Car Buying Help

  • Guest, it's time once again for the hotly contested and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!



    Go here and fill out your bracket!
    Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Once again, only you can decide!

Palum

what Suineg set it to
23,145
32,710
I was mentioning it because he's thinking about the Honda CR-V which is the same class and size as the Tucson.

Honestly, they're all kind of screwed up anyway. There's like 9 size categories and the difference between the subcompact crossovers and a real midsize suv/crossover is like 3" in all directions and it's not worth losing the tons of space for losing 1 shitty parking spot a month that you shouldn't be trying to fit your car into anyway.
 

Crone

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
9,690
3,201
Whatever anyone says it was massive compared to what she has. Most importantly she loved it.
Compared to a civic, of course it's massive. That doesn't mean it's going to be useful. And your wife is probably just like mine. Loved it because she was elevated a little, so she felt better driving it, and yet it's still small, so she felt like she could drive it. Of course she scraped the side backing out of our garage, but hey, it's all about how they feel.
 

OneofOne

Silver Baronet of the Realm
6,548
7,896
Hey guys, I'm pretty damn sure I'm screwed, but thought I'd throw it out in case anyone had some brilliant insight to lend. GF bought a used car 28 days ago - 2007 Ford Focus. I was against getting a Ford (my first car was a Ford - NEVER again), but she wanted what she wanted. Surprise surprise, now the automatic transmission appears to not want to go into 4th gear (it feels like, not 100% sure which gear it's getting stuck in), no matter how fast we go. Of course looking this up after the fact, it's a known issue among owners. To make it better, of course there is no warranty - purchased as is. Google says it *might* be a solenoid fix but... more likely to need a new transmission. Short of pulling a Michael Douglas "Falling Down" scenario (and that didn't work out so well for him), anyone have any experience trying to get the dealership to do anything? Well, other than laugh at me, that is.
 

Uber Uberest

rdr^2
<Bronze Donator>
2,710
2,327
I had a Ford Taurus at one time years ago, and it had a similar problem and the fix was a new vehicle speed sensor for relatively cheap.
 

Cad

<Bronze Donator>
24,487
45,377
Hey guys, I'm pretty damn sure I'm screwed, but thought I'd throw it out in case anyone had some brilliant insight to lend. GF bought a used car 28 days ago - 2007 Ford Focus. I was against getting a Ford (my first car was a Ford - NEVER again), but she wanted what she wanted. Surprise surprise, now the automatic transmission appears to not want to go into 4th gear (it feels like, not 100% sure which gear it's getting stuck in), no matter how fast we go. Of course looking this up after the fact, it's a known issue among owners. To make it better, of course there is no warranty - purchased as is. Google says it *might* be a solenoid fix but... more likely to need a new transmission. Short of pulling a Michael Douglas "Falling Down" scenario (and that didn't work out so well for him), anyone have any experience trying to get the dealership to do anything? Well, other than laugh at me, that is.

What state? Different states have different warranty requirements for used cars.
 

OneofOne

Silver Baronet of the Realm
6,548
7,896
We're in California. My best understanding of the state Lemon Law is that it either needs to still be under coverage of the manufacturer's warranty (2007 car so... no), or the dealer had to commit fraud, which means proving they knew there was an issue with the transmission, which... yeah.
 

Cad

<Bronze Donator>
24,487
45,377
We're in California. My best understanding of the state Lemon Law is that it either needs to still be under coverage of the manufacturer's warranty (2007 car so... no), or the dealer had to commit fraud, which means proving they knew there was an issue with the transmission, which... yeah.

What kind of dealer did you buy from?

Under California law, licensed car dealerships are not generally required to offer warranties with the used automobiles that they sell. However, there are two notable exceptions: California law “buy-here-pay-here” dealership, or (2) the vehicle is a “certified” pre-owned vehicle.

The legal definition of a buy-here-pay-here dealer is any car dealer that: (1) sells or leases automobiles pursuant to installment contracts (i.e., contracts under which a consumer is required to make monthly payments); and (2) assigns less than 90 percent of its sale contracts to unrelated lenders.

