MovingForward
Palm Beach Gardens,#2Consumer Comment
Sat, October 27, 2012
I suspect you let him go on his own to the dealership. Naturally, he is an adult now so it's a good thing that he is learning this lesson in his early years as it will be an excellent reminder each and every month when he makes his payment to always read the contract first. As pointed out above, he clearly didn't have a third party inspection done by an independent mechanic. And it looks like he never actually read the contract he signed.
Don't jump in now Mad Mom....he really needs to learn this lesson the hard way so he won't make the same mistake in the future . But please make sure he understands that he can't have the vehicle repo'ed without serious credit consequences for many years. Talk to him before he gets the brilliant idea to just return the truck and not make the payments on it. 18 yr old "adults" have a tendency to think that they can just return the collateral and the loan will disappear. That would be a terrible mistake that could cost your son his credit and many, many thousands of dollars. The mistake he made can be fixed, but not by bringing the vehicle back to the dealership. Good luck.
Jim
Orlando,#3Consumer Comment
Sat, October 27, 2012
What governs the nature of this transaction is the contract your son signed and any additional agreements. One of those was the federally mandated disclosure statement regarding a warranty. Your son would have signed a statement indicating he understands he is buying the car "AS IS" with any and all problems and as such, the dealer is NOT obligated to fix the car for free. Of course, that same statement would indicate if the purchase contained a warranty. Without regard to if this was an "AS IS" sale or "Warranty Included" sale, your son should have had this car checked over by a mechanic of HIS choice as well as taking the car on a test drive. If the serious problems were as obvious as you indicate, they could have been spotted BEFORE THE SALE, and your son could have walked away.
Should the dealer have provided free service on an "AS IS" sale? NO! The dealer should have had that car checked over BEFORE putting it out for sale! No reputable dealer wants to sell junk and no reputable dealer wants to push off junk on anybody. However, the Sleazy American Car Business has earned its well deserved reputation. Therefore, we need to be SMART CONSUMERS when dealing with these people.