Even my problems are bigger in Texas

kscottz — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:03:19 -0800

I bought an out of state lemon - is it worth my time to pursue the matter in court? Do I have a moral obligation to go after a scammer that could potentially hurt someone? A little over three months ago I bought a vehicle on eBay from a dealership in Texas (I live in Michigan). At that time the dealer had excellent feedback and my car ran great when I first got it. After about three months, and less than 4000 miles, my car started having some break problems. I took the car in to a reputable mechanic and here is the list of problems (so far):

New break caliber shoes and pads ~ $900 - Seller claimed breaks were at least 50%
Faulty Motor Mount - One bolt sheared off and the other improperly seated. This is almost certainly not my fault and will cost close to $1000. This is a huge safety concern.
Bad belly pan - held on with zip ties - about $300 to replace.
Faulty CV joints - another $700.

I feel that these problems are not representative of a vehicle that was supposed to be in "excellent" mechanical condition. Because of the belly pan and the motor mount bolts my mechanic claims that either the seller did not properly inspect the car as claimed, or the listing stated fraudulent information. I talked to the dealer about the problems and why I felt he was entitled to pay for them. The dealer's response was to, "Grow up and get lost. We ain't paying you squat! Remember AS-IS WHERE-IS" Angered, I reviewed the seller's history and found that a significant portion of their auctions over the past three months have ended in negative feedback. I contacted half a dozen of the most recent buyers and found that they all had stories similar to mine. One guy had his timing belt fail while driving his car back to Ohio resulting in $3000 in damage.

I have already done the quick and easy things: contacted eBay, contacted the BBB, and contacted the Attorney General. Is it worth my time, money, and aggravation to pursue this guy legally (either under lemon laws or outright fraud)? Other sellers have had no success with third party mediators. Am I just out of luck because I bought the vehicle "As Is" and I have exceeded eBay's 60 day period to report claims? Should I go after this guy just to stop him from scamming other people, and potentially injuring someone in the near future? Is there something about Texas laws that make the state a safe haven for this activity? Do you know a reputable lawyer in the Dallas area?

I can provide more information as necessary.

I know you are not a lawyer, or cannot give legal advice without seeing the case specifics.

How do lemon laws work?

zsazsa — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 20:17:14 -0800

Has anyone here had to invoke the US federal Magnuson-Moss warranty act for a lemon automobile? How did it go? If you've used your state's lemon law, I'd like to hear your experiences as well. I'll try to spare all of you from listening to all of my car problems, but I have a 2004 Mazda3 with 10,000 miles and 6 months left on the warranty that I've lost my mechanical faith in. I live in Missouri, and I'm certain I don't qualify for the terms of my state's lemon law due to having had the car for too long. However, some descriptions of the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act like this one state fairly generous terms that I certainly qualify for. Is this too good to be true? It's hard for a layman like me to navigate the actual law to find out for sure.

In any case, I'd also like to gather any experiences from anyone else who's had their car "lemoned" to see how feasible this would be for me.

Also, any advice on finding a non-scummy lawyer to help me would be appreciated. I'd rather not just rely on clicking whoever ponied up the bucks for Google Adwords for searches for "lemon law."

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Even my problems are bigger in Texas

How do lemon laws work?