Any recourse?

[JoeConsumer]

What is the name of your state? Washington

Last Saturday I purchased a 2003 Land Rover with 42k miles from a local dealership. The vehicle is in almost perfect condition and everything works beautifully. I looked it over fairly thoroughly and could find no evidence of anything wrong with the vehicle and the dealership (very large, extremely well known in the region) assured me their 100+ point inspection found nothing wrong with it.

I drove it straight home (roughly 10 miles away) and parked it in my driveway. The next morning I pulled out and noticed a large oil stain on the concrete. When I looked under the vehicle I found a lot of oil on the oil pan, the transaxle (4x4) and crossmembers. The oil was very clean so it must have had a recent oil change. The day before, at the lot, the undercarriage was spotless. With that big an oil leak it is pretty obvious that someone at the dealership knew it leaked oil because they had to have cleaned it up very, very recently.

I immediately called the dealership and spoke to the salesman who sold me the car. I explained what I had found and he agreed with me, verbally, that fixing it should not be my responsibility. This salesman happens to be their "sales team leader" and the lot sells both new and used cars, 7 or 8 makes of new cars (really... huge lot). The vehicle came with a "30-day/1000 mile" warranty covering it at 60% (40% my cost). The salesman even said I shouldn't have to pay for any part of the repair. But I would have to wait until Monday to make an appointment to bring it in as their service department was closed on Sunday.

I called on Monday and made arrangements to drop it off on Tuesday night as the soonest they could get to it would be Wednesday morning. I dropped it off Tuesday and am in posession of a "loaner" (05 Hyundai Santa Fe... argh I hate this thing). I've called each day and as of right now they still have no idea where the oil is coming from. They've put some kind of dye in the oil that glows under black light but still can't find it. My contact in their service department has gone out of her way to explain that the Honda service department did the inspection and that her service bay wasn't responsible (for cleaning up but not noting or repairing the leak to begin with, i.e. trying to hide the problem). The vehicle is now in Land Rover's hands, not even affiliated with the dealership I bought it from, because they still can't find the leak and there is no ETA.

I apologize for the long-winded post but felt more info was better to get a clearer picture of my situation.

So, I've now had the loaner longer than I've had the Land Rover. The dealership clearly knew about this defect when they sold me the vehicle. I notified them of the problem less than 24 hours after driving it off their lot. Being a Land Rover, now at Land Rover service, this repair could easily run in the thousands if it turns out to be a main seal or cracked block (a new motor for this is roughly US$4,000 +installation).

Do I have any legal grounds to support my asking them to take the vehicle back? Or am I just depending on their goodwill to do so? Am I legally responsible for 40% of this particular repair?

Please help... I want to be prepared to defend myself if necessary. So far the dealership has been great, however. First time I've bought a used car and not felt like I needed a shower after leaving the sales office.

My thanks in advance -