OMGOSH! I am going to win the case against the car dealer!

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Just to recap for those who dont know, I bought a car in August after my other one was totaled. The dealer I bought it from is nothing but a low down crook. I firmly believe they stole the paperwork out of my car when I took it in to the repair part of their business a day or two after I bought it. When that work was being completed I found out something that made me wonder about the car. In NC when you buy a car the dealer has to give you a Disclosure of Damage to the vehicle. Well on mine they checked NO for everything...never totaled, not a flood damaged car, not a theft recovery car, and never reconstructed. I also asked this information in front of a witness and of course they told me the car was wonderful.

Well...after they refused to give me copies of my paperwork I contacted a lawyer. He gave me some advice and said that it sounded like I have a good case. Good case before I got back some wonderful information from NC....unbeatable case with what I have now in my possession.

I did a title search for all 3 states this car has been titled in. The first state wasnt of much interest and I still havent got back the title search from VA but I really dont need it now.

NC sent me copies of everything I signed along with where this dealer BOUGHT THE CAR IN VA FROM AN INSURANCE CO! In the paperwork where the insurance company sold the car to the dealer, they did a disclosure of damage and they checked YES to the car being totaled, the car being reconstructed and yes to something else I cant remember. Also the title that was given to the dealer from VA said that the car had been totaled and considered now salvaged!!!!!

Oh I am going to win, win, win! The dealer has to pay me triple the amount of money I paid for the car plus my attorney fees!

I am on cloud 9 right now. What a wonderful xmas present. Cant wait for the stupid dealer to come tow the stupid thing away. It doesnt even run!
 

Nancy

Well-Known Member
Great news Janet. Good for you in pursuing this.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using ConductDisorders mobile app
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Janet, do not buy another used car without having it checked by an independent mechanic. If the dealer won't allow this, they've got something to hide. Also, get the VIN number and pull a CarFax report. That will tell you if there is anything up with the title, like if it's a flood car or salvaged.
It's not perfect but it's better than taking the dealer's word for things.

If you buy a used car, try to buy a Certified used car from a major dealer. Do NOT buy off the typical used car lot.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I know GN, I was extremely stupid. Major problem was I was so tired at the end of a long day of looking for cars and I had my guard down. Im extremely lucky that NC has this very good statute to protect consumers. After talking to the lawyer today, and sending him every darned thing I have, he is going to file civil and criminal charges against the dealer. One thing we are waiting on is to see if the dealer has the stupidity to send me forged documents. If they do that its just one more major charge against them. Im actually hoping they do!
 

1905

Well-Known Member
I'm so glad the lawyer is involved. You will absolutely get your due. The sad thing is this is their standard business practice. They underestimated you. Make sure you sue them for all the damages involved, stress related.....your health.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
This is why I HATE buying cars. I have a strong dislike of the games and the lies and the pressure. I am glad you have an atty and such strong statutes. I hope it works out well for you and the dealer not only gets the civil fines but also the criminal charges. Stress in court that you are disabled, have had a brain injury, and this jerk took advantage of your challenges to swindle you. You might look into the ADA regulations because if the dealership isn't compliant, those can also count against him.

Around here a couple of attorneys will assess a business if they have a disabled client and they file charges for accessibility violations. One dealership got reamed by the judge for having the bathrooms be unaccessible to a client and then pressuring her to stay 'just a little longer' while plying her with soda and coffee so that she wouldn't take the time to read the fine print. Somehow when putting the final paperwork into her packet of papers, the salesman accidentally got some training materials mixed in with them because she was in such a rush to leave to find a bathroom she could get into. So they had a few documents created by the dealership about using tactics like these to get clients to sign for upgrades and things.

If I didnt' know both the lawyer and the guy who owns the dealership, I would think the lawyer set it up. She might have, if she knew about the practice being in writing, but she didn't. For one thing the salesman is someone we both know from high school and he hates her (the lawyer). But he is an idiot so he got his stuff mixed up and let the documents out of the dealership and got them in big trouble.

While this may or may not be an actual violation in your case, it sure makes the dealership look even more rotten when it looks like they take advantage of someone with challenges. Perception can mean a lot. I hope you get plenty of $$$$ for damages over and above the triple the price you paid.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Janet. I don't think you were stupid...naïve perhaps, but not stupid. You were tired and probably had been listening to sales pitches and pushy salesmen and were vulnerable.

Used car salesmen are like sharks when they smell blood, i.e: sense vulnerability. I'm glad that NC has good consumer laws in cases like this. I'm also really glad you seem to have a good case.
 

Tiapet

Old Hand
So very glad not only did you find out and get all this information but everything else. I really do hope that your lawyer is good does right by you and you DO get all that you deserve! I really dislike car dealers in general.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
Definitely if you are going to buy a used car do a TON of research on it first. Get a carfax, it's worth the small fee to not go through this again.

One thing I'll say about my used Hyundai is that their bumper to bumper warranty is transferable. You don't have to do anything, it just has to be under the number of years or mileage. Any problems I have had has been taken care of with no charge to me.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Interesting idea Susie. This place was not to ADA regs. To even get up to the desk to see and fill out documents I had to climb up these incredibly steep steel steps. They had a railing so I was able to get up slowly. It was also very dimly lit.

Personally I found a different, and in my opinion better, way to check out cars. Its called AutoCheck and that came back with even more information than Carfax did.
 
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