Q–In July 2000 I purchased a used 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix from a used-car store. I immediately noticed a number of things wrong, such as it pulled to the right, body trim was loose, radio speaker was blown, electric windows went up slowly, inside door panel was loose, radio display shut off when fog lights were turned on, check tire-pressure light went on as soon as I left the dealer lot, air-conditioning took 10 minutes to cool, seat-belt tension was slack and the engine was rough when starting.
I contacted the store two to three days later concerned over the pulling to the right and tire pressure warning light. A week later I brought the car in and told them all of my concerns, except for the loose trim and seat belts.
When I called to check on my car, the service writer thought he put me on hold, but didn’t, and I heard the mechanic tell him my car needed an engine overhaul, but he didn’t feel like doing it, so just tell me it had been done. When I told the service writer what I heard, he said “oops.”
After picking up my car, I noticed just about everything was still wrong. I kept going back again. But finally gave up and stopped going back for two months, when I returned to get the items fixed and was told nothing was wrong.
What irritates me is that I had purchased an extended warranty. I asked the store if I could take my car to another dealership to have the repairs done and if they would cover the cost. I was told I could. So I went to another dealership, and in addition to the old problems I had a few more–rear defroster not working, driver-side windshield washer sprayer not working as well as the passenger side, engine sputtering on inclines, seat belts not retracting and noisy heater.
The other dealer is fixing the problems, but I’m having trouble getting the extended warranty company to pay because it says the rear-window defroster was damaged when someone tried removing a decal from the glass and that the engine sputtering isn’t a mechanical problem.
I’m extremely disappointed. My car obviously wasn’t well inspected, as the store advertises it does before selling its cars. And while the salesman told me the only thing not covered by my extended warranty was regular maintenance, there have been many exclusions. If I could shout it from a rooftop, I’d let the world know how badly I’ve been treated. W.W., Bolingbrook
A–Hate to be the one to tell you, but you got what you asked for.
The dealer didn’t inspect the car before selling it? The buyer didn’t inspect the car before purchasing it!
Rough engine start? You had to know that the minute you turned the key to test-drive it, which you obviously didn’t, or at least the minute you turned the key to leave the store, in which case you should not have left the lot until that problem was solved.
Body trim loose? Should have spotted that before you got in the car to take a test drive.
Pulls to the right? Would have spotted that in less than a block during your test drive before the purchase.
Windows go up slowly? Tire-pressure warning light goes on? No cold air for 10 minutes? Seat-belt tension too slack? Each one should have been spotted during the test drive.
It would appear that the store advertised it inspects all trade-ins for mechanical and physical condition before selling them as used cars. And based on that promise you handed over a check and then got in the car for the first time to go home. That’s when you noticed a few problems, like starting the car. And when you finally did start it, finding that you were driving south when the wheel was pointed east.
We’ve long advised that you arrange to have a mechanic check out a used vehicle before you buy because based on his or her skill, troubles can be spotted in seconds. But you didn’t even need a mechanic to tell you that when a car won’t start properly or that it tends to favor driving on the sidewalk rather than the road when it does, that you would have been wise to run, not walk, from the store.
Worse, you bought an extended warranty and found that it basically doesn’t cover anything. Get down to the dealership, cancel the warranty and get a prorated refund.
You don’t wait two or three days after buying a car to bring it back for repairs. You take a test drive before buying it and tell the salesman that once all the items you find wrong are fixed, you will consider negotiating a purchase price (same applies to buying a new car). In this case, after the test drive, you should have turned to the salesman and said, “Good-bye.”
By the way, rather than shout your disgust from the highest rooftop, we suggest you voice your anger while standing in front of the mirror, because the person needing to get the message will be looking back at you.
Q–I’m about to buy a Honda Odyssey minivan and need an unbiased opinion about purchasing rustproofing for it. I intend to keep it a long time.A.T., Orland Park
Well, the first 10,000 times we answered that question, we said there’s no need to purchase rustproofing. Nothing has happened to make us change that opinion.
