Well yeah to a seasoned shopper. I was 17 and bought my first pile of junk from a dealer. They lowered the price three times on their own before I wrote th3 check. Not sure how old he was but went to look at a car. When the guy pulled out the salvage title, I shook my head no but he wanted the car. We came out of it ok by luck and some work on my part.
Sure these are learning experiences for kids but that’s why adults should not take advantage. Would you or I sell a car with a rotted frame to a kid? No.
All these people talking about lawyers and demand letters, don’t be silly. Not only would that be a waste of money, but I think it’s overkill for the situation. Instead of throwing good money after bad (an attorney is going to charge a few hundred bucks to write a demand letter), why not just call this “family friend”, explain the situation, and ask to return the vehicle?
You have proof of its condition in writing from a professional mechanic. If it’s rusted out, that certainly didn’t happen during 3 weeks of your ownership.
But of course. Many law firms give you a free half hour consultation. A letter may be a little extra. Small claims is very cheap with just a filing fee and no lawyers allowed.
But yeah, the first requirement is to seek redress from the guy and if that fails go to the next step.
Maybe this is where grampa should make the call and ask what heck he did?
If you decide to shred it, ask the mechanic who told you about the rust problem if they’d like to buy it. You might get a little more from the mechanic than the shredder.
I thought the same thing. The only time a professional mechanic (or shop) would want to buy a vehicle is if it needed expensive mechanical repairs, which are mostly labor, and could therefore be fixed and flipped for far less than the retail price of those repairs. Any rust or body damage negates the possibility of flipping a vehicle for profit.
This vehicle is basically scrap metal at this point, unless someone wants to buy it for parts, which might mean 2-3 times scrap value (in other words, about $450-650 to someone who wishes to part it out. Otherwise, it’s worth about $200 for scrap steel.
Very sorry for your experience. A lot of good advice already given: second opinion, possible repair and life lesson.
Personally I don’t think there is enough money involved to attract an attorney. The most fruitful approach to my mind is through your grandparents to the seller. What kind of friend does this? The representation that the sellers mechanic said there was nothing seriously wrong with the vehicle is not credible.
Possibly the Seller wasn’t aware of the full extent of the problem and if so working through your grandparents may be the solution.
Alternatively, as a last ditch, an auction like CoParts may get your best return. I’ve seen more than a few similar vehicles sold through them to Third World buyers at pretty good prices.
Well I did say “last ditch” (for the Seller) but there actually a positive to selling to Third World buyers.
What we consider Unrepairable Junk is actually often repairable but not at our domestic rates.
Repairs done at $10/hour vs our $100/hour may make economic sense, provide another buyer with affordable transportation and keep another vehicle out of the landfill.
If they can fix it themselves or barter for the fix in might work outside the US. An hourly rate of $10:seems low here, but may be high when income levels are low. Cuba is a good example.
You’re gonna have a hard time using a welder in Cuba with a nation wide blackout.
The question has always been who should take the hit for an unsafe junk car, the unsuspecting student or the guy that pawned it off on her?
When I was a kid I wanted an old bike to use in the winter. I know $15 was too much for that piece of junk but the old guy wouldn’t negotiate. He said if it’s worth anything it’s worth $15. Right it wasn’t worth anything and should have given it away. I’ve dealt with these people before.
On a recent podcast Ray complained that the USA politicos are overly cautious, treating the population like children, and requiring safety features that aren’t actually needed and needlessly boosting the car-prices. He was talking about a car that wouldn’t start b/c of a clutch or neutral safety switch failure as I recall.
Cuba is an example of where old cars from the US end up. They could also go to Mexico, Central America, and Africa. Given the low value I expect that cars like to one we are discussing here wouldn’t travel far from home to keep transportation costs down. Cuba is something like 90 miles from Florida.
My advice, get photos 1st of rust and affected areas. 2nd if you are driving it, avoid bumps that are in an incline and leading to a greater incline. This way you avoid the subframe/cradle from “over reaching” that could cause the cradle to snap in half. Happened to me on a 2009 escape, not a cheap fix. 3rd safety first, idk your road conditions but avoid excessive pot holes. To really help on putting a price, the photos will tell me if salvageable or if its junk. If you already sold or returned it then disregard this message.