2012 Cadillac CTS Coupe - how do I get help from the manufacturer?

I am not telling the bank they have to fix my car but I am telling them that the dealer has misrepresented the product they sold for which they have provided a loan. Which is a breech of contract therefor canceling the contract.

If you had towed the car to the selling dealer so they could assess the damage they may have offered some assistance, having another shop disassemble any part of the engine for inspection may have removed any chance of help from the dealer. I have seen used cars return with sludge damage and the dealer took care of the problem.

Calling the dealer and asking for a different car because this one is broke will not get a positive response.

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The law states I don’t have to use the dealer I purchased the car from to diagnose repair and maintain my vehicle. And a claim can’t be denied for taking it elsewhere. I asked for suggestions not a but a guesses about what’s legal and negative BS. I have a real problem that was no fault of mine and I am looking for a solution. The book value for the car is about 15. I owe 19 and some change on the loan. I am not looking for free money I am looking for a way to make the problem go away where everyone wins. The dealer has the ability to make that happen. How well with manufacturer incentive money and doing a good deal on a new car. That would eat up the negative equity and not put me in a position that I can’t ever recover from. Fair for everyone/ Really its about what’s right and ethical. At the end of the day If an attorney is involved the dealer GM and the Bank will end up losing. I won’t ever be able to get a loan from this one specific bank and will most likely take a hit on my credit until the issue is resolved but rest assured the dealers misrepresentation of the cars internal condition will result in this car being replaced. The simple smart resolution is communication and working together to resolve this issue as I continue requesting. We as consumers don’t have to believe everything some Jackie thinks they know. We have rights that protect us from people that sell products that aren’t what they represent. I’m done now because the only one that gave some solid information and feedback was Bing. Who is correct my options are to replace the engine at 5 to 10k or eat the deal and let them repo or try and work out a deal like I am proposing where everyone wins or sue and waste of bunch of time and energy.

Does the original factory warranty follow to the second owner for Cadiallac? Not all factory warranties transfer to subsequent owners
regardless, I think the factory powertrain warranty is 5 years or 100,000 miles not the 7 year figure you originally quoted


The book value of the car might have been $15,000 in excellent condition (meaning no body damage and no mechanical problems) but you don’t have a used car in excellent condition–you have a vehicle that does not run, and will cost at least $5,000 to repair. Realistically, your car has a fair market value of about $2,000 in its present condition, and if the lender is forced to repossess, it will sell for somewhere around $800-1000 at auction.

At this point, you have the following options, depending on your overall financial situation, other debts, etc:

  1. You could pay to have a used, rebuilt, or remanufactured engine installed at a mechanic of your choice.

  2. You could tow the vehicle to a GM dealer, get an estimate for a new engine, and contact GM to see what (if any) goodwill amount they might pay toward this repair. This is likely to be fruitless if the problem was due to poor maintenance from previous owner(s), but it may be worth the towing charges and diagnostic fee to find out. If the problem truly is a manufacturing defect, GM might offer to pay a portion of the repair costs, even though you are out of warranty.

  3. You could attempt to trade in the vehicle for something else, rolling about $15-16,000 of negative equity into the new loan.

  4. You could simply default on the loan, let the lender have their broken-down car back, and deal with the problem if/when you get sued.

If you are a person with significant income and assets, and can afford to replace the engine, that would be your best option. Lenders generally sue debtors who appear to have the income and assets to pay a judgment. Furthermore, they know that even if the (high-income) debtor declares bankruptcy, they will still end up paying some or all of the debts.

If you have no realistic chance of being able to repair the car and continue making the payments, then you are better off to cut your losses and stop paying now. You could even tell the bank to come pick up their collateral. In that case, you probably don’t own anything above your state’s bankruptcy exemptions, which means that if you are sued for a deficiency balance, you could simply file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and eliminate your debts.

Did the car they sell you last 3 months or 3000 miles ? where is the misrepresentation ?

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You paid 24k And it’s worth 15k now? Either you paid too much or you have a crazy depreciation curve or your payments are way too small.
When did u pay 24k?

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People People People
I paid 24 plus tax and tags. I put 4500 down leaving about 19,800 balance. I’ve made 8 payments with about 90% going to interest which leaves me with a 19K balance. The car is in beautiful condition on the outside and inside. Minus the engine issues. After looking on NADA and Kelly Blue Book I can expect to get 12 to 15 for my trade with the engine needing to be replaced. If I buy a brand new car at 24-27k and get 5 to 7k in manufactures discounts and rebates I can end up buying a new car for less than I am paying now because new car interest rates are significantly lower than used car interest rates. Current interest rate is 16.99. New car interest rate would be 6.99 based on my credit rating.

That there were no mechanical issues and that the engine is in perfect working condition. I performed all maintenance and took care of the car better than most. Scheduled maintenance plus always garaged and cleaned every week.

