Used car dealership, as-is, transmission goes within 1 week...

[rizza]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois

Bought a car with >100k miles from a used car dealership. After about a week, learned the transmission is bad & cost of replacement is $2k, which is 65% of what I paid for the car.

The car was inspected by a trusted mechanic. But it seems the issue was that when the car was inspected/purchased, temperatures were warmer & the transmission did not show signs of being bad. Once colder weather hit, it started showing signs, to which I took it to the manufacturer's dealership who told me it needed to be replaced & could go out at any minute.

From what I understand, I'm not covered by any Illinois lemon law since it was a used car & was sold as-is. The dealership I purchased it from is not returning my calls. Just wondering if I have any recourse or if I am stuck with a $2k repair. Would initiating a BBB case do any good or would it be a waste of time given the info I've provided?

Thanks.

 

[swalsh411]

You've answered your own question. What part of as-is is not clear? By your own admission the transmission tested normally when you bought the car.

 

[Zigner]

Would initiating a BBB case do any good or would it be a waste of time given the info I've provided?

Thanks.

The BBB is not a "legal" entity. It has not teeth...

 

[Andy0192]

A used transmission for your used car would likely cost much less than $2000.

Ask your trusted mechanic to search some salvage yards to see if he can find a low mileage transmission.

 

[DRTDEVL]

The only transmission problem I know that only rears it's head in the cold is a worn out torque convertor. See if that's the problem. If it is, it can be replaced for about $600.

Symptoms include shuddering when engaging in high gear and light throttle, delayed movement on acceleration and sometimes can appear as slipping like a clutch.

 

[rizza]

Thanks for the responses. I understand what as-is means. But it still remains that they most-likely sold a car with a bad transmission, even if they legall have no responsibility for it now.

DRTDEVL I appreciate your help in diagnosis. I don't want to turn this into a mechanic forum but your thoughts do seem to coincide with what I'm experiencing, not to mention that there is a check engine light relating to the torque converter. I'm just going by the manufacturer's dealership who told me a new transmission would be needed.

I know there are many things I can do to resolve the situation myself, but the whole point of this thread was seeing if even though it was an as-is sale that there are some additional protections for the buyer - turns out it's not (as I expected).

 

[Astrolink]

It is common for a transmission that is "going" to not work well or at all when cold, but be ok when warm. You can get this transmission to work for a long time (sometimes years) by first, changing the fluid and filter, and second, ALWAYS warming up the car for 10 minutes before driving it when cold. If you have to rev it up to get it to move when cold, and do this every morning, it will be done in hurry. I've had over 200 cars, and once drove a car with transmission that was "going" for a year and 20,000 highway miles by warming it each morning.

To add, the car company you bought it from probably took the car in trade from a seller who clearly would have known about the problem (and brought it in warm!).

They would have figured it out in a hurry themselves, so you can figure they knew about it too.

However, others have told you the legal answer to your questions. As Is means just that.