midnitepunkin
Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? NY.undefined January 2002, I went to Major and bought a 1998 Blazer LT 2-tone, fully loaded with only 24,050 miles, for $18,900.00. I checked out the car and found a few minor problems, but the dealership assured me that they would address them as soon as I bought the car. Since the vehicle only had 24,050 miles, once the minor problems were fixed, I'd have a dependable car with all the options I loved. With taxes, tags, fees and financing, the car's total was almost $24,000.00. After a couple of months, my title came showing 24,050 actual miles.
Soon, the transmission, drive shaft, ball joints, and several other things began to fail. The car was in Major's service shop constantly for the year I had their warranty. Halfway through the year, I was begging them to give me my money and take the car back or give me a car worth what I paid for this. Major refused to even extend my warranty, much less entertain my requests. I didn't find out till much later that according to NYS Lemon LAw they SHOULD have let me return the car because vehicle was in the shop multiple times for same repairs.
After my warranty expired, I purchased an extended warranty from another company. At first, I used it for a few minor repairs that Major had attempted to repair. Then, when I took my car to have electrical and transmission problems repaired, the warranty co. found that my car had approximately 65,000 miles on it in 2001. That was almost a year before I bought my car and they estimated that my Blazer could have up to 80,000 miles on it when I bought it, after averaging the mileage that was incurred during the past years. Since the mileage could not be proven, my warranty was voided until actual mileage could be shown. I was told to contact a lawyer since I was now a victim of "rollback".
I confronted the manager. He said I could trade in my "greatly depreciated" vehicle towards another car. He pulled out my files and went through my paperwork. I saw a computer printout stating the vehicle's mileage wasn't actual mileage. My signature was on it, but I know I didn't sign that particular paper. I wanted a copy of it, but he wouldn't copy it for me. The manager told me to leave. I went back another day and one of the other employees copied the paper for me. We couldn't find a paper that showed the actual mileage.
I have the title, all paperwork I had from the sale, all the service orders from the dealer, the copy of the mileage paper from the dealer, carfax report, and proof of all work done to vehicle that I had to pay out of MY pocket. I also paid $1,400.00 for a warranty that was void, because I used it for repairs before we discovered the rollback. With the purchase of the vehicle and the money I put into it, I'm dumping more than $28,000.00 into a car that was worth less than $9,000.00 when I bought it.
As far as I'm concerned I have proven that Major had intent to deceive me. They also deceived the Dept of Motor vehicles. They're on the NYS Attorney General's "Lemon Laundering" List and they were cited for not disclosing lemon status of their vehicles. I have heard that according to the NHTSA, victims of odometer fraud can be awarded 3 times the damages.
Major is still willing to let me trade in my "greatly depreciated" vehicle towards another used car.
I hired a lawyer over a yr ago. This is his first time doing this and he seems to be eager to settle. Should I sit back and let my lawyer take some money towards another used car, or should I get more aggressive? If I do hire another lawyer, would they want their money up-front or would it be taken from the settlement? What type of lawyer handles this? What type of damages should I be suing for? What kind of proof do I need? How do I find previous cases against Major?
Soon, the transmission, drive shaft, ball joints, and several other things began to fail. The car was in Major's service shop constantly for the year I had their warranty. Halfway through the year, I was begging them to give me my money and take the car back or give me a car worth what I paid for this. Major refused to even extend my warranty, much less entertain my requests. I didn't find out till much later that according to NYS Lemon LAw they SHOULD have let me return the car because vehicle was in the shop multiple times for same repairs.
After my warranty expired, I purchased an extended warranty from another company. At first, I used it for a few minor repairs that Major had attempted to repair. Then, when I took my car to have electrical and transmission problems repaired, the warranty co. found that my car had approximately 65,000 miles on it in 2001. That was almost a year before I bought my car and they estimated that my Blazer could have up to 80,000 miles on it when I bought it, after averaging the mileage that was incurred during the past years. Since the mileage could not be proven, my warranty was voided until actual mileage could be shown. I was told to contact a lawyer since I was now a victim of "rollback".
I confronted the manager. He said I could trade in my "greatly depreciated" vehicle towards another car. He pulled out my files and went through my paperwork. I saw a computer printout stating the vehicle's mileage wasn't actual mileage. My signature was on it, but I know I didn't sign that particular paper. I wanted a copy of it, but he wouldn't copy it for me. The manager told me to leave. I went back another day and one of the other employees copied the paper for me. We couldn't find a paper that showed the actual mileage.
I have the title, all paperwork I had from the sale, all the service orders from the dealer, the copy of the mileage paper from the dealer, carfax report, and proof of all work done to vehicle that I had to pay out of MY pocket. I also paid $1,400.00 for a warranty that was void, because I used it for repairs before we discovered the rollback. With the purchase of the vehicle and the money I put into it, I'm dumping more than $28,000.00 into a car that was worth less than $9,000.00 when I bought it.
As far as I'm concerned I have proven that Major had intent to deceive me. They also deceived the Dept of Motor vehicles. They're on the NYS Attorney General's "Lemon Laundering" List and they were cited for not disclosing lemon status of their vehicles. I have heard that according to the NHTSA, victims of odometer fraud can be awarded 3 times the damages.
Major is still willing to let me trade in my "greatly depreciated" vehicle towards another used car.
I hired a lawyer over a yr ago. This is his first time doing this and he seems to be eager to settle. Should I sit back and let my lawyer take some money towards another used car, or should I get more aggressive? If I do hire another lawyer, would they want their money up-front or would it be taken from the settlement? What type of lawyer handles this? What type of damages should I be suing for? What kind of proof do I need? How do I find previous cases against Major?
