ALREADY is an aftermarket camber kit installed."

Needless to say, the tech had nothing to say and i went elsewhere where they didn't have a single problem aligning the car and did it cheaper.

Take it to a second place and see what they do imo.

chiawei

1. How did you know for sure that car was in accident?

2. Early Sienna has problem with improper toe angle setting that leads to premature wear on the tires. There is a recall on this, and you should be able to get new tires and alignment from Toyota.

chiawei

This is BS.

Your tire mechanic is wrong.

This is a known problem with all 2004 Sienna. Toyota did not calibrate the toe setting correctly. Due to crappy tires that comes with it, premature tire wear on 04 Sienna is normal and has nothing to do with car being in accident.

Depends on mileage, Toyota will replace the tires and do the alignment for free.

There is a TSB on this, you can visit siennaclub.org.

heyitsme

^ If its not this above problem and the vehicle does have a bent frame, think shes going to have a hard time proving it was the dealers fault at this point considering the van is a year old.