Bought a Used Car and Transmission Failed

[whrggo09]

Last week I was unfortunate enough to purchase a vehicle in Flagstaff, AZ, the vehicle is a used 2006 Volkswagen Jetta with 100,000 miles. I purchased the car on Tuesday and took it home on Wednesday. On Saturday I began a cross country journey in my 'new and safe' car. On Tuesday, while driving at highway speeds the transmission failed and damaged the front axles. The repair costs for the vehicle is $5,000 and the buying price was $10,150. Due to technicalities the dealership owns the vehicle until Saturday so I called to inform them of the situation. Arizona used car protection only provides protection for 15 days or 500 miles and I am outside of the 500 miles. The dealer has offered $1300 and promised to cash in on the financing offer for $10,150. The vehicle is not worth that much when the costs of repairs is included and the after repair estimate.
Given the situation do I have any options legally? Are there other laws that could help me? According to my research I may be able to sue for breach of contract or fraud. I was told the vehicle was thoroughly inspected and mechanically sound. Please give me some advice!
PS: if I pursue legal recourse do I continue to pay the car payment? I will need to purchase a new vehicle as well.

 

[Betty3]

Why did you not have the vehicle inspected before you bought it?

 

[mightymoose]

You have an uphill battle. If you bought the car without a warranty then you really should have gotten your own inspection done. Even then a transmission problem may not have been discovered. You will have to show they knew if the problem if you are going to get anywhere, and that is very unlikely.

 

[disagreeable]

The problem appears to be related to the new owner who failed to inspect the car and complete necessary transmission service prior to embarking on a trip. It is reasonable to assume the prior owner ignored one or both of the previous filter/fluid change intervals which would have been blatantly obvious had you bothered to look at the fluid.

 

[army judge]

First the economic lesson: NEVER buy a car with 100,000 miles on it. Better yet, be wary when buying ANY used car.

A used car is like a used boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife: he/she may look good, but there's a reason its on the market, issues, problems, troubles, NOTHING is perfect.

Always be wary, and caution can be of great value in all things.

Fast forward to your situation, never rely SOLELY upon the seller's assertions, as the SELLER has a vested interest in selling the THING.

I'm afraid, if there is a remedy for you, its in a civil court.

That's a long, exhausting, and expensive prospect; and very risky.

You have an offer on the table, (dealer has offered $1300 and promised to cash in on the financing offer for $10,150); that's where I would start.

You'll take a hit on this, and continue to take a monthly payment hit until you reach an offer you can live with.

You'll need to share some of the pain, but that's the quickest way out of this debacle.

How much pain can you bear WITHOUT bearing ALL of the pain?

Only YOU can answer that, but that's the question I would struggle with IF I were in your position.

 

[disagreeable]

I wasn't going to say it AJ. He could have bought a new car for $15k.

 

[army judge]

I wasn't going to say it AJ. He could have bought a new car for $15k.

I'll never understand this insistence on buying EVERYTHING virtually these days.

Don't get me wrong, Big D, because I am a staunch user of Amazon, if for nothing more than a way to eliminate or thwart the greedy, confiscatory sales tax policies.

But, i digress and rant, so back to basics.

Buying a car online is something I just can't do.

Buying a laptop, lcd monitor, or many other items works nicely online; but never through certain unscrupulous online purveyors.

Come on, you're begging to be ripped off.