screwed by a car dealer, so I think!!!

JTFG · 23-08-2006, 10:30 PM

hey, well last week i bought my car from a car dealer, it's a 1990 Mazda 626, well firstly you will think I'm an idiot which is fine with me, but I didn't really know much about buying and had know one with me.

Anyways story goes I bought a 626 for $4,500 with a rwc (so they say) and for the money you would expect it to be in tip top condition. The only thing on the way back home noticed something on the windscreen, thought it was a bug which got caught up on the rain. Thought it would just wash away, and noticed the car rumbles a far bit when idles in traffic and first thing was going to get that fixed!!!

Then next problem came was when coming from park, and needing to go into drive it will think it's in nuteral, so had to go 1st, 2nd, then drive (auto).

But this never happened all the time just sometimes, then next thing I noticed it will go into limp home mode i think it's called, when if I'm at the lights or doing a U-Turn it will take forever to pick up speed even with my foot all the way down.

But today I went to see a mechanic from Fordforums who kindly checked my car for no charge (thanks blownba) and came up with whats with it (as in problems).

-Trans. wont shift
-oil leaks (car had no oil when got checked)
-engine mount
-w/screen (in the end that bug was a cracked windscreen :P)
-suspension

Thats all I can think of personally, but lets say I got suck in when I asked "has it been inspected" then getting a reply back saying "yeah all our cars get checked before we get them traded in and get it checked out when it get a roadworthy *wink wink*" and thought the laws will help me, since theres apparently laws for car dealers.

But I didn't know anyone who can check out the car with me so I had to drag along my sister but next time I'm definatly going to find an adult to come and check out a car with me, get it looked at by a professional.

Last of my long post, tomorrow me and my friends mum will be going down and attempt to get a refund and should have other options around if I can get anything done. The car was purchased last Thursday and got incontact with the dealer today, and as far as I know there's the cool off deal which is 7 days?

Hopefully my post isn't confusing since I get carried away with long posts :P

Thanks.

BPXR6T · 23-08-2006, 10:57 PM

Isn't there a 30 day stat. waranty? I went to buy a porsche 928 once. Showed up and the seller was a panel shop. Asked if I could get an inspection and was told absolutely not. I couldn't run away fast enough.

My mum bought a gemini from a car yard once. It had faults and the dealer didn't want to hear about it until she threatened to go get an RWC check and take it down to the RTA. The car was fixed.

uranium_death · 23-08-2006, 11:01 PM

NEVER purchase a car on a used car dealer's word. NEVER.
Used cars, even in pristine condition already carry a risk. Minimise it and put yourelf in control and get it checked out.

The second they refuse, they have something to hide, in which case you do too. Your money. Put it back in your pocket, walk away and spread the word.

MYLO_XR6 · 23-08-2006, 11:06 PM

SCREWED!
but what do you expect for $4500? a perfect working order car?

XRQTR · 23-08-2006, 11:06 PM

There is a 3 day cooling off period though, even though no dealer will ever admi to it.

I'd get on to consumer affairs, they will give you the best advice, but a report from a qualified mechanic would be a good idea also to say that the vehicle was sold in an UNROADWORTHY state. If that fails check to see who signed off on the Roadworthy Certificate and tell them if they don't fix it you will go to Vicroads, if I recall it's about a $10k fine for them. Even if they do fix it I would still go to Vicroads, guys like these don't deserve to operate.

JTFG · 23-08-2006, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MYLO_XR6

SCREWED!
but what do you expect for $4500? a perfect working order car?

well not all to stuff up within the first week, would expect it all to stuff up over time.

fiery · 23-08-2006, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0nni

The car was purchased last Thursday and got incontact with the dealer today, and as far as I know there's the cool off deal which is 7 days?

Why didn't you contact the dealer straight away, as soon as the problems were noticed?

I think you might be pushing it with a refund.. I believe all they really have to do is 'fix' what is wrong.

If there is a 7day cooling off period you miss out anyway... You bought it Thursday but contacted today (being Wednesday)..

Good luck, hopefully you get the car fixed promptly

MYLO_XR6 · 23-08-2006, 11:14 PM

when i purchased my 1974 VK Charger, it came with a RWC....until i found MOST of the problems wern't fixed.

I got a roadwrothy report from a RWC qualified mechanic and gave it to vic roads who had a long chat with the crook of a mechanic who issued the bodgie RWC to me.

All problems fixed. He was given a warning and i think issued a fine.....fines go up to $10000 and loss of RWC license.

I felt sorry for him at first then realised how dangerous it was since ALL 4 uni joints were loose as c u n t and the tie rod? was totally bent

JTFG · 23-08-2006, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiery

Why didn't you contact the dealer straight away, as soon as the problems were noticed?

