Lemon law rights??? Help!!!!

Question

I bought a 2005 honda civic last july of 2007. Since september of 2007 I have had nothing but problems. My car only has 61000 miles on it. I have 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warrenty on it and have always brought it to a honda dealership. Last sept. my car was overheating and I didn't have any heat. I brought it in, they called me and told me they had no idea what was wrong with my car. Then called me again and said it was somekind of hose. So they replaced the hose and it seemed to make the overheating stop. ( and of course the hose wasn't covered by the warrenty) Then all winter I had like no heat. I called back in december and they said it wasn't the same problem and that I should bring it in and they will look at it and charge me a fee. So I had my mechanic change the thermostat, only made the heat alittle better, he also flushed all my fluids and my radiator. Then June of 2008 my car was overheating again, my antifreeze was boiling and spitting everywhere. Took it back to a different honda. They had it for 3 days and said nothing was wrong. So I had to drive it around until it overheated and took it back to them. They said it was the thermostat!!! So they replaced that and then said my head gaskets were gone and replaced that. Said my fan and fan switches were fine. Now here we are 3 weeks later and its overheating again and antifreeze it pretty much pouring out the lower right corner of the car. When I stop driving my car smells like antifreeze and there is a huge puddle. I of course have to bring it back but I was wondering my rights. It hasn't even been a year since the first complaint and the problem is still going on!! Do I have any rights or just stuck with a crappy car that no one can fix?? Please Help!!!

Answer 1

I'm very sorry to hear about your troubles, as Hondas are usually great cars. Sounds more like the dealer's fault to me.(It's SO hard to find a really good dealership service dept.!) Since you bought the car used, did you do a carfax check on the vehicle before you bought it? It may have some history of trouble occurring before you took ownership. Two things can be learned from this... first, always do a carfax check on any used car before you buy it, and second (please, everybody listen to this!!) don't ever buy an extended warranty, they aren't good for much, and you pay thousands for them! You might be very sad to go back and add up how much you've paid for your ex. warr., it might have paid for all your repairs so far! I hate to say this, but you might be better off just getting the car to run good for now, and trade it in. Just get rid of it, and go buy a new Civic, with the regular factory warranty which would have covered your problems. I don't know if you have any legal recourse, as those extended warranties are carefully worded to avoid any real responsibilities. You could consult an atty., however! Good luck!  

Answer 2

I had a Honda/Lemon but laws vary depending on what state you live in.  If you bought the car used, I am not sure you'd qualify for the lemon law but I would contact Honda with my concerns.  The main Honda corporate office will go out of their way to help you.

I bought my car new 2006 and had less than 10,000 miles when I went to an arbitrator.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Sounds like a lemon. You should contact an attorney. Don't know where you are, but in California the law requires that you give the manufacturer reasonable attempts to fix the defect. You did that and it's not fixed.

If you want, you could see what the lemon law is in your state by logging onto www.lemonattorneys.com

Answer 4

I'm not an expert but know a little bit. I t sounds to me that you have a pretty good case. Considering that the car is only 3 years old... Did you try talking to a sales rep? The dealership manager? Honda's corporate AMERICAN headquarters? All this info will definitely help your case. Plus, some lawyers will here your initial info for free, although it depends on what you paid for the car and if it is instead a small claims case. Check your local laws.

As for all the trips to the mechanic... I don't know why they say it's something different. If you brought it in for "overheating" then they should fix it for free after the initial visit for the same problem. My mechanic fixes it until it's right.

Sounds to me like the mechanic (dealership) is kinda shady. In my opinion.

Try this website...

http://autoforums.carjunky.com

They've helped me with ALOT of car questions. The moderators are awesome.

Good luck!

And next time buy American.  LOL  :)

Answer 5

find a lemon law attorney   or contact your local dmv  good luck,,,save all your receipts.

Answer 6

You need to approach this carefully. If you purchased the car at a large franchise dealership, ask to speak to the used car manager. Bring all of your repair records and receipts. Explain that you would like to keep the car, you just want it to be repaired correctly and covered under warranty. Let him know that you are not going to spend another dime on these repairs, when the problem is with the dealerships mechanics. Also while they are repairing your car they should give you a loaner car to drive. If they refuse to help, let them know that you will be in touch with the better business bureau and an attorney. I'm sure you spent a lot of money purchasing this vehicle. If you play your cards right you can come out on top. It is now too late to file a lemon law complaint, but you can ALWAYS file a complaint with the BBB.