It's been less than a week ago I traded in my old car to purchase a used 2012 GMC Acadia. After a few days of me being very excited of my new car I started looking closer at what I really bought. First thing I noticed was the driver door seemed off? And inside the door was a factory badge , that had a deliberate attempt to scrub off the vin number but what they forgot was the manufactured date was marked at 2/07 again my car is a 2012. Also in the door jam is a sorry attempt of a remake of a manufactured factory sticker with gm stamped on this peel and stick sticker with my correct vin number and wrong manufactured date (2/07) so the door was replaced with a 2007 door and a fraudulent sticker was placed in the car. But that's not all the headlights are different the one had been changed on the driver side, one looks brand new as the other looks like normal ware and tear. Bolts have factory paint stripped off of them under the hood which tells me my car has been taken apart. I can go on and on, I want to know that what this dealership has done is against the law, and what legal steps I should take first. I'm so upset and feel so betrayed please some one answer my question!
Based upon what you have said, you might have a legitimate claim against the dealership for fraud. Contact a local attorney well versed in auto dealer fraud in your state.
We have sued manufacturers for so called "certified pre-owned" vehicles. For example HONDA and GM. To determine the best course of action I would need to see the paperwork and the advertising on the vehicle. This is a consumer fraud claim not a lemon law claim so you need to look at it differently.
For example this is portions of the deposition of HONDA's representative we took:
Sir, what's your name?
16 A My name is Daniel G. Crowe.
21 Q All right. So you are being designated to speak
22 about the topics of Honda Certified Used Car Program;
23 right?
24 A Yes.
18 Q Okay. You're in charge of the Honda-certified
19 used cars at American Honda?
20 A Yes.
11 Q And it's Honda's position that it's the dealer
12 who is responsible for the accuracy of that 150-point
13 inspection; right?
15 THE WITNESS: Well, the dealer is responsible
16 for performing the 150-point inspection.
18 Q Are they responsible for the inspection if it
19 turns out to be wrong?
20 A I don't understand the question.
3 Q Do you see over to the right-hand side, that box
4 where it says, "Honda-certified 150 points inspection
5 process"?
6 A Yes.
7 Q Okay. It says, "Every Honda-certified used
8 vehicle must pass an exhaustive 150-point inspection";
9 right?
10 A Yes.
21 Q Okay. Now, if the condition of the vehicle was
22 that it wouldn't have met or passed the 150-point
23 inspection at the time it was sold, is that Honda's
24 responsibility or the dealer's?
1 THE WITNESS: As I previously stated, it is the
2 responsibility of the dealer to select the vehicles that
3 he wants to put in the certified program. He must do a
4 150-point inspection and recondition that vehicle to meet
5 our standards. And then he certificates that car through
6 the IN system.
8 Q Okay. If the car doesn't meet the standards
9 when it's sold to the consumer, and the consumer wants to
10 say, "Hey, this car doesn't meet the standards," is it
11 Honda that is responsible for the consumer or the dealer?
15 THE WITNESS: It's the responsibility of the
16 dealer to fix the car and make it right.
18 Q Okay. I just want to be clear on that.
19 So, for example, one of the strict standards
20 that a Honda-certified used car, every Honda-certified
21 used car has to meet at the time of sale is it has to
22 have more than 50 percent of the brake pads present at
23 the time of sale; right?
24 A Yes.
25 Q Okay. If that turns out to be false at the time
1 of sale, it's really 25 percent, it's your position that
2 that is the dealer's responsibility to the consumer; not
3 Honda's?
4 A That is correct.
5 Q So when a car is represented as being a
6 Honda-certified used car, is the dealer making that
7 representation on behalf of Honda?
9 THE WITNESS: I don't understand your question
10 there.
19 Q Is it Honda that is saying it passed the 150
20 points, or is it the dealer?
21 A It's the dealer that is indicating that the
22 vehicle has passed the 150-point inspection.
6 Q But are they making that representation on
7 behalf of Honda, or just on behalf of themselves?
8 A They are making that representation on behalf of
9 the dealership; that they have gone through and done the
10 150-point inspection and have reconditioned the vehicle
11 to meet Honda-certified standards.
12 Q Okay. So not on behalf of Honda itself?
13 A No.
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So as you can see, your case is more than about a defective car but the fact that the manufacturer is not the one making the guaranty about the present condition of the car at the time of sale. Just "joes used car shack".
