Ok. So my fiancé and I, bought a 2002 VW passatt, and we have had nothing but problems. First we bought it from a suburu dealership who said the check engine still on because their Suburu computer couldn't turn it off and assured us that there was no problem with it. I then found a piece of paper that showed the previous owner smelled some burning and that the ignition coil failed. So I took it back in saying that it had problems before and that I wanted to have it checked out. They said they replaced the thermostat, and when we drove it home it started to overheat, so we drove it back to have it looked at. They then put another thermostat in and flushed the radiator. Then it was fine for a month then the check engine light came on and we took it in to find out that 10 (ten) misfire codes were shown, and was going to cost around $1900.00 to fix. It said that there was water deposits in the brake line, a vacuum line that was torn, the cam tensioner was loose and some other things I can't remember that I have on my paper. So then we had to move out of state from Washington to Nevada and we didn't have the money to fix it. We have two recall notices about our vehicle which could be life threatening and don't know what we can do about it?? Now our check engine light is blinking and it says in our Manuel that our catalytic converter is damaged. :eek: and there is a piece from the exhaust system getting red hot before the engine temp. gauge is up to operating temp. Does anyone know what the lemon laws are and what we can do about this??

Hello r:

IF there's a lemon law, you have to give the dealer a chance to fix it. You're not going to be able to do that way down in Nevada.

excon

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Originally Posted by rhiannahunt

Ok. So my fiance and I, bought a 2002 VW passatt, and we have had nothing but problems. First we bought it from a suburu dealership who said the check engine still on because their Suburu computer couldn't turn it off and assured us that there was no problem with it. I then found a piece of paper that showed the previous owner smelled some burning and that the ignition coil failed. So i took it back in saying that it had problems before and that I wanted to have it checked out. They said they replaced the thermostat, and when we drove it home it started to overheat, so we drove it back to have it looked at. they then put another thermostat in and flushed the radiator. Then it was fine for a month then the check engine light came on and we took it in to find out that 10 (ten) misfire codes were shown, and was going to cost around $1900.00 to fix. It said that there was water deposits in the brake line, a vacuum line that was torn, the cam tensioner was loose and some other things I can't remember that I have on my paper. So then we had to move out of state from Washington to Nevada and we didn't have the money to fix it. We have two recall notices about our vehicle which could be life threatening and don't know what we can do about it??? Now our check engine light is blinking and it says in our Manuel that our catalytic converter is damaged. :eek: and there is a piece from the exhaust system getting red hot before the engine temp. gauge is up to operating temp. Does anyone know what the lemon laws are and what we can do about this???

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As far as the recall notices - take it to a VW dealership which will fix it as ordered by VW.

As far as lemon laws and recovering your money - you have to go back to where you bought it. The catalytic converter damage may very well be connected to the recall notice. You won't know that until VW takes a look at it.

Washington lemon law is at play here. To qualify, the car must be new or nearly new. I don't know if a car which is now 6 years old qualifies - also note you must make a REASONABLE NUMBER OF ATTEMPTS to repair the problem. You can't just file a lemon law complaint without attempts to repair. It also appears from the language that the complaint MUST be filed within 30 months of delivery of the car to the FIRST owner - it does not have teeth concerning used cars:

"Under the Washington State Motor Vehicle Lemon Law, a vehicle is considered a lemon when it hasn't been repaired after a reasonable number of attempts. Washington State has a Motor Vehicle Lemon Law that is designed to protect consumers who have continuing warranty problems with a new or nearly new vehicle. If you feel you own a lemon, under the law you can request an arbitration hearing through the Attorney General's Office.
To be accepted for arbitration your vehicle must be covered under the law. With a few exceptions, the law covers passenger cars, small and mid-sized trucks, large motorcycles, and motor homes.
To be covered, your vehicle must have been originally purchased or leased in Washington state and also originally registered in Washington.
You do not have to be the original owner of the vehicle to request arbitration, but your vehicle must meet all the qualifications. You must also apply for arbitration within 30 months of the vehicle's original delivery date to its first owner."

This is a issue,
1. most lemon laws are for new cars not used.

2. a used car will either have a warranty when purchaes
Or be bought "as is" most are sold that way.
If this auto was bought as is, then there is nothing you can do since it was your obligation to hire someone to check it out before you bought it.

But excon is correct, even if there was a lemon law, the dealer would have to be given 3 or 4 chances to fix it first.