What is the name of your state? FL
If I am posting this in the wrong forum, I apologize. Please direct me to the appropriate one, as I am unsure which category this falls under.
My husband and I purchased a pre-owned vehicle on Thursday, August 30th from a local Chevrolet dealership. During the test drive we noticed a vibration in the tires. The salesman was unsure what it was and told us to put a few hundred miles on it and if it didn't correct itself to bring it back and they would correct it.
As we were transferring our belongings from our trade in to the new van, we noticed that one of the brake lights was out. We pointed it out to the salesman and he quickly replaced it.
The following afternoon we packed up our 2 year old and our 10 year old to go for a drive. The vibration was still apparent but wasn't obnoxious, and based on what the dealership said to us we felt it was safe to drive. An hour into our trip the vibration became even worse. We stopped and checked the air pressure in the tires and found they were low, so we aired them back up to standard.
Once we got back on the road the vibration was horrible. The entire van was shaking now and the steering wheel was vibrating so hard that it was all I could do to keep a grip on it. We continued on to the first tire place that was open to have them check it out.
Upon inspecting the tires, they found that 3 of the 4 tires were warped and that 2 of them could blow at any moment if we continued to drive. The 3 tires were 2002 and the one that was within reason was a 2004. (basically 3 of the original tires were still on it.)
We called the dealership (who at this point was over 50 miles away) and they told us to put a donut on the worst tire and drive it back to the dealership so they could take care of it. When we relayed this to the clerk who was assisting us at Tire Kingdom, she informed us that she was obligated by law to "red flag" the vehicle with the sheriff's department as it was unsafe to travel in.
Upon calling the dealership back to tell them this, they instructed her to "go ahead and call the sheriff - you're not going to screw me". She then informed the dealer that if she was really trying to scam us, she would have sold us all 4 tires instead of just replacing the bad tires. The dealership finally caved and worked out a deal with Tire Kingdom to pay for the $240 replacement of the tires. Problem solved.
Do we have grounds for legal recourse against the dealership for
1. claiming to have thoroughly inspected the vehicle, yet it got out of the inspection missing a brake light & having 3 visibly warped tires?
2. insisting that we put our entire family (and everyone else on the road) in danger by driving the vehicle back to them over 50 miles away?
Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
If I am posting this in the wrong forum, I apologize. Please direct me to the appropriate one, as I am unsure which category this falls under.
My husband and I purchased a pre-owned vehicle on Thursday, August 30th from a local Chevrolet dealership. During the test drive we noticed a vibration in the tires. The salesman was unsure what it was and told us to put a few hundred miles on it and if it didn't correct itself to bring it back and they would correct it.
As we were transferring our belongings from our trade in to the new van, we noticed that one of the brake lights was out. We pointed it out to the salesman and he quickly replaced it.
The following afternoon we packed up our 2 year old and our 10 year old to go for a drive. The vibration was still apparent but wasn't obnoxious, and based on what the dealership said to us we felt it was safe to drive. An hour into our trip the vibration became even worse. We stopped and checked the air pressure in the tires and found they were low, so we aired them back up to standard.
Once we got back on the road the vibration was horrible. The entire van was shaking now and the steering wheel was vibrating so hard that it was all I could do to keep a grip on it. We continued on to the first tire place that was open to have them check it out.
Upon inspecting the tires, they found that 3 of the 4 tires were warped and that 2 of them could blow at any moment if we continued to drive. The 3 tires were 2002 and the one that was within reason was a 2004. (basically 3 of the original tires were still on it.)
We called the dealership (who at this point was over 50 miles away) and they told us to put a donut on the worst tire and drive it back to the dealership so they could take care of it. When we relayed this to the clerk who was assisting us at Tire Kingdom, she informed us that she was obligated by law to "red flag" the vehicle with the sheriff's department as it was unsafe to travel in.
Upon calling the dealership back to tell them this, they instructed her to "go ahead and call the sheriff - you're not going to screw me". She then informed the dealer that if she was really trying to scam us, she would have sold us all 4 tires instead of just replacing the bad tires. The dealership finally caved and worked out a deal with Tire Kingdom to pay for the $240 replacement of the tires. Problem solved.
Do we have grounds for legal recourse against the dealership for
1. claiming to have thoroughly inspected the vehicle, yet it got out of the inspection missing a brake light & having 3 visibly warped tires?
2. insisting that we put our entire family (and everyone else on the road) in danger by driving the vehicle back to them over 50 miles away?
Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
