Archive for the ‘Buy a Used Car’ Category

Iraq War Veteran Becomes Casualty of Used Car Dealership

Posted on: June 25th, 2010 by admin No Comments

 

After coming back from her deployment in Iraq, Laticia Wallace thought the war was over.  Much to her surprise the used car dealership in Willmington, NC would be the one who takes her down. 

Saturn

2003 Saturn Vue

Laticia bought this 2003 Saturn Vue for $8000.

 Here is an excerpt from the news story from WWAY NewsChannel 3 of Willmington, NC.

  “There was nothing he said wrong with it,” Wallace said.  “It was a fairly good car, 2003, and it only had 80,000 miles on it”

 Just to be safe, Wallace bought a $1,500 extended warranty on the car. But two days later, when the Saturn’s battery died, she found out the battery wasn’t covered under warranty. Over the next few weeks, she found out the rotors and the brakes also needed replacing, and when she got caught in a rain storm, she says she realized one of her headlights was out and her windshield wipers weren’t working correctly either.

 Not a single one of those problems were covered by her extended warranty, and out of frustration, Wallace canceled it. One week later, her transmission died.

“It’s really not a good feeling,” Wallace said. “I’m really upset that people can’t be honest. If a transmission is that bad and goes out two months after I bought the car, somebody had to know something was wrong with it.”

What is even more shocking is the following statement taken from the same story:

 “We called Blue Water Motor Sports for an explanation. They showed us a receipt saying they paid $70 to have the Saturn Vue inspected less than a month before Wallace bought it.”

 So here is the question Used Cars Exposed would like to ask.

 How does a car pass certification or inspection when it has the following faults?

  • rotors and brakes that need to be replaced – a few weeks later
  • a battery which fails- 2 days later
  • headlights and wipers which were not working properly
  • a transmission that completely dies in 2 months

 

The complete answer to that question can be found here in our exclusive behind the scenes interview by Former Service Manager of a National U.S. Franchise Asif Mandozai.

 

Click here to discover more about used car buying…

 

Do you make this #1 most expensive mistake when buying a used car?

Posted on: May 19th, 2010 by admin 2 Comments

The most common mistake used car buyers make is also the most expensive.   It is related to the first question that used car buyers ask about the used car they want to buy -

Is this car certified or has it passed the safety inspection?

The safety certificate or certified used car usually costs consumers more money than they think.  The safety certificate is in fact the most dangerous and expensive mistake that used car buyers fall into.

The pitfall of the certified used vehicle falls into two categories:

A. ‘Certified’ being a mistake or misnomer on the used car buyers part, and

B. A legal loop hole used car dealers and mechanics have.

Let’s deal with the first category first,

‘Certified’ being a mistake or misnomer on the used car buyers part,

Many used car buyers are under the impression that when buying a used car a safety certificate or a certified used car indicates the car is in good shape.

One needs to understand what a safety inspection entails and what it really means.  The name safety is more accurate than the connotations behind the word “certified”.

In short the safety certificate will ensure you have a safe vehicle which shouldn’t have serious problems in the next 90 days.  Yes I said 90 days.

It means your brakes should have enough pad on them to last the 90 days.  It means your wipers, lights, seatbelt latches etc are all working and will keep working for 90 days.

What it does NOT mean:

  • It does NOT mean your transmission is in good order. (A rebuilt transmission by the way may end up costing you about $1500-2000)
  • It does Not mean your engine won’t give you problems. (Another $2000 job)
  • It does NOT mean you have an A/C system which doesn’t already have problems. (An entire A/C sytem repair would cost you about $1800)

This can be really deceiving because on the safety inspection sheet you will notice very clearly that ‘engine’ and ‘transimission’ and even “A/C” are supposedly checked in order for the car to be certified.  So what does all this really mean?

To find out more information and how to buy a used car, check out our video used car buyer’s guide.

Don’t miss the exclusive 90 minute interview with the former service manager of a national U.S. franchise, Asif Mandozai, a service garage whose primary customers were used car dealers, certifying vehicles, is more than shocking – it’s disturbing.

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE