When do you have problems with your car dealer?
If your car has lots of problems, your dealer or mechanic might be screwing it up when trying to find other problems. If you have problems immediately after having your car serviced, it may have been the mechanic’s fault. Examples: transmission problems after transmission servicing or fluid change.
What happens if car dealer gives you false information?
This may also breach the Fair Trading Act by trying to get out of the consumer guarantees and misleading you about your rights. If the dealer gives you false or misleading information about a new or used vehicle or your consumer rights, you have rights under the CGA and FTA. the age, history and condition of the vehicle are misrepresented.
What happens if a car is stolen from a car dealer?
The CGA guarantee of title means a car dealer must have full legal ownership and the right to sell the car. If the vehicle was stolen, you may have to return the car but you can claim compensation from the dealer.
What to do if you have a dispute with a car dealer?
There are many resources for those who are having a dispute with a dealer or a car company, including, for people who have lots of problems with a new car, lemon law replacement; each state’s lemon law information is in your owner’s manual package.
What happens when a dealer can’t diagnose a problem?
When you take the car to the dealership and explain your problem, you are met with questions and doubt. The mechanic takes the car to diagnose the problem and tells you he cannot find anything wrong with it. The dealer may say that there is a “failure to duplicate” the problem and you are left hanging. Why does this happen and what can you do?
When does a car dealer make things worse?
If your car has lots of problems, the dealer’s mechanic might actually be making things worse when trying to find the cause of other problems. If a “new” problem occurs immediately after your car was serviced, there’s a good chance it was the mechanic’s fault.
What to do if your car dealer keeps fixing the same thing?
Often, work suddenly becomes free or your car gets fixed days or weeks ahead of time. If your dealer keeps fixing the same thing over and over again, get another dealer, or ask the service manager to escalate the problem (as mentioned earlier). If your dealer treats you badly, lies to you, etc., get another dealer.
This may also breach the Fair Trading Act by trying to get out of the consumer guarantees and misleading you about your rights. If the dealer gives you false or misleading information about a new or used vehicle or your consumer rights, you have rights under the CGA and FTA. the age, history and condition of the vehicle are misrepresented.
Can you take a car to another dealer?
OK, so you’ve gotten nowhere with this dealership, you may want to take the car to another dealer, though this might be a bit inconvenient, especially if the distance to other dealer is great.
What happens if you reject a car at the dealership?
If the fault is serious, eg it can’t be repaired for a reasonable cost, you can reject the vehicle. By rejecting the vehicle, you can get a refund or a replacement of the same or similar vehicle. You must tell the dealer you are rejecting the vehicle within a reasonable amount of time.
Most manufacturers track issues with a computer network shared between dealers, and your VIN will reveal where and when a problem was first reported to a service department. This can be very handy if you have to go up the chain to the zone manager, or manufacturers warranty customer service help department.
If your car has lots of problems, your dealer or mechanic might be screwing it up when trying to find other problems. If you have problems immediately after having your car serviced, it may have been the mechanic’s fault. Examples: transmission problems after transmission servicing or fluid change.
What to do if a car dealership is deceptive?
Deceptive car ads or dealers — File a complaint with your state consumer protection agency and the Federal Trade Commission . Terms of your auto loan agreement or payments — File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Car warranty — Contact your state’s attorney general.
OK, so you’ve gotten nowhere with this dealership, you may want to take the car to another dealer, though this might be a bit inconvenient, especially if the distance to other dealer is great.
What happens when you take a car to a dealership while under warranty?
When you bring your car to the dealership for repair while it is still under warranty, you may not be getting top-quality service. This is because the cost of a warranty repair to the dealer is reimbursed by the automaker, but at a pre-determined rate.
What should I do Before I go back to the dealer?
Contact the dealer and warranty insurer before you do anything else. Don’t get the car checked by a mechanic or anyone else before you contact the dealer. You could lose your right to a remedy if you do. When you go back the dealer:
Is it possible to get a bad deal on a car?
