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First, I know I brought the car As-is. But my know-it-all mother seems to think I have some sort of case.
The story is I brought a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport. She had her mechanic friend look at said car for any leaks or other obvious problems.
The first two weeks the car has been running just fine.
Then
1. Check Engine light came on....Discovered it was an O2 sensor.
2. I drove to downtown Raleigh and everytime I got out of the car, the alarm would go off. Eventually that stopped.
3. The horn works when it wants to.
4. The biggest discovery and the one that has me concerned is the fact that when I took it to meineke for an Oil change, they discovered the oil pan has been patched and plugged and they could unplug it but they couldn't guarantee they could plug it up.
I was quoted $1400 for repairs for the oil pan which was also repeated by several other shops as well. Given its year and mileage (190,000) I was told it wasn't worth it.
But do I have a case to take this dude to court? Because I do feel deceived.
You can certainly file in small claims court, but I don't know how you can prove he: 1. Knew about the issues, 2. Failed to tell you. It will just be a he said/he said argument. And the fact that you took it to a mechanic and bought it anyway raises the burden of proof on you even higher.
I was quoted $1400 for repairs for the oil pan which was also repeated by several other shops as well.
$1400 seems way high. Maybe they are quoting for replacing the oil pan with a brand new part. Depending on the nature of the damage the oil pan you have may be repairable.
Don't overlook the possibility that you can leave the oil pan just as it is. Some shops have a machine with a long thin tube which is inserted (temporarily) in place of the dipstick. A vacuum pump draws the used oil out. The long thin tube is removed, the dipstick returned to its normal location, and fresh oil is added in the usual manner.
$1400 seems way high. Maybe they are quoting for replacing the oil pan with a brand new part. Depending on the nature of the damage the oil pan you have may be repairable.
Don't overlook the possibility that you can leave the oil pan just as it is. Some shops have a machine with a long thin tube which is inserted (temporarily) in place of the dipstick. A vacuum pump draws the used oil out. The long thin tube is removed, the dipstick returned to its normal location, and fresh oil is added in the usual manner.
.
Only thing is that a lot of places that change oil simply won't want to touch the oil pan if it's damaged/patched in the way you describe it. Because if they touch it and mess something up, they'll be held responsible for fixing it. They don't want to pull out that last Jenga block because it might topple over, if you know what I mean.
With salvage yards, you may be able to get a replacement oil pan (LKQ comes to mind) and have it put on for a cheaper price at a mechanics shop.
The things you are describing about your car aren't uncommon given the age & mileage of the car. Unfortunately, I doubt you have a case, especially if it has already been looked at by a "mechanic" friend and checked out OK. I don't know how much you paid for the car, but when you're looking at 190k miles and 16 years on a car, anything can stop working. In most cases, you get what you pay for. Something that was working for the seller months before being sold to you can stop working a day after you purchase it.
You have to figure out how much you want to put into the car. Good luck!
You had a mechanic look at it prior to purchase and he presumably signed off on it, which the seller presumably knows, so how exactly do you plan to present a case to the judge to get money from the seller? Seller is going to say "he brought a mechanic to look at it and mechanic must have said it's ok, because he bought it. How do I know what happened since he bought it from me?" The car is 16 years, to be honest I'm not sure what you were expecting.
First, I know I brought the car As-is. But my know-it-all mother seems to think I have some sort of case.
The story is I brought a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero .
If NC had a used car inspection program that actually meant anything
(rather than just being a money grab)
you might have recourse with the shop that told you the car checked out.
First, I know I brought the car As-is. But my know-it-all mother seems to think I have some sort of case.
The story is I brought a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport. She had her mechanic friend look at said car for any leaks or other obvious problems.
The first two weeks the car has been running just fine.
Then
1. Check Engine light came on....Discovered it was an O2 sensor.
2. I drove to downtown Raleigh and everytime I got out of the car, the alarm would go off. Eventually that stopped.
3. The horn works when it wants to.
4. The biggest discovery and the one that has me concerned is the fact that when I took it to meineke for an Oil change, they discovered the oil pan has been patched and plugged and they could unplug it but they couldn't guarantee they could plug it up.
I was quoted $1400 for repairs for the oil pan which was also repeated by several other shops as well. Given its year and mileage (190,000) I was told it wasn't worth it.
But do I have a case to take this dude to court? Because I do feel deceived.
I doubt you have a case, but what you do have is the need to learn how to turn wrenches. If you're going to drive cheap old cars you either need to know how to fix them or have a bank account fat enough to pay the absurd prices pros charge.
I'd be interested in seeing the oil pan and what sort of patch they are talking about. I find these big name oil change places to be very conservative on what they'll do and not as honest as most people hope.
I change my own oil and changed oil in one of my cars since it was new. I was short on time and took it to one of these big name places. They turned me away because they said the oil plug wasn't the factory oil plug. Since I did every oil change since the car was brand new I knew they were wrong.
It is possible that the seller pulled some shady tricks to get the check engine light out, but it's also possible you just happened to buy the thing before the O2 sensor went. The 02 sensor is about a $30 part, super easy to change and is a wear item, just like spark plugs. Did the seller tell you there was a warranty? did they offer any sort of indication that the vehicle had no issues at all?
these days it's easier than ever to learn how to maintain your car, youtube is a fantastic resource for how to videos. Pick up a mechanic's tool kit, watch some videos and save yourself some money.
people like your mother in law scare me about selling anything privately. Let's assume you sell that car today and the engine fails next week. Should you replace the engine for the buyer? Or would you assume they knew they were buying an old car with a lot of miles that will probably give them trouble?
The key to owning an older car is DIY fixing and buying used parts. For me it's a challenge. I find it rewarding keeping an older car running. Mine is a '95. I've bought a bunch of stuff off eBay for it.
I'm gonna be honest though it sounds like a PITA. You can buy oil drain plugs that screw in in place of the regular plug where you just turn them and the oil comes out. Makes it a lot easier. Maybe just put one of those on.
I second the rec to just siphon the oil out of the dipstick tube. You can purchase the thing yourself. They aren't very expensive.
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