I bought a used car that started leaking a lot of oil on the second day,can someone please help?

Question

The car is a Daewoo 2000 and had a 30 day on motor warranty, the dealership does not want to take it back for a replacement car, he took it for 2 months to fix it but the car was still leaking oil when the dealer brought it back and now it has a noise in the motor, I had a mechanic give me an estimate for the repairs, it came to $1100.00 just to get it fix, I paid $3350.00 for the car. I am planning to file for small claims court so they take the car back and give me the money or fix it, do I have a good case?

Answer 1

check with an authorized mechanic and see if there was oil additives used in the vehicle.It has been done to buyers before.They put gunk or stop leak or even sawdust in engines and transmissions to slow or stop oil leaks temporarily. You may have a fraud or lemon law case on your hands

Answer 2

Do you have a copy of this 30 day warranty? It should be on the Buyer's Guide, which all used cars must now have posted on them. If not, is it on your contract? You need it in writing to show the judge. Otherwise its word against word. And it's up to the judge to decide who wins. Also just as important, do you have a work order that shows he had the car for 2 months? A paper trail is everything when you go to court.

With both in writing, you have an easy case to win. Without it, it's a 50-50 chance of the judge siding with you.

Some advice ... never lose your temper in court. Stay calm and tell only the facts. Don't go off on what the dealership looked like, how the salesman looked shady or anything else that has nothing to do with your claim. Just tell the judge "I was given a 30 day motor warranty when I bought the car. And it started leaking oil on the second day I had it. The dealer kept it for 2 months and it was still leaking oil when he returned it to me. Now he refuses to fix it correctly or take it back." That's all. Don't say anything more than that. Let the dealer hang himself when it's his turn to speak.

As a sales manager, I've had to go to small claims court for disputed sales or service claims. I've always done all I could to make the customer happy since this is a business that thrives on return customers and referrals. But some just can't be satisfied no matter what you do. So I end up in small claims. The advice I gave you is how I conduct myself before the judge. I've never lost a claim yet for our dealership. The customer runs his/her mouth off and blows their case. Just from his/her attitude, the judge can easily see this is someone who refuses to accept any resolution.

I hope you have the paperwork necessary. I wish you all the best in your case.

Answer 3

No matter what, the car is yours.

It was your fault for not getting it inspected first.  That leak was there, you just never bothered to get it looked at.

You best read the contract, because that IS the key for you even having a small claims case.

Answer 4

I would say that you do. Good luck!

Answer 5

the dealership you purchased it from should honor the warranty for sure.  If they dont they are probably just a bunch of crooks and eventually it will come back to them one way or the other but yes you do have a good case against them just remember when in court to state all of the facts and play the sympathy car in your favor.  No dealership can sell a junker and get away with it if you stay on top of it and especially if you take them to court.  good luck