[Baller930]

I bought a car about to be a year exact on the Feb. 14, 2008. This car is giving me MAJOR electrical problems because its not even turning on!! The original loan was about $30,000 and I tried to fix this problem about 3 times at the dealership (not the one I bought it from). I am tired of this, and have decided to not paying it any more! I don't care if it gets repo'ed but I do want to know what will happen? Or what else I can do? Every lemon law "firm" or the "BBB" I call gives me run-arounds on how they can't help me I have no clue what to do. Does anyone have suggestions?

[ScottGem]

What state do you live in? Does it have a lemon law? I know that in NY, if a prob lem is not repaired in three tries you are entitled to a replacement car.

But you need to act fast since these laws generally only cover the first year.

If you just return the car, you may still be responsible for the loan. The only way out would be through a lemon law coverage.

[Baller930]

Yes I do live in NY and I do believe it has a lemon law but like I said I call these places and no one can give any firm information...

[spitvenom]

A friend of mine bought a lemon in PA and this placed helped him get the car replaced. It says it is only for PA and NJ but maybe they can point you to someone in NY that can help.
Lemon Law - PA & NJ

[spitvenom]

Actually I just did a search and this place came up for NY.

Eugene Krukas - New York Lemon Law Attorney

[ScottGem]

OK, here is the law for NY:
New York Lemon Law Statutes - New Car

Here is the specific section applicable to you:
(1) If, within the period specified in subdivision (b) of this section, the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers are unable to repair or correct any defect or condition which substantially impairs the value of the motor vehicle to the consumer after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer, at the option of the consumer, shall replace the motor vehicle with a comparable motor vehicle, or accept return of the vehicle from the consumer and refund to the consumer the full purchase price or, if applicable, the lease price and any trade-in allowance plus fees and charges. Any return of a motor vehicle may, at the option of the consumer, be made to the dealer or other authorized agent of the manufacturer who sold such vehicle to the consumer or to the dealer or other authorized agent who attempted to repair or correct the defect or condition which necessitated the return and shall not be subject to any further shipping charges. Such fees and charges shall include but not be limited to all license fees, registration fees and any similar governmental charges, less an allowance for the consumer's use of the vehicle in excess of the first twelve thousand miles of operation pursuant to the mileage deduction formula defined in paragraph four of subdivision (a) of this section, and a reasonable allowance for any damage not attributable to normal wear or improvements.

Subdivision (b) mentioned above proivides for 18K miles or 2 years.

From what I read the auto manufacturer needs to provide a mechanism for processing requests under the law. So the first people you should be contacting in the mkanufacturer. The dealer should be providing you with points of contact.

If you can't get any satisifaction from the manufactiurer, then contact the Attorney General's office. This site:

Lemon Law
has info on how to report a lemon law claim to the AG.

Just as an aside, it took me less than 10 minutes of googling to find all this info. The first link includes links to two attorneys, both offerring free case reviews and help with lemon law issues

[Baller930]

THank both of you guys for this info I will look into it and will repost any info I get in return thanks a lot pals

[ScottGem]

Good luck and keep us posted

[Baller930]

No luck... I talked to the AG office of lemon law and they said that with a car with 80,000 miles it has only 30 days or 1,000 miles whichever comes first, WHAT BOGUS! I'm really considering a volunteer repo...

[Fr_Chuck]

And a repo will help you how?

First if it is fianced though a bank, the dealer already got paid, so they have their money.

If you stop paying they will repo the car, and sell it, then sue you and make you pay for the balance of what is due.

This is about how the math works

You owe ( I will make up a number)
8000 on the car, they repo it and add a repo fee of maybe 500 dollars plus legal fees of about 1000 dollars, then there are sales fee and advertising fees maybe another 500.

So now this non running car goes to auction and maybe brings 2000 if you are lucky, guess what, you still owe over 8000 as much if not more than you owed before you stopped paying,

They sue you, get a garnishment and you still pay for the car you no longer have

[ScottGem]

You paid $30,000 for a car with 80,000 miles on it? What was it, a Rolls Royce?

I also agree with Chuck about a repo.

[Baller930]

Lol wow good point. I don't know what to do... any one else has suggestions?

[ScottGem]

Well, if its not protected on lemon law, go back to where you got it from and try and get them to fix it. Or take it to an independent mechanic.

Or try contacting the media and see if they can get some action from the manufacturer or dealer.

But I'm still wondering why you would pay $30K for a car with 80K miles on it.