Buy-here-pay-here dealer warranties must last for a minimum of 30 days or 1,000 miles (whichever comes first). During the warranty period, the dealer must pay 100 percent of the cost of repairing any of the following parts:

  • the engine, including all lubricated parts;
  • the transmission;
  • the entire braking system;
  • the suspensions (front and rear);
  • the entire steering system;
  • all front and rear wheel drive parts;
  • the cooling system for the engine;
  • the entire ignition system, including the alternator, generator, and starter (but not including the battery);
  • the emissions system, including the catalytic converter;
  • the seals and gaskets;
  • all seatbelts and airbags;
  • the heater; and
  • all computers and electrical components that affect the functionality of any covered part.
 

OneofOne

Silver Baronet of the Realm
6,548
7,896
It does not *appear* the dealership was a "buy here pay here" dealership, but I do not know for sure. I'm pretty damn sure the car was sold as a Certified pre-owned, but looking at the paperwork, I don't see anything about that, so I may be wrong in that. Trying to read stuff between working - got a meeting with the boss in 1.5 hours ack. Regardless, I do appreciate your responses, Cad. Stress level is hitting a maximum today.
 

Cad

<Bronze Donator>
24,487
45,377
It does not *appear* the dealership was a "buy here pay here" dealership, but I do not know for sure. I'm pretty damn sure the car was sold as a Certified pre-owned, but looking at the paperwork, I don't see anything about that, so I may be wrong in that. Trying to read stuff between working - got a meeting with the boss in 1.5 hours ack. Regardless, I do appreciate your responses, Cad. Stress level is hitting a maximum today.

If you bought it 28 days ago you don't have much time to get on this. At a minimum I'd have your woman take the car to the dealership and make a repair demand so you can lock in that the problem occurred before the 30 days, just in case, even if they say no.
 

OneofOne

Silver Baronet of the Realm
6,548
7,896
We are speaking with the dealer today, and driving in tomorrow. Assuming we can get the car there!
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
37,961
14,508
Anyone have a rogue? Might test drive one as well

Wife drove the CR-V but the price was rough. The rogues are 5k off MSRP right now
 

OneofOne

Silver Baronet of the Realm
6,548
7,896
Dropped the car off at the dealer, they're going to "look at it". There was nothing in the paperwork, but they said I'm good under the 1k mile/30 day warranty, so it must be a buy here pay here dealer (my assumption). I have a feeling they are going to try and put a bandaid on it and give it back (replace a solenoid or something), but I'm hoping for the best. At least I got a (very nice) loaner in the meantime.

I hate car buying. Sticking with Honda/Mazda only, from now on.
 

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
37,961
14,508
Me too. It's super hard to get a price around here. Like dude just tell me the price over the fucking phone. I'm not coming in unless I know it's within my budget
 

OneofOne

Silver Baronet of the Realm
6,548
7,896
A while back, when I was still married, we were shopping for a new car for my wife. She knew the exact car she wanted, down to the color. So I called up a few dealers trying to see who had the best price, and not a damn one of them would give me a price over the phone. One lady simply said "We don't do that" and hungup. Fuck 'em all.
 

Crone

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
9,690
3,201
Why are you guys acting like this is new for dealerships to do this? They are doing everything they can to get you in the door where a lot of other things start to work in their favor to make a sale. Seeing the car, driving it, high pressure sales tactics, etc.

Noodleface Noodleface And I get that a cross over SUV is bigger than your wife's Civic, but that doesn't mean it's going to be practical with kids. You throw a car seat and an infant carrier in that Rogue back seat, and there isn't going to be any more room than your Civic.
 

Palum

what Suineg set it to
23,145
32,710
Why are you guys acting like this is new for dealerships to do this? They are doing everything they can to get you in the door where a lot of other things start to work in their favor to make a sale. Seeing the car, driving it, high pressure sales tactics, etc.

Noodleface Noodleface And I get that a cross over SUV is bigger than your wife's Civic, but that doesn't mean it's going to be practical with kids. You throw a car seat and an infant carrier in that Rogue back seat, and there isn't going to be any more room than your Civic.

Yea, you gain a new seating position in a contact crossover and more headroom, you don't tend to gain usable space. In fact some of them have less useful trunk space than a civic due to shoving a spare in the cargo area raising the floor up and a giant tailgate taking up another 3-4 inches of depth with bulky plastic panels.
 

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
37,961
14,508
The major issue with the civic is it can't fit more car seats. If you put one behind a seat you have to jam the front seat fully forward