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Well to start off, they gave him his full purchase price back on the truck this morning, so that is good and I commend them for doing what is right.
Turns out they had their mechanic check it and the crank was bad, among other things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJGOAT
Tennessee does not have a used car lemon law or "return period" as some states do. However, there are several other laws that may apply and help in this situation.
LOL, thats true and we have NO state inspections on cars, so there are many clunkers clanking around this state. Rust free ones, which is good, but not much can be said for the rest of some of the cars here. LOL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tstone
Some of those dealers mask engine bearing problems by loading up the crankcase with 80w90 gear lube. There's also some kind of "magic in a bottle" you can use to get an engine running for about 15 minutes if it has compression problems.
He said it was overfull on oil when he got home and checked it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elias9193
Your Dad should've taken the truck to a trusted Auto mechanic shop and have them go over it with a fine tooth comb.
Yep, should have.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deez Nuttz
Is the engine knocking? Can it be restarted?
Yeah, it was overfull on oil when checked when it was brought to the house. He had the truck hauled back down there on a rollback and the shop checked it, they said the engine was bad from what I have been told so far.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bobman
He took the truck for a thorough test drive, right ?
I'm presuming that as part of his evaluation that he pulled the dipstick to make sure the car actually had oil in it ?
Checked for slime etc ?
So the oil pressure gauge showed zero, it was" making funny noises", and still he continued to drive the vehicle ?
I'm sure I don't have to explain the naivety of that decision.
Agreed, a car should last much longer than 20 miles, and it sucks that he's bought one that didn't, but his actions have also been a contributing factor here IMHO.
He should have stopped immediately and had the vehicle recovered.
It could have then been given back to the vendor to give them a chance to correct the fault or refund.
If the oil pressure was at zero, and the car was driven, then that's probably ruined the engine and made diagnosing the initial problem impossible, thereby making it hard to prove the car was defective when they sold it, rather than being dmaged by being driven with inadequate lubrication.
Hell, even as a mechanic, I've been caught out a couple of times. Nobody has a crystal ball, but unless you're trained, simple things can be easily missed.
Trouble is, simple things can have consequences if they get suddenly complicated.
Well I didnt give all of the details here and he is not a a complete idiot when it comes to vehicles- ...he has worked on cars for years as a hobby and rebuilt engines, etc... it didnt start making a noise until almost home and it wasnt until it was in the driveway as he was stopping that it was at zero on oil pressure from what I understand. It wasnt like it was knocking and clacking miles from home and he kept on driving like it was nothing, sorry if it made it sound that way. The engine was already ruined, it wasnt like the problem started on his drive home, it was worn out to start with. Yes, he checked the oil too, it was overfull by about a quart when he got home. When on the lot he checked it, it showed slightly overfull, but it was on a slight slope.
The important thing is that he is that he got his money refunded, which was the right thing for them to do IMO.
Today, he purchased a 2005 Ford F150 and TOOK it to the dealer and had it completely gone over before purchasing it, even if he did buy it from someone he knew. He drove it on highways, in town, etc. He had to give a little more for it, but I feel it was worth it, especially considering this one has A/C and is automatic.
Why don't you look into your state's lemon laws? I know where I am, we have 3 days to return a car that is a lemon.
NJ Has a lemon law too. For new cars you have up to 24,000 miles or two years to return a lemon, which you get your full purchase price returned to up, minus a usage deduction. The dealer has two attempts to repair the defect, and if they can't you can fine a claim. Naturally if you crash the car or don't bother to put oil into the engine, it doesn't apply.
For used vehicles, are covered provided they are less the 7 years old, cost at least $3,000 and have less than 100k miles on them. Coverage is less too, anywhere from 30 to 90 days/ 1,000 to 3,000 miles depending mileage when sold. A 17 year old truck wouldn't be covered by NJ's Lemon law.
Last edited by TechGromit; 02-02-2012 at 08:09 AM..
Why don't you look into your state's lemon laws? I know where I am, we have 3 days to return a car that is a lemon.
We'll be waiting for that proof, since there's no way ANY lemon law involves a three-day period nor can you return a vehicle unless it is specified in the sales contract...or you get lucky.
Plenty. I've bought about 20 cars over the past couple years, none of them even CLOSE to this expensive (think $400-800 range) and they all hold up. Some are broken to start with, which is why I buy them, then fix and have a decent car.
I have an '89 (or '87? ) GMC S-15 I paid $800.00 for four years ago. LOL
Still drives strong, although I have to plug/unplug the fuse to turn the wipers on and off. And the radio doesn't work.
I also have a '91 Chevy Cavalier wagon with almost 200,000 miles on it that I paid $750.00 for almost a year and a half ago. Gets almost 30 mpg and the wipers work and so does the radio.
I've never paid $3000 for a vehicle. In fact, I try to always keep it $1,000 or under and if I get two or three years out of it, with minimal repairs (no major engine or transmission repair), I'm happy.
While it sucks for dad to have bought a lemon, it does sound like dad should have done a little more checking on the condition of the truck before paying for it. $3000 won't buy much more than a pure beater truck around here.
It's good that the dealer did the right thing here.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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Used GM vehicles are the only bad vehicles I've ever bought. Got a 1994 Olds Achieva from my older sister in 2001 when it had 150,000. Ran well for 6 months then needed the entire engine replaced one part at a time. (All the while sis's 1991 Corolla had more miles and ran like a champ).
I got a 1994 Chevy S 10 that also had 150,000 miles on it, drove it for a month and then the fuel pump needed to be replaced. $800. I cut my losses and sold it for $1,500 before I had to do any more repairs and then started driving a 1991 Camry with over 200,000 miles that only had to have an alternated replaced
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...he has worked on cars for years as a hobby and rebuilt engines, etc... it didnt start making a noise until almost home and it wasnt until it was in the driveway as he was stopping that it was at zero on oil pressure from what I understand. It wasnt like it was knocking and clacking miles from home and he kept on driving like it was nothing, sorry if it made it sound that way. The engine was already ruined, it wasnt like the problem started on his drive home, it was worn out to start with. Yes, he checked the oil too, it was overfull by about a quart when he got home. When on the lot he checked it, it showed slightly overfull, but it was on a slight slope. 
