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Consumers Beware When Buying Used Cars
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By
Stephanie Threinen
11 March 2004
(U-WIRE) SAN MARCOS, Texas – First time car shoppers often learn the hard way about the risks of buying a used car. Charles Davis, a communication design junior at Southwest Texas State University, bought his first used car at the beginning of his freshman year. Davis even took the precaution to have the mechanic at the dealership check out the car for him. The mechanic claimed all it needed were new hoses, but that there were no major problems.
About two months later, the car developed a major oil leak, the transmission went out and the speedometer stopped working.
When Davis went back to the dealership, he was told that the car was sold “as is,” and those problems were caused because he had driven the car too hard.
Unfortunately, hidden problems are all too common in used cars. One out of every nine used vehicles sold each year has concealed damage or possible hazardous wear and tear, according to Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS), a national non-profit auto safety and consumer advocacy organization.
More than one million vehicles of those totaled annually are rebuilt and sold again as damage-free. On more than three million vehicles, the odometers are rolled back. Because they are less experienced buyers than established consumers, students don’t always know what to look for, said a spokesperson for CARS.
For that reason, car shoppers should make sure to check important details about warranty information that are laid out in the Federal Trade Commission’s Used Car Rule Buyers Guide.
Used Car Rule Buyers Guide Protects Buyers & Dealers
“The Used Car Rule provides useful information about your rights,” said John Hallerud, the FTC’s Used Car Rule coordinator.
The rule requires dealers to post a Buyers Guide prominently and conspicuously inside each used vehicle for sale. It describes whether the vehicle is being sold as is or with a warranty, what percentage of repair costs the dealer will pay under warranty and the major mechanical and electrical systems on the car, including some of the major problems to look out for. The Buyers Guide also suggests to get all promises in writing and to ask to get the car inspected by an independent mechanic before buying.
“(The Buyers Guide) legally protects the dealership and protects the consumer as well,” said Wayne Collins, used car manager at San Marcos Toyota in Texas.
Hallerud said the most important aspect of buying a used car is knowing if the car is sold with a warranty or “as is.” Consumers who buy their vehicle “as is” are responsible for paying anything that goes wrong after the sale.
Yet buying an as-is car does not necessarily mean that no warranty is included.
“Selling a car ‘as is’ means that the dealership has not put a separate and distinct warranty on the car,” Collins said. “However, it might still have a factory warranty.”
Used-Car Buyers Need Dealer Promises in Writing
Collins said that many students, as well as other consumers, opt to buy cars without checking for a warranty, which can be a very hazardous decision. If a dealer promises anything, buyers should make sure to have it in writing on the Buyers Guide, Hallerud said.
“The Buyers Guide overrides anything else that is incorporated into the contract of sales,” he said.
It is a useful tool to consumers, but it does not include everything that needs to be checked on a car before making a purchase, Hallerud said. However, it does prompt further inquiry about other questions that need to be asked.
“The Buyers Guide deals with warranty disclosure, not the mechanical condition of the car,” Hallerud said.
In Davis’s case, the dealership did not display Buyers Guides on its used cars, and because it was his first time buying a car, he was unaware of his rights.
Collins said knowing buyers’ rights will help with the purchase of a quality used vehicle.
“The more informed a buyer is, the better consumer they will be,” he said.
There are many more important details a consumer needs to know about a car before purchasing that is not written on a Buyers Guide, Collins said. Many of these details, such as determining a fair price, how to conduct a background check from the vehicle identification number of a car and what a fair interest rate is, can all be found on the Internet by the consumer.
Copyright ©2003 The Daily University Star via U-Wire
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