Used Car issue

[jdwilks]

What is the name of your state? Missouri -- Here is the situation. I bought a car on January 3rd, 2005. It was a used car but from a larger dealership. It did not come with a warranty but being a second car I was OK with this. The car did come with a state inspection from the dealership and it passed. The one problem the saleperson pointed out was the cracked front windshield which he said would be replaced upon purchase. Well i went in to actually purchase the car a few days later and I brought up the windshield and they didnt know about it (this is the owners of the dealership i am talking to, not the saleperson) they where ok for paying for this since they didnt understand how it even passed inspection with the crack. Anyway on Jan 17 2005, about 2 weeks later I blew out a tire on the car. I see I had ran over a nail so I took the tire in to get fixed. Firestone tire looked over the tire and the rest of the tires on the car and said the tires where bad, they had tread but they had cracks and wierd wear all over them. After they pointed this out to me I could tell what they meant so i went ahead and purchased new tires all the way around (500 dollars or so). I am somewhat of track but the day or maybe the day after i bought the car i noticed a lug nut stud was missing. Well i had replaced one before and they are only like a few bucks so i was ok with this. Well when i got the new tires I decided to have them fix it instead. Well come to find out the entire wheel bearing hub assembly needs replaced because the lug nut that is missing has stripped out the hub assembly. So now its a 300 dollar repair that is needed. I passed on the repair and Firestone said no biggie just that the car won't pass inspection. Well the car did pass inspection with that issue and the windshield issue so do i have any recourse or am I responsible??

 

[racer72]

If you would have had the vehicle inspected prior to purchasing it, you would not have the problems now. Do you know what caveat emptor means? If not, look it up in a dictionary.

 

[seniorjudge]

Can you prove that the lug nut problem was on the vehicle when you bought it?

If not, you are out of luck.

BUT, if it's a large dealership, go back and ask them about it. Can't hurt.

 

[jdwilks]

If anyone would like a follow up here it is -- I talked to the dealership and the have agreed to help me out not only on the hub but also the tires -- In all with the tires it was about 1000 dollars and they agreed to pay for half. They where nice people so I wouldnt expect this anywhere but I am happy with the outcome

 

[seniorjudge]

If anyone would like a follow up here it is -- I talked to the dealership and the have agreed to help me out not only on the hub but also the tires -- In all with the tires it was about 1000 dollars and they agreed to pay for half. They where nice people so I wouldnt expect this anywhere but I am happy with the outcome

You DO NOT have to answer this: what county was this in?

Congrats, by the way!

 

[wnagel]

I am a Missouri Vehicle Inspector and can tell you the specific law on windshield cracks. If there is one crack, we are allowed to pass it. These are considered stress cracks. On the other hand, if the crack has spider webbed out into 3 or more cracks, then we do not pass.

 

[seniorjudge]

...stress cracks....

I have some of these myself.