Saturday, September 19, 2009

Bad Used Car Expierence

So I'm writing this blog just to get this off my chest. I know it sounds stupid and all but I have to let this out. At the beginning of the summer I took some money that I saved up and went looking or a used mustang to buy. I looked all over Craigslist, eBay, and talked to people I know. I came across a lot of nice mustangs but when I would call to come look at them, they were all sold. Finally, I came across a 1997 Mustang GT that had everything I was looking for and the seller only wanted $2650. That would leave me extra money to get the car through inspection and pay for some insurance since my parents told me they would have nothing to do with me getting a mustang. I drove almost to West Virginia to check it out. When I got to the guys house the car didn't look near as good as it did on Craigslist. The seller told me how it was in a small accident that did not hurt the frame or anything. He had all of the parts to fix it so I figured it was a good buy and would be a quick easy project. I bought the car on spot and by the time I got it home I was so excited to take it out. I drove it over to my mechanics house a few days later after bolting on the parts that needed to be replaced. I was feeling very good about the work I did and the fact that I was so close to driving a mustang. My mechanic, Robert, had the car up on jacks in a few minutes after I showed up. Within five minutes he had found more that five different pieces of evidence that the frame had been bent in what appeared to be more than one accident. By that point I was so disgusted that I just wanted my money back. I called the seller, a crook who guys by the name, Richard Dorfman. He had assured me that he could not, "screw a kid," "it would haunt him forever." When I was on the phone with me he totally acted like he didn't have any clue to what I was talking about. A few days later my dad and I wrote up a formal letter that let him knew that we had enough evidence to take this to court and have a very great chance of winning the case. With most used car sales it is understood that the vehicle is being sold "as-is," "buyer beware." Now that may be true most of the time but all of that is negated when fraud is added into the equation. The fraud part comes into play when Richard assured me over and over again that the car was in good shape except for the small parts that needed to swapped. He told me that he had his friend that owns a frame shop and the insurance adjuster both promised him the frame was totally straight and not twisted.

Right now I am in the middle of figuring out what I am going to do. I can either take this to court which looks like a major hassle. I would have a good chance of winning but it will cost me money in court fees and plus it will be a real pain in the butt. I can also have my mechanic straighten the frame and get the car straight. He will do the work for a good price since he is friends with my parents and we have a friendly relationship. This whole ordeal has been really bothering me and it takes away from everything I do. I cannot wait until all of this is over with. I wish that I would have taken my parents advice and just been happy with the cars I have. I feel like an idiot for even getting involved in something that now seems to be over my head.

2 comments:

  1. Don't blame yourself. It's instances like this one that make us wiser. I think if I was in your place, I would make a good deal with the mechanic to try to fix the car up. Either that or just sell the car to someone else if you just want to get it off your chest. And another thing..relax!

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  2. Yeah man, I was in almost the same exact situation. I bought a '97 Chevey Blazer from this sketchy guy in Anne Arrundel county for like 2 grand. Over the course of a year, it broke down like 5 times and I ended up spending almost 6 grand in repairs. I definately feel your pain. I finally just got rid of it and it was such a relief. I guess we both learned our lesson the hard way.

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