I do not believe this at all. Assuming that “excellent condition” dealer retail for this model with whatever mileage your car has is about $20k, there’s simply no way on Earth they could give you anywhere near $12-15k trade-in credit even if they could get an engine for free and have one of their on-staff mechanics install it.

I don’t believe this either. I am not aware of any models in the price range you quote with direct-to-customer rebates of anywhere near $5k, let alone $7k. Even if such a model exists, you the customer end up paying for the rebate in the form of rapid depreciation. There is no free lunch. In any case, you aren’t going to be able to trade in your Cadillac for much more than $2k in its current condition, so the huge negative equity eats up any potential “savings”.

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Bad things happen to good people. It’s a used car with at least two owners. If you believe the financial subsidiary of GM is in any way financially tied to the car manufacturing entity and liable for merchantability
well good luck. This isn’t their first rodeo, no one sets up a company with that kind of legal weakness. Good luck with that connection as the “holder” of your note


You better read your express warranty because they almost always specify you give up your rights to the implied warranty by accepting theirs. Some states prohibit this but does your home state?

And, all warranties, even implied have some sunset period. They don’t last in perpetuity.

The idea that you dump the broken down car on the dealer and they sell you a new car is a win-win will also be a tough sell. Doesn’t sound like a good deal if I’m that business owner. They are going to want proof you didn’t cause or contribute to the failure before they consider any goodwill gesture. You know how many dishonest people they deal with on a regular basis looking to scam them? No way they take your word on face value no matter how nice you appear. They have a right to examine the evidence- the car and your maintenance records. If you don’t provide that chance, the hill gets steeper yet


Sincerely, good luck. Sound like a good guy that suffered a loss not of your doing. But you’re about to be put into a position to “prove it”.

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Then why don’t you just sue the dealer?

Prove it, I can do! I have changed the oil and used Mobile One each time and have the service records. The mechanic I use is ASE Master Mechanic and GM Certified. My previous car was a Corvette and the only reason I got this is that my kids came back to live with me after realizing the grass wasn’t greener at their moms. LOL. But I spend a lot of time in my car for work so keeping it running and well maintained is something I make sure happens.

Warranties are either express or implied. Express warranties are those offered by manufacturers or sellers for a given product. Implied warranties are those that are created by operation of law. California enforces both express and implied warranty and has a host of consumer protection laws that apply to both.

California Warranties, Rules, and Consumer Protection Law

There are a few different sets of rules that apply to warranties in California:

  • California has adopted the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) which is a collection of rules and requirements that relate to the purchase and sale of goods. All 50 states across the US have adopted either part or whole of the UCC. There are a wide variety of different warranty rights created by the UCC including, among other things, a right vested in the buyer to be able to return or refuse goods that are defective.
  • The Song Beverly Consumer Warranty Act is a California Consumer Protection Law that deals with lemon law claims. Under this law, manufacturers are required to either attempt to repair an item, or to replace the item or refund the consumer’s money if a reasonable number of repair attempts have not corrected the defect.

A number of other regulations under California Consumer Protection Law may also be in place to protect consumers. Among these laws are rules that require manufacturers to enforce express warranties, whether those warranties are made orally or are made as part of an advertisement.

I don’t want to have to do that but it seems that is the most likely course of action based on their desire to do what’s right at this point.

Implied warranty claims must be made within 1 year.

But it was bought 7 months ago, so that warranty is over.

Calif. civil code 1791.1:

c) The duration of the implied warranty of merchantability and where present the implied warranty of fitness shall be coextensive in duration with an express warranty which accompanies the consumer goods, provided the duration of the express warranty is reasonable; but in no event shall such implied warranty have a duration of less than 60 days nor more than one year following the sale of new consumer goods to a retail buyer. Where no duration for an express warranty is stated with respect to consumer goods, or parts thereof, the duration of the implied warranty shall be the maximum period prescribed above.

So, it has to be at least 60 days, and beyond that it only has to last the duration of the express warranty, which was 90 days. So you’re out of the implied warranty of merchantability by dint of being out of the express warranty. Besides that, the term “new consumer goods” is important, because your used car is not new.

For your used car, Cali warranty law says that the implied warranty is required in a certified-pre-owned vehicle, and that only has to last a minimum of 30 days.

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I find it hard to believe that you can expect a used car to be in “perfect” condition. It’s been a few years but I thought the UCC was a commercial code not a retail one. At any rate, you’re paying a lawyer so listen to him/her/it and proceed. I’d keep my eye on the billable hours though. They can add up in a hurry. You don’t need us anymore though.

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I am not an attorney, and even if I were, this would not be legal advice. That being said, I fail to see any merit in the argument that the manufacturer or selling dealer have any legal responsibility for this used car which was purchased 7 months ago. I see the OP spending thousands of dollars on legal fees for a claim which will be laughed out of court. Better to just take that money and fix the car, and maintain it properly going forward.

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Please quote the state law that backs this up. I’m aware of none.

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There are used motors online for $1k. And higher.
Running. Not cores. <100k miles