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Bought a bad car

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endearinga

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Maryland

Hey all. I bought a bad car from my ex boss. I recently had to take it to the mechanics and he deleivered the bad news, it would take almost 3k to fix that car which i had paid 5k for. He also told me that the problems were probably there when i bought the car 3months ago. I had gone to an inspector to get it done and he said that something was wrong with a boot. My boss had told me she was skeptical of his diagnosis and wanted to take the car to her friend who is an inspector. He couldnt look at it that day so he had sent us to one of his friends who is also an inspector who said that nothing was wrong with the car. She then took the car to her origional friend who finally had time to look at the car and she paid for him to re-inspect it.

Long story short, I got screwed.

I was talking to the mechanic who recenely looked at my car and he told me that if i complained to the inspector that passed my car and to the state troopers that the inspector would lose his credentials. Is it worth it?

Also i know i can take this up in small claims court with my ex boss but... again.... is it worth it? My boyfriend explained to me that it may not work out the way i want beacause of my employment history with her (i gave my two weeks notice and on my last week her partner fired me for no reason other than they had found a replacement for me that monday). So i would look like the pissed off exemployee trying to get back at my exboss.

If theres any glimer of hope of winning a case against her and its not gonna cost me an arm and a leg I wanna go for it. Im a college student and a caregiver, if i dont have a reliable car i could lose my job and fail my classes.

Anyone have any advice for me? Thanks. :confused:

o ya p.s.... her husband is a patent lawyer who thinks hes hot stuff and they know plently of lawyers.
 


CraigFL

Member
First of all, used car sales are "as-is" so you should have had the car inspected BEFORE you purchased it.

Secondly... Any car that was sold for $5000 probably does need some repair

Thirdly... If you take a car to some mechanics and ask what needs to be fixed, they will be sure to include everthing to make it perfect by fixing every last defect. For example, the brakes may be worn to the last 20% of life but the mechanic will say the brakes need to be replaced for $250.00. This last 20% of life may be 20,000 miles that you won't see for another year and a half...

You also talk about the "inspector" which I assume you mean that some kind of State or local inspection needs to be passed by your vehicle. My experience is that there is a whole industry that was created for the purpose of just getting by for these inspections. One place may say you need a whole new engine to pass the emission test and the specialty place may be able to just fine tune the car to meet the letter of the law. Of course everyone has their opinion of what should be done to do this.

Your best defense for this is to get a second opinion, especially from someone who has no interest in actually doing the work so they don't have a vested interest in the outcome(by repairing it for you). Remember, everyone wants to spend your money. You need to be an informed consumer so you get to decide where.
 

endearinga

Junior Member
the car was inspected before i bought it and the break pads failed so my boss supposidly got them replaced.... she showed me a receipt so i assumed they were done. the inspector who passd it however was a friend of hers.

before you can register a car in md and get tags or transfer tags you need to get it state inspected by a licensed inspector and get a inspection slip. im under the impression that there are certain criteria for the inspection mandated by the state.

ugh, i gotta cut my losses. her husband is a lawyer and the both of them have allredy prooven that they can make someons life a living hell by what they did to the other lady who quit before me. im putting it in gods hands.... im not religious but she is, so im convinced that there will be some repercussions. lol who knows.:p
 
the car was inspected before i bought it and the break pads failed so my boss supposidly got them replaced.... she showed me a receipt so i assumed they were done. the inspector who passd it however was a friend of hers.

before you can register a car in md and get tags or transfer tags you need to get it state inspected by a licensed inspector and get a inspection slip. im under the impression that there are certain criteria for the inspection mandated by the state.

ugh, i gotta cut my losses. her husband is a lawyer and the both of them have allredy prooven that they can make someons life a living hell by what they did to the other lady who quit before me. im putting it in gods hands.... im not religious but she is, so im convinced that there will be some repercussions. lol who knows.:p
when i lived in Texas, you were required to have an annual state inspection. they only inspected the car to make sure it was "safe to operate" on the roads. they didn't inspect the car for mechanical defects as long as they didn't effect the way it would be safely driven. eg: turn signals, headlights, horn, brakes (they didn't care about the overall shape of the pads and rotors, as long as it stopped) and emissions in some areas.

you bought the car as-is. if nothing was implied at the time of sale that it was in perfect, mint shape and noted, you are stuck with it.

it amazes me when people don't know how things work legally yet claim to be married or have a relative that is a lawyer....lol
 

BL

Senior Member
Depending on your States' DMV inspection procedure , you may , or may not have recourse through a complaint to the DMV Safety inspection Division , or small claims .

If the " Boot " falls under the safety issues , you should have gotten the results from the subsequent licensed inspector/mechanic and have him/her note on the receipt , in their opinion the defect couldn't have occurred within 3 mos. of the prior inspection .

In my state if the DMV takes the complaint , an inspectors from the DMV comes out to actually look at the vehicle .

Otherwise IMO , you wouldn't have a chance . Your chances are slim already .
 

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