Dealer Fraud

Dealers have no motivation to take a car back once you’ve left their lot. Once you sign the paperwork and drive away, you’re on your own.

If you purchased or leased a new or used car and discovered problems with it that the dealer failed to tell you about at the time of purchase, you should contact a lawyer immediately.

Dealers are required to disclose certain information to purchasers. Fraud occurs in a variety of ways, such as failing to inform you of prior accident history or telling you about any body parts that were replaced or painted over. If a dealer sells you a car that has non-OEM replacement parts, after-market parts or tires that are the wrong size or design for the vehicle, this is also vehicle fraud.

California State law protects consumers from vehicle fraud by requiring a dealer to repurchase, replace or repair the vehicle. In some instances, parties may agree on a cash settlement to pay for car repairs, which may include repair work supervised by the manufacturer’s representative.

When a dealer takes a car back, their insurance only covers a certain percentage. This means that they have to classify the car as a lemon. As a result, dealers have no motivation or incentive to resolve your problem. By having experienced attorney will make them pay attention and make sure they comply with the law. Complaining to the dealership on your own rarely will get you the results you need or justice you deserve.

Buying a used car isn’t easy because it may entail a series of future problems and financial headaches. That’s why a free vehicle history report is an excellent choice for anyone who is  buying a used car. Why? Because it will give you the peace of mind to go ahead with your purchase. For instance, if the car is in such bad shape it’s been given a salvage title, it would be far better to know that before you sign on the dotted line.

Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous people ready to misrepresent the condition and value of the cars they are offering for sale. The most common of the various used car scams is the odometer rollback. The odometer is a device inside the car which indicates the distance that the vehicle has traveled. You may have seen it as a row of numbers inside the speedometer. One of the main variables in determining the price of a car is mileage.

An average car in the United States travels approximately 15,000 miles per year. So, if you want to buy a used car that was made in the year 2000, you should expect to see about 90,000 miles on the odometer. If it reads 150,000, the car has received heavy usage and may not be worth as much since maintenance costs may be high. But what if the odometer reads only 50,000 miles? In that case, you need to be suspicious. Unless it was owned by an old lady who used it for short neighborhood errands, the odometer may have been tampered with.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that a newer, digital odometer is more impervious to such alterations. All that is required is a laptop computer, the software, some cables and a basic set of instructions. Need an example? Just enter some basic keywords in any Internet search engine like “how to reset odometer” or “unhooking odometer.” You will find that there are dozens of pages with the required information.

Here are all important questions to ask before you purchase an extended auto warranty.

1. Are you a Member of the BBB and in good standing?
2. Do you offer financing?
3. Can I choose the repair facility?
4. Do you pay the repair facility directly?
5. Where can I take my car for repairs? Your dealership, or any ASE Certified repair facility you choose.
6. Depending on the age and mileage of a used car, do you offer bumper to bumper coverage for vehicles out of manufacturer’s warranty?
7. Do you include Wear & Tear?
8. Is overheating covered?
9. Do you offer a per visit deductible?
10. Do you offer a Zero Deductible option?
11. Do you offer Road Hazard protection?
12. Do you offer Car Rental reimbursement with your extended auto warranty?
13. Is the agreement transferable / renewable?
14. Are High Mileage plans available for up to 102,000 miles?
15. Are claims handled by the same company that sells car warranties?

Another form of auto fraud is selleing cars that have been used, rental and fleet. Up to 50% of used, rental and fleet cars may be sold with illegally rolled-back odometers according to the U.S. Department Of Transportation (DOT). Of course, even if the odometer is correct, these cars may not have been well maintained and may likely have been operated under severe conditions by rental and lease drivers.

You’re searching online for a used car and come across a car for sale that is a very good price, you contact the seller and they tell you the car is a fair distance away but they will pay for the cost to ship it to you, they ask you to pay via a wire service they use many times and you never see the money dealer or the cars for sale again.

The scam is clever here because the money wire website they have you use looks just like one you would expect to see, sometimes they look better than the real money wire websites they use the popular brand names on their site to make it look official and make a minor change to the web address which normally goes unnoticed. The money is wired and picked up in minutes never to be seen again. The car pictures and details are normally copied from local dealers websites and the scam artist poses as one of the dealers.

How to Avoid this Scam: The first warning signal is them offering to ship the car for free, not only I the car cheaper than normal but they are willing to foot the bill for shipping which is normally many hundreds for long distances. Never use someone else’s recommendation and never use a money wire service for online payments as they are just not secure enough.

There are numerous cases of this auto fraud, but here are some examples how vehicle title washing affects consumers :

A California college student purchased a car from a major franchised dealer who maintained that the vehicle was “certified” and had passed a “100-point inspection.” The buyer began experiencing problems immediately after purchase. First, the steering rack had to be replaced. Then, she discovered the frame was bent, which made the vehicle unsafe and unstable. The tires wore unevenly. The trunk leaked. The buyer had the car inspected by an independent repair shop and learned that the vehicle had been involved in a serious wreck. When the car was rebuilt, the workmanship was so poor that it rendered the vehicle unstable. The buyer confronted the dealer, who refused to take the car back. She hired an attorney and filed a lawsuit to get out of the deal.

