Cars and Money: Duped

Duped

By rippedoff - 04/03/2010 14:09 - Australia

Today, I found out that the man who sold me my car 6 months ago lied about it being "recently serviced" and "in excellent condition". It actually hasn't been serviced in years, and fixing all its problems is going to cost me $900 more than what I paid for the car. FML

I agree, your life sucks 12 223

You deserved it 29 881

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Same thing different taste

Wreck

By Car Problems - 03/03/2021 20:01

Today, I paid over $500 to pick up my car from the mechanic, after it'd spent almost a month there. It broke down again on the way home. FML

I agree, your life sucks 1 052

You deserved it 78

By exalia - 07/05/2012 20:40 - United Kingdom - London

Today, I finally bought a car, after saving up for a year. My dealer had told me it was a good buy, so I snapped it up then and there. On the way home, the rear axle practically fell out of the car due to frame rot. My dealer wants to buy the car back at half the price. FML

I agree, your life sucks 13 080

You deserved it 30 272

By Kilamo - 04/07/2019 16:00

Today, I paid $2300 to a mechanic for fixing my car. It's also the day I got into an accident and totalled said car. FML

I agree, your life sucks 1 667

You deserved it 176

By crossl17 - 12/11/2018 15:30

Today, I bought a new $10,000 car since my old one broke down. Today, I also found out the old one wasn’t starting because i never had it in park. FML

I agree, your life sucks 1 137

You deserved it 4 692

Thanks dad…

By Anonymous - 06/09/2013 16:10 - United Kingdom - Godalming

Today, my car broke down. My dad insisted he could fix it, but screwed up in the process. After finally getting the car towed to a mechanic, I was told that I'd only needed a new water pump, but thanks to the damage my dad did, fixing it all will cost me a small fortune. FML

I agree, your life sucks 43 998

You deserved it 3 792

Sounds like a scam

By Onlymeiswear - 15/03/2021 05:01

Today, I bought a car. Made a down payment and everything. Have the papers saying it’s mine, only to find out a few hours later it was sold right before I bought it. FML

I agree, your life sucks 971

You deserved it 80

Beater

By Anonymous - 13/05/2024 23:00 - United States

Today, I bought a used car from a private dealer my parents had recommended. On my way home they called to tell me that their car broke down. They bought it last week from the same guy. FML

I agree, your life sucks 474

You deserved it 74

By StupidCar - 07/02/2009 20:56 - United States

Today, I spent 600 dollars to have my brakes fixed on my car, they weren't squeaking. I got my car back and now the brakes squeal and my air conditioning won't work. I just spent 600 dollars to break my car even more. FML

I agree, your life sucks 34 060

You deserved it 4 880

By Kelleee - 30/09/2017 20:00

Today, I paid £200 for a car service to make sure everything was running okay. I got the all clear that everything was perfect and all necessary fluids topped up. I then wrote the car off 20 minutes later in an accident. FML

I agree, your life sucks 3 167

You deserved it 460

Burning rubber

By Anonymous - 16/05/2021 00:01

Today, I bought a car that literally caught fire seconds after I started the engine. The dealership then fobbed me off, saying I'd driven it off their forecourt (by about 3 yards), so it was entirely my problem, but they still expect my monthly payments to be on time. FML

I agree, your life sucks 1 194

You deserved it 91

idkweird 0

Thursday 4 March 2010 20:04

That's why you always ask if you can have a mechanic look it over for you before you buy it. I'm completely ignorant about cars, and even I know that much.

Mjolnirmrksx 0

Thursday 4 March 2010 20:09

rule #1 about buying used cars, ALWAYS ALWAYS have AT LEAST 2 different mechanics inspect it before you buy it! and NEVER use the guy the car owner suggests because they could have worked something out with them in advance

Comments

megnut1014 0

Friday 5 March 2010 4:01

the lemonaid law, which is an actual law, allows you to legally make him give you you're money back or make him pay for the repairs.

njmachine 0

Friday 5 March 2010 5:27

Was it a dealer or a private party? Lemon laws for dealers are stuff like if there is a specific part that is repeatedly breaking before normal service intervals, the dealer is responsible. Lemon laws for private party are typically only for things such as blatant fraud. Examples would be a car that's been stolen, stripped, and resold. A car that had major flood damage or was declared as "totaled", but re-sold anyway. A car with a salvage title. A car with an odometer that has been rolled back. Et cetera. With old cars, things break. It's a fact of life. Sad to say it since OP seems like a nice girl, but once she signed the paperwork, it's her problem now. You can't sue someone for neglecting to take care of their vehicle. Private party car sales operate somewhat on the honor system, and somewhat on the "know what to look for" system. It's much better to rely on the latter. It sounds like there's not much you can do besides trying to get a reasonable cost estimate, but there's a whole laundry list of sleazy used car sales tricks and how to detect them. The seller sounds sleazy if he lied about the maintenance he did on it, but it's a used car. You're not going to get a full refund because parts broke half a year and thousands of miles of driving after you bought it.

marc_with_a_c 3

Friday 5 March 2010 4:12

Your own fault for not having the car inspected at the garage first before buying it..

hedgehogs 0

Friday 5 March 2010 4:55

You really need to have someone who knows what they're doing inspect any car before you buy it. Well worth the expense. That said, he ripped you off. I don't know Australian law, but I would assume there is some kind of recourse such as small claims. If all else fails, find a consumer hotline or info site that can walk you through making his life hell. Nothing like the good old legal system to make someone's life hell if they deserve it.

teebonehead 0

Friday 5 March 2010 4:59

2 words for you mate, buyer beware !

blastvortex 3

Friday 5 March 2010 5:39

Haha. When it comes to used vehicles, you should always get it inspected before you buy it. If the owner refuses, then you can take your business elsewhere. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. BTW, you needn't bother with trying to charge the seller with anything, because unless you're lucky enough that you have proof of his claim — and it certainly doesn't sounds that way — all you're going to do is waste more of your money needlessly.