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Old 01-30-2012, 08:11 PM
 
Location: Northeast Tennessee
7,305 posts, read 28,098,260 times
Reputation: 5523

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... so today my dad goes to a used car lot today and purchased a used Chevy truck for $3000, which was well over what it was worth to start with. He drove it around the town and all seemed fine and he bought it... however on the drive home on the highway, things went south (I guess as the engine heated up more). When he got home the oil pressure had dropped to zero and it was making a noise. I dont think its even worth $1000, so thats $2000 down the tubes. He called the lot as soon as he got home and they told him to put thicker oil in it!

Lesson learned I guess and this should be a lesson to others to drive it all day, on the highway, in town, etc, etc, etc. You never know what you are getting.

Oh well. I feel bad for my dad though. Its a shame you cant trust dealers.
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Old 01-30-2012, 08:25 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,113 posts, read 56,733,078 times
Reputation: 18374
If the truck is otherwise in good shape, I guess you could put a crate engine in it.

The idea that "buy here pay here" "walking man's friend" type car lots will try to foist off defective cars on unsuspecting buyers is hardly new news.
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Old 01-30-2012, 08:30 PM
 
Location: Northeast Tennessee
7,305 posts, read 28,098,260 times
Reputation: 5523
Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Mitch View Post
If the truck is otherwise in good shape, I guess you could put a crate engine in it.

The idea that "buy here pay here" "walking man's friend" type car lots will try to foist off defective cars on unsuspecting buyers is hardly new news.
Yeah, its in otherwise very good shape... and unfortunately this wasnt one of those "buy here, pay here" places. If it were like that, I could have understood it a little better. lol. Oh well.
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Old 01-30-2012, 08:35 PM
 
9,002 posts, read 10,131,703 times
Reputation: 14525
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tennesseestorm View Post
... so today my dad goes to a used car lot today and purchased a used Chevy truck for $3000, which was well over what it was worth to start with. He drove it around the town and all seemed fine and he bought it... however on the drive home on the highway, things went south (I guess as the engine heated up more). When he got home the oil pressure had dropped to zero and it was making a noise. I dont think its even worth $1000, so thats $2000 down the tubes. He called the lot as soon as he got home and they told him to put thicker oil in it!

Lesson learned I guess and this should be a lesson to others to drive it all day, on the highway, in town, etc, etc, etc. You never know what you are getting.

Oh well. I feel bad for my dad though. Its a shame you cant trust dealers.
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.
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Old 01-30-2012, 08:38 PM
 
Location: Vancouver, B.C., Canada
11,154 posts, read 29,150,448 times
Reputation: 5479
Ouch! which Generation did he get?
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Old 01-30-2012, 08:40 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,113 posts, read 56,733,078 times
Reputation: 18374
Good point that. Find out if you have recourse, if you paid by check you may be able to stop payment.

Something to think about in buying a cheap car - if you can, put it on a credit card. If you had put this truck on a card, you could just have it towed back to the dealer and get the card company to reverse the charges.

It's possible that the dealer will help with the fix. You can ask, at worst they say no. I would not start out combative with them, they could actually have not known what was wrong with the truck and may be willing to do something to compensate you.
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Old 01-30-2012, 09:05 PM
 
Location: Northeast Tennessee
7,305 posts, read 28,098,260 times
Reputation: 5523
Quote:
Originally Posted by believe007 View Post
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.
Oh really? I will get him to look into that. I know they called back and said they would like the money back and they said they would have to see it first and to drive it back. He was "huffy" at first and was acting like he didnt want to and was saying they were in business before my parents were even alive, yada yada yada. Dads afraid to drive it back, so the plan is to haul it on a roll back tomorrow. Hopefully they will willingly give the money back.

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTOlover View Post
Ouch! which Generation did he get?
GTOlover, its a 1994. "Plain-Jane" '94 Cheyenne, but it was slightly customized. It has the 4.3L V6/5-speed. Its a nice looking truck though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Mitch View Post
Good point that. Find out if you have recourse, if you paid by check you may be able to stop payment.

Something to think about in buying a cheap car - if you can, put it on a credit card. If you had put this truck on a card, you could just have it towed back to the dealer and get the card company to reverse the charges.

It's possible that the dealer will help with the fix. You can ask, at worst they say no. I would not start out combative with them, they could actually have not known what was wrong with the truck and may be willing to do something to compensate you.
Yeah, he paid by check, but I bet they took it to the bank right away.

Here to hoping all goes well. Thanks for the replies.
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Old 01-30-2012, 09:12 PM
 
Location: Denver, CO
3,135 posts, read 11,818,968 times
Reputation: 2484
What do you expect with a $3,000 truck? LOL. Lemon laws only apply to new cars, from what I understand.

If it's a reptubable dealer, they should fix it for him with no charge. Sh*t happens.

But yeah, I would also feel bad if it was my dad. What a bunch of stress when you are hoping to be enjoying your new wheels.
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Old 01-30-2012, 09:22 PM
 
9,002 posts, read 10,131,703 times
Reputation: 14525
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tennesseestorm View Post
Oh really? I will get him to look into that. I know they called back and said they would like the money back and they said they would have to see it first and to drive it back. He was "huffy" at first and was acting like he didnt want to and was saying they were in business before my parents were even alive, yada yada yada. Dads afraid to drive it back, so the plan is to haul it on a roll back tomorrow. Hopefully they will willingly give the money back.



GTOlover, its a 1994. "Plain-Jane" '94 Cheyenne, but it was slightly customized. It has the 4.3L V6/5-speed. Its a nice looking truck though.



Yeah, he paid by check, but I bet they took it to the bank right away.

Here to hoping all goes well. Thanks for the replies.
Just google it for your area. Where I am it even applies to used vehicles.
I hate it when people get suckered into bad vehicles
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Old 01-30-2012, 09:36 PM
 
Location: Wartrace,TN
7,892 posts, read 12,597,313 times
Reputation: 16096
I would never buy a used vehicle for a "lot". I have comparison shopped at a few just to see what they had to offer compared to the used car lots at new car dealerships.

From what I understand the new car dealers keep the better trade in vehicles for their own inventory and wholesale out the heaps to the "tote the note" type dealers.

I stopped looking at the "tote the note" vehicles when I saw a ten year old Ford ranger on a lot with 120,000 miles on it for the same price as the new (albeit stripped down) Chevy truck I finally bought. I was talking to the salesman and he said it was "worth it" because it was "loaded"......
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