When you trade in a car, two transactions take place: 1)you buy a car from the dealer and 2) the dealer buys a car from you. You bought a new car that comes with a factory warranty. The dealer bought your car and effectively purchased it “as is”. If you purchased a car from a dealer “as is”, anything that happens after the purchase is your problem. By the same token, anything that happens after the dealer purchases your car is the dealer’s problem.
Even if you had a clunker and deceived the appraisor by putting thick oil in the crankcase to hide a connecting rod bearing knock, put bannans in the differential to conceal a whining pinion gear, put eggs in the radiator to plug a leak, or regrooved the tires to make them appear to have more tread, it is still the dealer’s problem.
I would bet that the dealer made enough profit on your deal to cover the situation. If not, the dealer needs to fire his appraisor and hire a different one.
You essentially let the dealer taste a spoon of what they feed us-used car buyers-everyday. Good job. The sale is “as is” in almost every state I have been in. If they call your work place one more time, tell them you are going to sue them for harassment and defamation.
If you really hate them, can go back there and slip and fall on the entrance:)
They’re trying to BS you into something and they cannot do anything to you about that vehicle. It doesn’t matter if the engine blew up 5 minutes after you left the lot; it’s their baby now, warts and all.
IF the engine is blown up then maybe they should be taking a look at someone who may have had a hand in moving that car around the lot; a detail person, a lead-footed salesman who decided to take it to lunch, or whatever.
I’m in agreement with galant. If they persist in this, even one more time, I’d see a lawyer about suing them just on general principles or those debilitating injuries you suffered when you tripped over a negligently placed WELCOME mat during your visit to discuss this with them.
If they have the signed title to the car you traded in, it’s theirs now. Ask them if they’d be on the hook a day later if you had bought a used car and the engine blew up.
If they refuse to give you the registration, simply walk out and start making some phone calls to the state AG’s office and ask them what your rights are in this situation
Some states treat dealer SALES differently than those between private parties. The reason is a dealer is supposed to be a professional and know more than a private seller. In those cases, the dealer may have to provide some sort of warranty even if it is a used car. As-is where-is is not enforceable on those sales. Most private party transactions are assumed to be as-is unless fraud is involved. Fraud can be very difficult to prove in court.
When you sell a used car to the dealer, they are on the hook to insure what they are buying is worth the money they are paying. Again, they are the professionals. Unless they could prove you had defrauded them in some way, they are out of luck.
They’re using scare tactics to try and get you to come back to the bargaining table. As mentioned, tell them to pound sand. A lawyer is unnecessary and would end up costing you a bunch of money because they’re not working for you on a contingency. You pay their hourly rate for this kind of support. You’ll get nothing more than enforcement of the contract anyway and that you could win easily even if they decide to take you to court.
Let us know what happens when you go to get your registration…
my son traded a camaro at a dealership several years ago, and after they drove and inspected it, a deal was made. Since i had to co-sign they called the next day and said they thought the rear end was going out and what was i going to do about, i told them since it was not my car anymore i was not going to do a thing. I never heard from them again. Got rid of that car just in time.
A competent dealer almost always knows what he is doing when he accepts a trade-in. Many years ago, my first wife’s father had a 1964 Ford that was really over the hill. He had seen a 1968 Mercury Montego that was unsold when the 1969 models were introduced. He looked at the car, drove 100 miles back home and decided after a week that he really wanted the car. I checked with the dealer and the car was still available. Well, we went to the dealer, and while examining the car, we found out that the car had been sold the night before. My father-in-law happened to ask if the customer had traded a car. The answer was that the customer had traded in a 1965 Mercury Monterey with only 20,000 miles. We all rode out to the customer’s house to look at the car and my father-in-law drove the Monterey. When we got back to the dealer the bargaining began. The difference started at $1200. My father-in-law insisted that this was too much and that there was a lot of service left in the old Ford. He finally managed to get the dealer down to $600. We all returned to the customer’s house–the salesman drove the new car for the customer and I rode with my father-in-law in the 1964 Ford. The license plates were swapped from the 1964 Ford to the 1965 Mercury Monterey. My in-laws left in their new purchase and I rode back to the dealership in the 1964 Ford. As we rode along leaving a trail of blue smoke and the gears grinding every time the salesman had to shift, he said, “Well, here is one that goes to the auction block”. Despite what my father-in-law had said about his old Ford, nobody was fooled. He got rid of a piece of junk and the dealer knew he was getting a heap.
My sister got hozed by Car Max back in 2009. She went and ‘traded’ in her car. She had her new car for a month when Car Max called and said the original lender had backed out and they wanted the car back. however they had already ‘sold’ her car at auction and came up about $1000 short on what she owned them on it as she had bought the traded car from them a few years back and financed through them. So she basically ended up with no car, and having to come up with $1000 to pay Car Max.
She was told the car wasn’t financed and they would not finance her and that they had “bought” her car from her and since they didn’t give her what was owed they rolled that part over onto the new car. Well since they didn’t get the monies from the bank, she still owed on the previous car. She was told she had to give the car back. Her car was long gone that she traded in as it went to auction and was sold. What was funny was me and her were in Vegas when the Car Max called her and demanded the car right then. When told she wouldn’t be back in town for another 3 days they got real crappy with here and wanted her to have someone else return the car. She said they could go get it, they refused, so upon our return, against my view, she returned it.
She couldn’t get any other finance because before we went out to Vegas she was laid off. Now she was given a genours “leave” package and had work again in about a month, but when she turned the car back in “technically” she had no job and that is why CAr Max wouldn’t finance this car.
That just sounds wrong. One would think they were held to the original approval, but I guess not. OK here is a car, everything is good, one month later bring it back, your loan has not been approved, oh by the way you owe us $1000! That sucks big time. I suppose the bright side is she did not get charged for use of the car in that month, but if it was me I would be like that is wrong, wrong, wrong, you sold me the car, deal with it.
I would have beaten the ever lovin’ cr@p out of it on the return trip. Then taken them to court for the lost value on the trade. Assuming I was willing to submit to their bullying in the first place…
What’s really funny is I bet the dealership makes anyone buying a used car sign an “As-Is” disclaimer and an acknowledgment that there is no warranty or guarantee on anything.
I haven’t seen an update posted, I wonder what has happened if the car dealership backed off. Did the OP say if this was a dealership or a used car lot or what.
