For sale as is, question about used car purchase

[Tiggeroo]

My dd was in a car accident and it is going to be awhile til things are settled. We needed to get her something just to get to a local college in the mean time. We bought her a cheap used car from the owner yesterday. My husband is fairly good mechanically and the seller seemed to be earnest. DH knew for the price he would be doing some minor work on the car and that we would be replacing it in the summer. One of the things was a slight bump while driving, which the owner pointed out a bad tire. He also let him know that the ball joints and other front end work had been done recently. Well...........we pick it up and take it out on the interstate. Once we get it up to a decent speed it shakes like crazy. It is not likely a tire or suspension shake. We immediately go to Sam's and replace the tires and have them balanced. No difference. DH thinks something is seriouisly wrong with the motor. In addition, someone has disconnected the odometer (no idea how many miles on it) and the gas gauge seems to be very inaccurate. So with no odometer you can't even fill the gas tank and set the trip meter. There is absolutely no way to tell how much gas is in the car.
We have bought and sold many used cars over the years. DH is very good about stuff like this and has never been taken or really done poorly. Like I said, you expect to fix things if a car is cheap and used. But this is immediately unsafe.
I want to speak to the seller, but dh thinks this is useless as the vehicle was sold as is. I am furious. I wouldn't have the nerve to give this car to somebody.

 

[Disney845]

If you had some sort of written agreement about the car and the problems noted in the agreement then you may have some ground to work with here. If an odometer has been messed with it is a crime. If the original owner was the seller, you may have a claim. In most cases however, as is, is as is. You should have had the car properly checked out by a mechanic before you purchased it. You may just have to chalk this one up to a bad mistake on your part and try to find something else.

 

[nativetxn]

It couldn't hurt to speak with the seller. The worst he could say is "too bad", I'd waste at least one phone call on the matter.

Katholyn

 

[Rajah]

I'm sorry.

I, too, would talk to the seller. It's worth a try.

As for an odometer replacement -- it's not as good as a real thing, but if you get a hand-held GPS unit and make sure the battery is kept charged and that it's on any time the car is on, the GPS unit can help keep track of miles for you so you have at least *some* idea of how far you've gone on a tank of gas.

I had to do that with the speedometer when my speedometer went out on me twice until I could replace it.

Good luck. *hugs and PD*

 

[RitaZ.]

t couldn't hurt to speak with the seller. The worst he could say is "too bad", I'd waste at least one phone call on the matter.

I agree.

 

[Helopoh]

If an odometer has been messed with it is a crime. If the original owner was the seller, you may have a claim.

I am with this statment. Maybe you should find out if messing with the odometer is illegal. You may be able to get your money back with this behind you. I also agree on atleast the phone call to voice your concerns.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

HISSSSSSSSSSS...yes "As is, is as is"

Our last purchase we got burnt on as well. I asked if it was in an accident and they said, oh a small fender bender. HA! The van was just about totalled and improperly repaired to boot. You could not tell right away. Of course DH hounded the crap out of the shop that did the work (a dealer) and got them to fix the issues. So the van has a name..."HADES"

Next time we are only purchasing with a CarFax thingie. I hope we can do new someday.

 

[C.Ann]

When you had the new tires put on, did you get a front end alignment as well? That will make a car shake like crazy at interstate speeds..

Sorry you got burnt and I say give him a call anyhow..

 

[Tiggeroo]

and got nowhere. The car rides fairly straight, but we will have it looked at. I still think it is shaking because of a motor problem. He said his wife drove it every day and never mentioned a problem. It is just a really bad time for a bad deal. And my dd needs to get to and from college.

 

[Serena]

Please, do yourself a favor and next time anyone buys a used car, get it inspected by a mechanic before you spend all that cash.

 

[jc]

I believe in Mass. there is no such thing as "as is" when selling a car. We have a lemon law for new cars and a lemonade law for used cars. This law is for private and dealership car sellers. If any thing goes wrong with a car with in a certain amount of months from when you bought the car that effects it's safety or driveability you can go back to the seller and have them fix or return your money. I'm giving you the cliff notes of the law (from what I recall) but you may want to see if your state has similar laws on its books. And if there's any one from Mass who might know this law better feel free to point out any thing I missed.