You Just Realized You Signed A Bad Deal On Your Car. Now What? Everybody knows buying a car can be a nightmare. Thankfully, there are ways to avoid being overcharged at the dealership. But even if you arm yourself with as much information as possible before you go car shopping, it’s still possible to fall prey to unscrupulous dealers.
Contact the dealer and warranty insurer before you do anything else. Don’t get the car checked by a mechanic or anyone else before you contact the dealer. You could lose your right to a remedy if you do. When you go back the dealer:
Most manufacturers track issues with a computer network shared between dealers, and your VIN will reveal where and when a problem was first reported to a service department. This can be very handy if you have to go up the chain to the zone manager, or manufacturers warranty customer service help department.
What happens when you trade in a car with a problem?
However, dealers typically have their own estimates of the cost of repairs, which may differ from yours. By law, dealers must fix critical problems with cars they plan to resell, so expect your car dealership to deduct the cost of these repairs from the car’s trade-in value.
Why was my car brought back to the same dealer?
The car had my plates on it, not repair or dealer plates. A few days after taking the car from the mechanic, the heater core went, so it was brought back to the same dealer, because I can’t afford to bring it anywhere else. It has been there for one month.
What should I do if I have a service problem with a car dealer?
Ask to see the precise items they actually used. Challenge them on it. You might not get them to knock it off your bill, but you should try. You also said that dealer service departments too often recommend fluid flushes and replacements that aren’t called for by the owner’s manual.
Why are car dealers independent of the manufacturer?
Everyone knows the cars are built by car companies and sold by car dealers. Those dealers are independent of the manufacturer (although Tesla, is trying to upend this). So when the dealer sells the consumer a car, they tell the consumer that the car can be brought to the dealer for warranty repairs and service. But repeated warranty repairs?
Why are car dealers indifferent if they can’t fix your new car?
The dealer has no skin in the game (except for goodwill, which they probably have lost anyway after selling you the defect-laden vehicle). Since the manufacturer has to buy the car back or replace it, the dealer has zero incentive to step up and do anything for you.
What are the ground rules for dealing with a car dealer?
Before we go on, though, let us set out two ground rules: Always be calm and courteous, even when you are not treated well. The service guy might just be right — we at least need to be open to that possibility. Most car dealers are independently owned and are protected by a thick wall of franchise laws, so automakers have limited leverage.
Why do auto dealerships have so much room to negotiate?
Many dealers buy their inventory at auctions – often times getting great deals on cars that us average car buyers don’t have access to (or the time / know-how to access). So, while the car may be worth a said amount – there is often “room to negotiate”. Now, I’m okay with capitalism and the dealer getting their fair share.
Can you walk out of a car dealership with no paperwork?
Any time a car dealer tries this trick on you, with this scam, or tries to send you off with your new car and no paperwork, just say no and walk out. Tell them to call you when the paperwork is 100% ready for you to sign, and that includes all the finance and Truth in Lending required paperwork.
What happens if you call a crooked car dealer?
That was their fatal car shopping mistake. Three hours later the crooked car dealer calls the customer back and told him the lender said no. Well wait a minute, the dealer had told the customer they had called the lender and convinced the lender to raise the amount financed on behalf of the buyer.
Is the car dealer trying to screw you over?
While that does still happen far too often in the car industry, in most cases the dealer is not trying to screw you over. But that still doesn’t mean they are necessarily going to respond in the way you want.
Why do car dealerships fight the service manager?
Because the people who fulfill the generic contracts are paid by how little service they have to do. So they fight the dealer on every penny. They’ll want to see the entire labor record on the car. They won’t want to pay for parts. They’ll fight on the cost of the labor.
Do you have to take your car in for service at the dealer?
If you’ve ever felt you got a raw deal taking your car in for service at the dealer, our anonymous service manager says that may well be true. But he also cites a number of reasons to take your car to the dealer for work anyway—and tells how not to get the short end of the stick when you do.