One might say being young and dumb about cars was the reason I ended up with a vehicle that stopped running and the dealership not fixing it as they were suppose to. A used vehicle was in what I thought was perfect shape inside and out and the dealership led me to believe the same thing. It even came with what I thought was a great warranty until the day came to fix what had gone wrong.
It was the perfect morning to go car hunting so I got up, went to a local dealership, and test-drove a couple cars before coming across a cute little car. It was used but did not have many miles, no dents, scratches and the interior was gorgeous. The dealership worked out the perfect payment plan and even added in a warranty that I thought covered everything it should. With the papers finalized and the down payment made, I drove away in my new car.
A few days went by and there were no problems at all. The car ran so perfect – almost too perfect in a weird way – but I thought it was just great and I keep going back and forth doing errands, work, babysitter etc. One day I woke up early on my day off, decided to take the children to visit a family member, and started up the hill just past my house and the car cut off. I thought that maybe I had not let it warm up enough before taking off so I restarted the car and let it idle a couple more minutes. When I proceeded to take off the car stopped again. I decided to let the car drift back into my driveway because I had not made it but a few feet from my driveway. I parked the car and started it again, the same thing happened so I called the dealership.
They came, got the car, and called me later in the day saying it was fixed. I picked up the car and drove it for a couple more weeks and the exact same thing happened, the car stops running again. By this point I am frustrated and angry because the car was suppose to have been fixed. I called the dealership back only to find out I had a thirty day guarantee and my car was no longer covered. They said it sounded like the same problem as before and they I would have to pay for towing the car to the dealership as wells as repairs and labor.
My so-called thirty-day warranty had only been out a day so I tried to get them to fix it anyway and they flat out refused. I did not have the extra money at the time to do what they were asking because to fix the car would be more then I would make in an eight-month period. Here I was stuck with a $300 car payment and a car that did not run.
In the end I ended up towing the car to the bank parking lot, dropping it off and then called the dealership and told them I would no longer be making payments and that once they sold it at auction I would finish paying what it did not bring.
A word of advice when purchasing a new or used vehicle from a dealership always ask questions and know the type of warranty and what it covers before you buy. Read all the fine print because that is where they stick you with unforeseen details.