I think you might be pushing it with a refund.. I believe all they really have to do is 'fix' what is wrong.

If there is a 7day cooling off period you miss out anyway... You bought it Thursday but contacted today (being Wednesday)..

Good luck, hopefully you get the car fixed promptly

I know I should of contacted them straight away, it's just it didn't all happen at once, it took time to actually realise the problems, most of the problems I would of noticed on Monday but didn't understand the seriousness. But the dodgey roadworthy will hopefully favour myside.

If in the end I can't do much with all I can do is guess I'll just keep it for a time and sell it for cheaper then take out a loan (I don't have a job but hopefully I'll push myself to get one sooner) and get something newer, It's so depressing how this has all happened :(

But thanks anyway

OLDFORDNUT · 23-08-2006, 11:23 PM

for $4500 id expect a pristine mazda 929 , go to fair trading if yard wont fix and get their help, they will usually deal with the yard themselves with your approval,

pauljh74 · 23-08-2006, 11:27 PM

Next time - buy privately. Instead of paying money towards the dealer's profit margins, you'll get a car in better nick. Get it checked out professionally, if it is OK or above average for the money, go for it. A good car doesn't need a dodgy dealer warranty.

fiery · 23-08-2006, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0nni

I know I should of contacted them straight away, it's just it didn't all happen at once, it took time to actually realise the problems, most of the problems I would of noticed on Monday but didn't understand the seriousness. But the dodgey roadworthy will hopefully favour myside.

If in the end I can't do much with all I can do is guess I'll just keep it for a time and sell it for cheaper then take out a loan (I don't have a job but hopefully I'll push myself to get one sooner) and get something newer, It's so depressing how this has all happened :(

But thanks anyway

If the dealer isn't helpful or accommoDat!ng with fixing the issues.. baffle them with bull... Works wonders.. start sprouting off things like - I spoke with Dan Michaels from the Transport Dept and he said if I am not satisfied then I am take the car with all paperwork straight to him on blah blah road and he will look into the legality of the roadworthy...

Make up names, but use real thoughts if that makes sense..

The price you paid you would and should expect a decent roadworthy and good operating vehicle... If you had paid $500 or maybe $1500 I would say, you got what you paid for.. but not in this case..

Good luck (maybe see if someone that knows about cars can't go along with you - and if they happen to look a little scary, that is all the better LOL )

*Most of all, don't let it get you too down.. they will use your sad state against you if that makes sense.. it can be fixed, so don't stress.. It is just a matter of forcing them to pay for it to be fixed..

(apparently the word Dat!ng isn't allowed

: )

JTFG · 23-08-2006, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiery

If the dealer isn't helpful or accommoDat!ng with fixing the issues.. baffle them with bull... Works wonders.. start sprouting off things like - I spoke with Dan Michaels from the Transport Dept and he said if I am not satisfied then I am take the car with all paperwork straight to him on blah blah road and he will look into the legality of the roadworthy...

Make up names, but use real thoughts if that makes sense..

The price you paid you would and should expect a decent roadworthy and good operating vehicle... If you had paid $500 or maybe $1500 I would say, you got what you paid for.. but not in this case..

Good luck (maybe see if someone that knows about cars can't go along with you - and if they happen to look a little scary, that is all the better LOL )

*Most of all, don't let it get you too down.. they will use your sad state against you if that makes sense.. it can be fixed, so don't stress.. It is just a matter of forcing them to pay for it to be fixed..

(apparently the word Dat!ng isn't allowed

: )

the finding someone scary part sounds nice, like that :P... hmm well my mechanic said to me if theres any problems to let him know and he'll have a word.

sfr rob · 23-08-2006, 11:37 PM

you got ripped off BIG TIME!!!!! take it back, and get your full amount you paid for it back, then go somewhere else that is reputable and purchace a car from there.

fiery · 23-08-2006, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0nni

the finding someone scary part sounds nice, like that :P... hmm well my mechanic said to me if theres any problems to let him know and he'll have a word.

Well buy him (the mechanic) his poison (if he drinks that is) or sling him some cash and ask him to talk the talk..

Hope to hear of a good outcome for you... it is upsetting when you get ripped, but turning the tide on those that do rip someone is always a good thing

JTFG · 23-08-2006, 11:40 PM

OK I'm off to bed, heading off there in the morning, wish me luck, will report back and if you hear about a murder then it's most likely someone from the dealership! (probably not a good thing to mention on the forums, just edit if required lol)

Thanks guys.

JTFG · 23-08-2006, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiery

Well buy him (the mechanic) his poison (if he drinks that is) or sling him some cash and ask him to talk the talk..

