Major deception

[jj923]

What is the name of your state? Oregon

I am a single mother who bought 96 Nissan Altima w/106,550 miles at a car lot on the 23rd of Nov, 2005. The odomoter also does not work on this car, which I didn't realize until after I bought it (Example, it does roll occassionally, but on a recent 20 mile drive it didn't roll at all, but when I went to the gas station 1 mile away it showed that 1 mile), so I don't know what the true miles are on this car. I did notice the brakes were making noise but I figured since I haggled them down from the $4500 they wanted for the car I could get a coupon for Meineke or something and get the new brake pads. I took it to a Nissan Dealership to get it looked at and the guy told me it has numerous leaks, the brakes are metal to metal, probably needs new rotors, cv boots blown etc, The guy advised me to take this car back and get my money refunded! The repairs on this $3200 car will cost me $2500. I can't afford that. Btw, Before purchasing I pulled a carfax on this car, it came out fine, I test drove it, it felt fine, etc I feel totally ripped off and out of $3200 bucks.
Ii have called this car lot, all of a sudden no one is available, the guy isn't there, etc.
I know they will not just give me my money back, but I am wondering if I have any legal rights considering the odomoter doesnt work?
Advice please, THANKS

 

[seniorjudge]

Go get the odometer fixed. It may have broken since you got it.

If you think this person is a con artist, report him to the cops.

 

[jj923]

This did NOT happen AFTER I got it, there was something clearly wrong with this car, the odometer wasn't moving at all when I left the car lot, unfortunately it was the day before Thanksgiving and the traffic was unbelievable, I am new to the city and didn't know how to get back by the time I noticed this. All I had was the mapquest to get back home.

 

[racer72]

You should of had the vehicle inspected before, not after the purchase. Dealers are only responsible to verify that they believe the mileage to be correct, this can be difficult for a dealer to positively verify if they bought the car at auction one week and sold it the next. Read the odometer statement you received with the car. You, and many others, are finding out Carfax reports are overrated, they only tell if a vehicle as been in a major accident. They tell nothing of the real history or maintainance of the vehicle.

 

[cjbrown929]

My odorometer smells funny?

As I have noted before, the dmv takes issues with a car's odometer VERY seriously given that vehicles are generally the second most expensive purchase for a family behind housing.

Let me begin by noting that your car must now and forever be sold as "tmu" or "total miles unknown" significantly decreasing its value (50%?)

On your sales contract, does it state an actual #, like 103,686, or does it state that the miles are "unknown"?

Because of the huge loss in value for a tmu car, when a car is traded in to a dealership, the person who appraises the car will ALWAYS check to see if it (the odo) is operating. Additionally, the seller is required to sign a statement under penalty of perjury that the odo reading is true and accurate to the best of his knowledge or that the miles are unknown. There are only two choices.

Unless the odo started malfunctioning RIGHT after you bought it, SOMEONE knew there was a problem.

The fact that the odo was malfunctioning from the minute you left the lot could be a REAL problem for the dealer if they knew the odo was not working but did not disclose it.. See the "Odometer Fraud" thread under "Consumer Contracts" in this forum for the outcome of a situation similar to yours (it's a long one). I'll add that if you can demonstrate that the dealer knew what was going on, you could retrieve triple damages.