Lemon? What should/can I do?

[Ppenguin2134]

Here's my story. Sorry it's long.

I bought a 99 GST on 10/19/07. it had 73,739mil on it. The place where I bought it from said it was in "EXCELLENT CONDITION". With tax and tag I paid $9,185.00. Now just last week, 11/03/07, my car started shaking violently when I decelerated and deceleration was very slow, plus my exhaust sounded like a machine gun. Took it in to the shop and this is what was I was told. One ignition coil was fried & another coil was about to go, Ignition wires were fried, PCV valve broken, 3 belts were frayed and one missing a chunk, and the #1 injector was filled with a ton of dark brown crud (which I saw for my-self). In total all the parts and labor came out to $1,350, freaking sucks. Got it back today, drove a little bit better, but after a few minutes it started happening again. The guys at the shop said there's prob a ton of gunk in my system and their gonna take off my fuel tank and flush my entire fuel system.

Now, with all that said, can my car be considered a Lemon? I read the Florida Lemon Law and it was like reading in Spanish.. I can't read Spanish. The dealer did not give me a warranty, so I'm not sure what I can do. Pleas let me know what actions I can take.

Thanks to all.

 

[rich3389]

I believe for it to be classified as a lemon it has to have a problem that its been in the shop 3 times and not repaired yet.

 

[rc000e]

Well, first of all, Lemon Laws vary state to state. The problem with your situation is the car is used, and "old". Lemon Laws really don't apply to a car that has no warranty written or implied. You could take them to small claims if you had some way of concluding they falsly advertised the car, but chances are your gonna lose.

Pennsylvania is an "as is" state, when it comes to used vehicles. If there is no specific written contract outlining some type of quality guarantee, then your out of luck.

 

[Ppenguin2134]

Ok. To clarify I am in Florida and I bought the car in Florida.

 

[crimsondragon]

A shame you spent so much and could have done all of the stuff by yourself for a fraction of the cost and still the problem was not fixed.

 

[roadrunner2176]

Most states have a 30 day unwritten contract. The basics of it are if the damage amounts to half or more of the purchase price, vehicle is unsafe to be driven, not as advertised, false documentation, previous damage that was not mentioned before sale (visual proof of a rebuild, or previous accident not reported) than the car must be bought back buy the dealer, or repaired and classified roadworthy.

This is not to be confused with the lemon law, which does vary greatly from state to state, if they offer one at all.

Your damages are costly, but are not yet classified as "lemon" (at least not in indiana) Try to work with the dealer being that the car is less than 30 days old. Look into state buyback laws and dishonorable sales laws. Just don't expect much. Used cars are used which brings about an extremely fine line when damages / breakdowns occur.

Now if the mechanics find something like gasket sealer, oil leak sealant, you can work with that if all else fails going off the assumption that the vehicle was falsely advertised, etc. Not likely that it will work, but any leverage could be good leverage.

If you see previous history of repairs at the dealership on a vehicle history report (assuming that they report their repairs) look into them and see if they could have been related to the problems your having, belts, injectors. If the repairs are related, you can use that information as leverage.

 

[laserspeeddemon]

Sounds like you are screwed. You can take him to court for false advertisement, but usually that won't fly. The last time something like that happened was a friend of mine over a 2g AWD. The car never even made it home and it died. My friend put a stop payment on the check he gave the seller and the seller sued him and won. However, he later counter sued because the seller said there was a 6-bolt engine installed, when we were rebuilding the head, I found out that it was not a 6 bolt.

 

[Ppenguin2134]

UPDATE

They found the problem, the entire insde of the fuel tank was rusted and full of crud. Anyone know where I can buy a new fuel tank for a good price?

 

[Defiant]

Look for silt. You may have a flood car.

 

[just2asian]

Have you looked up the carfax on your car? Is it a clean title?

 

[DSMraver]

UPDATE

They found the problem, the entire insde of the fuel tank was rusted and full of crud. Anyone know where I can buy a new fuel tank for a good price?

2g's have a plastic fuel tank, that's very strange...

As for the main topic of the thread, you're not likely to get very far legally. You bought a used car "as-is", no warranty, and did not have it inspected at a mechanic (you should have).

It's unfortunate, but your only real recourse is to talk to the dealership and see what they'll do. You can contact a lawyer, possibly Florida law allows for more than other states, but usually you're just stuck.

 

[TunaTalon]

Look for silt. You may have a flood car.

If it’s a flood car and all rules were followed then use http://www.carfax.com/cfm/general_check.cfm?partner=PRL_A to check it out.

If it is one of the many hidden flood cars then follow the advice of http://www.carqna.com/buying-selling/1274-buying-4.html. All good points except maybe the part about dead fish.

 

[Ppenguin2134]

Ok, well I got the paper work back from the dealer and they covered their ass as for not having any responsibility for any defects the car might have right after sale.

The fuel tank is now being completely redone. It was going to cost over $1,300 to get a new one, so I worked out a deal with the shop to send it down to someone to clean up. There's really nothing I can do but just spend the money to get it fixed. Thanks guys.