Hope to hear of a good outcome for you... it is upsetting when you get ripped, but turning the tide on those that do rip someone is always a good thing

yeah my mum said maybe I should pay him to come and check it out with me, but it's a long way, other side of Melbourne. Now I'm off to bed cya :P

uranium_death · 23-08-2006, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfr rob

you got ripped off BIG TIME!!!!! take it back, and get your full amount you paid for it back, then go somewhere else that is reputable and purchace a car from there.

Money was handed over, the car was driven away. Transaction ended.

No longer can the buyer just walk in and ask for their money back.

THIS IS A USED CAR DEALER! They're almost as bad as judges and lawyers.

There will be processes involved.

LEEEEETTTTTTTTSSSS GET READY TO RUMBLE!

crannersEL · 23-08-2006, 11:47 PM

Do you want me to come down with you j0nni so i can drive you home?

McobraR · 23-08-2006, 11:52 PM

From what i learnt off my dad, always pretend u dont have money!!!
I thought we almost got screwed when buying my VT commie back in 2004, luckily i had my dad. It was selling for about $19800. They said the lowest they could go was $15000, which was still above my dads budget, when we headed off down the street i got a call saying they'll push it down to $12000. We went back and they gave us a few options... something like $12500 to get new tyres off any of the used cars they had (since the tyres on the car were already worn), OR $13000 for a set of new tyres. My dad asked for the $13000 option but with 1 year rego.... and they ended up giving it to my dad and telling him he's a hard man lol.

edit: And after a year, little things started stuffing up, like fuel pump, battery, wiring, power steering/transmission leak, oil leak... little things that just added up. So yeh, it definitely wasnt worth the $19000+ asking price. Maybe i shoulda gotten the done-up EF, or the AU, but i couldnt stand the AUs look, and they both had over 100000k and wanted a reliable car, the commie only had 77000k's on it, so it really was a bargain, and would have had less wear n tear with it

schmidty · 23-08-2006, 11:53 PM

I once bought a car that turns out had a dodgy rwc given for it. The guy turns out was mates with a service manager at the local mercedes dealership who simply wrote out a ticket. It had a broken engine mount, so under moderate to hard accelleration in first and second gear the engine would lift, gearbox and tailshaft would swing over and hit the tunnel, and gear lever would almost hit you in the leg, plus cracked windscreen, and a few other problems.

I basically went in and asked for it to be fixed as basically i'd caught him out and it'd been done dogily. None of the items were things that could have been simply overlooked. If they decline, i am entitled to have the car re inspected by another tester, then if he still doess not wish to fix the items, i was basically advised to get the required works done by onother authorised tester, send him the bill, if he refuses i could take the matter to vic roads and they'd go to town on him over the dodgy rwc and suspend his testers license.

Vic Roads do not have a sense of humour when it comes to rwc's!

Try that approach! Worked a treat for me. As soon as i mentioned involving vic roads he straight away agreed to fix everything, all was at his expense. Did it the same day, and worked back late to get it done!

I also would have expected a pristine, only driven on sundays 626 for that money too!

**Professor Farnsworth** · 24-08-2006, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0nni

hey, well last week i bought my car from a car dealer, it's a 1990 Mazda 626, well firstly you will think I'm an idiot which is fine with me, but I didn't really know much about buying and had know one with me.

Anyways story goes I bought a 626 for $4,500 with a rwc (so they say) and for the money you would expect it to be in tip top condition. The only thing on the way back home noticed something on the windscreen, thought it was a bug which got caught up on the rain. Thought it would just wash away, and noticed the car rumbles a far bit when idles in traffic and first thing was going to get that fixed!!!

Then next problem came was when coming from park, and needing to go into drive it will think it's in nuteral, so had to go 1st, 2nd, then drive (auto).

But this never happened all the time just sometimes, then next thing I noticed it will go into limp home mode i think it's called, when if I'm at the lights or doing a U-Turn it will take forever to pick up speed even with my foot all the way down.

But today I went to see a mechanic from Fordforums who kindly checked my car for no charge (thanks blownba) and came up with whats with it (as in problems).

-Trans. wont shift
-oil leaks (car had no oil when got checked)
-engine mount
-w/screen (in the end that bug was a cracked windscreen :P)
-suspension

Thats all I can think of personally, but lets say I got suck in when I asked "has it been inspected" then getting a reply back saying "yeah all our cars get checked before we get them traded in and get it checked out when it get a roadworthy *wink wink*" and thought the laws will help me, since theres apparently laws for car dealers.

But I didn't know anyone who can check out the car with me so I had to drag along my sister but next time I'm definatly going to find an adult to come and check out a car with me, get it looked at by a professional.

