Grandparents bought a car from private party, and it broke down already...

D-Frag · 05-04-2007, 01:44 AM

I know here in AZ we have a lemon law thingy, basically if someone sells you a car, and tells you everything is peachy keen, and you take it to an "honest" mechanic afterward and find out there is a ton of crap wrong with it, you can get your money back, or take them to court. I would call someone, preferably NOT ghostbusters though, they wont be able to help you here.

sorry about the crappy luck

jessicam · 05-04-2007, 03:00 AM

Oh man I hate my focus. One thing that has consistently gone wrong since it was about a year old is every few months to a year the starter gets all pancaked up and the key won't even turn. This is a known focus issue and they just replace the starter each time.

I hope they are able to get it fixed without too much cost or could even get their money back. I will never own another ford. What a piece of crap.

Blahzay · 05-04-2007, 03:36 AM

Probally would be hard to make a case when its sold as it but laws vary with the state so who knows.

cornfed · 05-04-2007, 03:54 AM

My state has a lemon law, too. It's worth checking into. Sorry about all this - sucks.

Patrick Shannon · 05-04-2007, 03:34 PM

I dunno....if the "as-is" was pretty apparent, that may be their defense right there. But look up the laws, and I guess it depends on the situation too. On the flip side, hopefully the car can be repaired for a reasonable price.

Logo-Mechanix · 05-04-2007, 03:39 PM

Sorry about the bad luck Mike, I would check your states website they may have something on their regarding this. People who take advantage of the elderly should be horse whipped in my book but maybe these people did think the car was okay.

John G · 05-04-2007, 03:53 PM

Isn't that more of the point when selling your car? Usually you try and sell it right when it gets to the point where it's just getting old or in need of work (62-75k miles). Make it someone else's problem not yours.

Could be just a coincidence as well.
My brother's focus was bought used, a week after he had it, the fuel line sprung a leak where it met the tank, and he's had all sorts of weird problems every now and then. And then you had my escort that went from 68k to 136k and no work needing to be done except timining belts, spark plugs and oil changes.

MD · 05-04-2007, 03:54 PM

The Ford Focus is a shitty car. A friend of mine bought one of the first ones when they came out - that car was in the shop every other week. Eventually she ended up suing Ford (class action suit?) and got them to pay over $7000 to take care of the rest of her loan.

Patrick Shannon · 05-04-2007, 04:39 PM

Originally posted by Logo-Mechanix

maybe these people did think the car was okay.

Could be. I used to drive a 1989 Cavalier that lasted me years and years until I sold it in 2003. At that time it worked fine (aside from the AC not working). It ended up breaking down on my buyer like a few months later.

Fortunately it was only worth under $500 and that's what he paid for it.

Logo-Mechanix · 05-04-2007, 04:52 PM

I drove a 1992 Suzuki Samurai for 112,000 miles and then gave it to my Mom and she's still driving it.

**morea** · 05-04-2007, 05:19 PM

first, you go to their house holding a shovel and nicely ask for your money back...

ok, not really.

The fact that the car was sold "as is" screams "red flag" to me. Did your grandparents have it checked out by a mechanic before they shelled out the cash? My mechanic was always willing to take a few moments to look over a car at low/no cost to let clients know if he thought that it was a wise purchase.

I believe that the lemon laws (etc) vary from state to state; I checked the NY DMV website and noticed the following:

Originally posted by NY DMV site

Contact the Office of the NYS Attorney General to get general information about the "Lemon Law". Call 1-800-771-7755 (1-800-788-9898 for hearing impaired persons) to get information about complaints and the "Lemon Law."

That's where I would start if I were you - your state's DMV website, or your state's attorney general.

Hope it works out for the best.

MD · 05-04-2007, 05:24 PM

Originally posted by morea

The fact that the car was sold "as is" screams "red flag" to me. Did your grandparents have it checked out by a mechanic before they shelled out the cash? My mechanic was always willing to take a few moments to look over a car at low/no cost to let clients know if he thought that it was a wise purchase.

I believe that the lemon laws (etc) vary from state to state; I checked the NY DMV website and noticed the following:

They should have had it checked out by a mechanic first. I don't think the car being sold "as is" automatically red flags it, most private sales are. Also I had always thought that the "Lemon Law" only applied to new cars - not used ones.

LeftBrain Artist · 05-04-2007, 05:58 PM

Originally posted by MikeTheVike

The sellers sold it "as-is" but said there was nothing wrong with the car. A week later the car won't start.

So, does it turn over at all?

Patrick Shannon · 05-04-2007, 07:10 PM

My eBay rules for example tend to be "as is." One time I sold a Powerbook that the buyer ended up having an annoying amount of troubles with, then I just said "screw it" and refunded him after he sent it back.

It was user error. I ran a scan and format on the unit, and it continued to work just fine for a few years after. I would sell it on eBay again, with "AS IS" on the top.

Grandparents bought a car from private party, and it broke down already...

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