A Chicago-area businesswoman bought a car from what she thought was a reputable dealer, but later learned that the car had been rebuilt after a wreck. A mechanic found the engine was not properly lined up in the chassis and that parts of the car had been welded together where bolts normally are used. During a four-year-long court suit, the woman’s attorneys learned that the wrecked car had been purchased by an out-of-state backyard mechanic who had tried to fix it up and then sold it to a repair shop in another state—where a couple purchased it and later traded it in.

A 73-year-old Northern California woman was awarded $100,000 in punitive damages in a lawsuit accusing a dealer of selling her and her late husband a used car without disclosing that it had been in a crash.

Large volume car dealers claim they save you more money compared to other dealers because they sell more cars than their competitors. They supposedly get cars at a lower cost then pass the savings on to you, the customer. However, the so-called large volume dealers may have larger overhead expenses including higher rent and marketing expenses, higher phone bills, a larger payroll for more employees and so on compared to their smaller volume competitors.

Consequently, the so-called large volume dealer may not be able to sell you a car at a lower cost afterall. Moreover, if a lower cost car is sold to you by a dealer that promotes itself as a large volume dealer you may end up getting charged more once you see the dealer’s finance manager. It is this manager whose job is to get every time they can out of you after you agree on a car’s price and agree to buy a car today!

Off the record, many car dealers admit their advertisements may be essentially nothing more than “come-ons” just to try and get you on the car lot. Your knowledge of how car deals are done and your negotiating skills can make or break any deal no matter where you shop for a new or used car.

The finance manager will come across as the friendliest guy or gal on the car lot but watch out. Some have been accused of double-charging you for things you have already paid for like insurance coverage and other extras. Remember, it is their job to get your monthly payment as high as your credit limit can possibly handle then the finance manager will ask you to sign on the dotted line. Once you sign it is too late to do much about it either even in a court of law! Always be suspicious if you agree on a monthly payment plan then return later to sign-off on the deal and find out your monthly payment cost has significantly increased due to some real or imagined problem with your credit! Always be willing to walk away from a deal.

Want to buy a used vehicle that you can return for any reason and get your cash back?
Even if it’s just because you don’t like the color?
That may sound like a used-car scam, but it’s not.
It’s the law.
The California Car Buyer’s Bill of Rights, which went into effect in 2006, mandates that car dealers must offer a buyer a two-day return option on most used vehicles.
It’s just one of the legal protections that apply specifically to used-vehicle purchases.
But be warned: All of these protections, including the cancellation option, have loopholes. And most apply only to vehicles bought from dealers, not private parties.
Some parents are fond of proclaiming: “Buying a used car is buying someone else’s troubles.”
By knowing your rights, you can hedge your bets against Dad or Mom saying something even worse: “I told you so.”

If you’re buying a used car, whether from a dealer or someone who put an ad in the paper, you’ll want to know as much about it as you can.
Even without anyone trying to deceive you, the vehicle may have problems you can’t see from a simple visual inspection or even a short test drive.
A vehicle history report prepared by a third party is one way to know what you’re getting.
Combining information from state DMVs (Departments of Motor Vehicles) and RMVs (Registry of Motor Vehicles) as well as police reports and other sources, a vehicle history report can give you a comprehensive overview of where the car’s been.
Here are some things to look for — or look out for — when you get a report on a vehicle. None of these things is necessarily a reason not to buy a car, but you shouldn’t make a decision without asking about anything you see on a vehicle history:

Many owners
The more garages a car’s been in, the less likely it’s been lovingly cared for all its life. Not everyone is as responsible about car care as you are. Rental cars and former taxis, for example, will often have undergone a lot of abuse, although they tend to be quite inexpensive.

Any time you are out shopping for a vehicle and you find one that looks great but is priced far below the going rate it’s time to be cautious. If the car is in good condition there is no need to sell it for so cheap because they’ll eventually find someone willing to pay a fair price for it. There are certainly valid reasons for a person to sell a car below the going rate but this is something that should raise red flags and lead you to try and find the reason from the person selling the car. If you are given a particularly weak answer you should start wondering what’s wrong with the vehicle.

• Gravel or sand in the interior and especially under the dashboard
• Electrical problems
• Priced lower than fair value
• Vehicle History Reports may indicate if the car suffered previous water damage.
• Musty smell or too much air freshener
• Car is from New Orleans

Anytime you purchase a used car it’s a good idea to have a trusted mechanic take a look at it before you buy. These inexpensive pre-purchase inspections are inexpensive and can save you a tremendous amount in the long run.
Car history reports fill you in on a vehicle’s history before you buy. The data collected about a vehicle can tell you a lot about it’s current condition. Make sure you are armed with all the facts before purchasing a used car.