Last of my long post, tomorrow me and my friends mum will be going down and attempt to get a refund and should have other options around if I can get anything done. The car was purchased last Thursday and got incontact with the dealer today, and as far as I know there's the cool off deal which is 7 days?

Hopefully my post isn't confusing since I get carried away with long posts :P

Thanks.

mate that's no good to hear. when i bought a used car (old el ghia 4.0) the dealer was shonky to say the least. after the 'RWC' was completed, 2 of the 4 tyres were unroadworthy, it had 2 cracks in the windscreen, brakes were thinner than allowable width, and warped as hell, the right wing mirror was cracked, and it had tailshaft issues. Also shortly after the thermo fans failed, and the temp guage was faulty from day 1.

I didn't have the car for long enough to worry about, but make sure you have copies of everything you signed when picking it up. I doubt you will get a refund, the most they will do is actually make it roadworthy. Never know your luck when you make a little noise though.

When i bought mine, i was told i 'had' to sign a waiver in regards to the cooling off period, so i had no option there. I was too tired that day, and excited about my first Ford so i didn't really care too much. Big mistake! Wish you all the best.

Kenster · 24-08-2006, 12:42 AM

My word of advise since my dad mostly buy second car is that always get it expected and check by family or friend who is a mechanic or knows about these things.

Only had one experince which was a sort of a bad buy from a dealership was we found the car started to have fault during our family trip to Sydney car started to overheat and all. Its was a good thing that we had family who was following pull over did the check and source out the problem.

I certain wouldnt buy any used car from dealers only private since you could tell the story and find out from the owner themself, but be sure to research the car and ask someone who knows how the car like and always a good idea to check on the net about the review of the car.

Good luck in dealing with the dealership you brought the car off

atec77 · 24-08-2006, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0nni

I know I should of contacted them straight away, it's just it didn't all happen at once, it took time to actually realise the problems, most of the problems I would of noticed on Monday but didn't understand the seriousness. But the dodgey roadworthy will hopefully favour myside.

If in the end I can't do much with all I can do is guess I'll just keep it for a time and sell it for cheaper then take out a loan (I don't have a job but hopefully I'll push myself to get one sooner) and get something newer, It's so depressing how this has all happened :(

But thanks anyway

have the racq or similar inspect it , take note of the miliage and seek assistance from the correct authority in your state , they have to fix it under the obligation of warranty , are you outside the cooling off period in your state ?
do not accept the dealer bull****e and lies as a consumer you have rights and certainly the rwn mechanic will be fined if what you say is correct.

liveaus · 24-08-2006, 01:17 AM

Hi,

i am new to the forum and looking for a car manual for Ford telstar Ghia 1991 model. If anyone has it pl. if u cud email the softcopy that would help. I had recently purchased the car and its speedometer is not working, the dealer is getting it fixed for a price though.

Is there any member / service master from Adelaide ?

Cheers

Abacus · 24-08-2006, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MYLO_XR6

SCREWED!
but what do you expect for $4500? a perfect working order car?

For $4,500 he could have expected to a neat, tidy and serviceable 1990 626, not one with the problems described.

LTDHO · 24-08-2006, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pauljh74

Next time - buy privately. Instead of paying money towards the dealer's profit margins, you'll get a car in better nick. Get it checked out professionally, if it is OK or above average for the money, go for it. A good car doesn't need a dodgy dealer warranty.

I agree 100%.

Why pay someone to sell you a car, a dodgy one at that!

There are ways to have a car checked prior to purchase if you are not confident yourself.

I hate hearing peopl say the bought a car from a yard for $10,000 and assume that is what it's worth. Fact is you bought a $8000 and put $2000 in his pocket.

Good luck with the faults, remember RWC is to only to make sure the vehicle is safe.

JTFG · 24-08-2006, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crannersEL

Do you want me to come down with you j0nni so i can drive you home?

thanks for that cranners, well tim's mum is gonna take me down there, theres just so much crap you can use against the dealer and whereever it got a roady which should be helpful.

ALSO, on the contract with the terms on the back it says...

" (2) Where this contract is lawfully terminated by either the purchaser or the seller due to clause 13 for any reason other than a breach of this contract by the seller then seller shall-

(a) refund to the purchaser all money paid by or on behalf of the purchaser; and
(b) return any trade-in vehicle to the purchaser"

theres a few more points which should support me on the contracts terms.

Free347 · 24-08-2006, 09:55 AM

what is clause 13?

Laminge · 24-08-2006, 09:56 AM

I think the only thing to support you is having a RWC issued prior going back to the dealer, aka having it done a couple of days ago.

If he turns around and says those problems where not there when the car was sold, what evidence do you have to put him back in his hole?

Don't go armed with just the contract wording, you will walk out 2nd best in my opinion.