Certified Used Ca

Q.I recently bought a used car from Cargill Chevrolet in Putnam CT and within a matter of two days the clutch failed. Cargill eventually fixed the clutch but what I really wanted was to cancel the sale - what I was led to believe was a dependable car was obviously not. I was informed by the State's Attorney General's office that the three day consumer protection of cancelling a contract was not binding for automotive sales. The Attorney General's office however informed me that there was no reason that the dealership itself could not honor the cancellation request. Cargill Chevrolet chose not to honor the request and insisted that a contract signed there was binding. Cargill Chevrolet advertises itself as a CERTIFIED used car dealership and the car I bought came with a 60 day guarantee that presumably honored the Certified used car designation. A Certified Used car is expected to be safe to drive for 60 days and has presumably undergone a thorough inspection for roadworthiness and safety. In conversations with others about the need to replace a clutch on a car with a little over 30+K miles on it, I became convinced that I needed an independent safety inspection of the vehicle. That inspection found a rear tire to be unacceptably worn and was cited on the safety inspection as needing replacement [I asked if this were the responsibility of a Certified dealership guarantee and the Ford dealership indicated that they would not sell a used car with that tire on it]. Additionally, they had recommended approximately $400 worth of preventative service not covered by the Cargill Chevrolet Certified guarantee. In addition to that they found over $300 dollars worth of additional problems with the vehicle that are covered by the original Ford warranty on the vehicle - this I would have never known about and would have wound up paying for thanks to the negligence of Cargill Chevrolet's Certification inspection. After days of being run around playing phone tag, I personally returned the car to Cargill Chevrolet and the service manager after a nod and wink with the salesman simply said the tire had sufficient tread. I asked that the tire be removed and checked for safety. He refused and later the business manager refused as well. As a consumer and a family man, I found this attitude - considering the Ford safety evaluation - to not only be negligent but malicious - potentially putting me and my family in danger. As a result, I must question whether or not used cars at Cargill Chevrolet undergo throrough examination before being sold or whether they are sold with serious safety defects that are corrected only after the consumer experiences a problem - potentially health threatening. Furthermore one has to wonder whether or not this kind of neglect is an isolated incident with Cargill Chevrolet or whether GM has a nationwide "don't inspect, don't tell" policy with used car sales and whether or not these guarantees mean much of anything. Secondly, the neglect to find or report problems already covered by the dealer warranty raises questions about the ethics of the quality of automotive warranties in general. Are dealerships failing to report problems so that consumers can be later charged for these problems? Are there legal remedies for this dealership behavior that amount to more than a nuisance small claims complaint?

A.Are you sure that the vehicle you purchased was a certified car? Did you directly ask if the vehicle is certified? Is it in the paperwork that it is certified? Just because a dealership sells certified used cars doesn't mean that all of its used cars are ceritfied. Since you indicate that you purchased a Ford at this Chevrolet dealer, this would indicate to me that the vehicle is not certified. GM dealers will only sell GM products as certified used vehicles. In addition, GM certified used vehicles have a 3 day, 150 mile satisfaction gaurantee. Therefore, if it was certified, the dealer would be required by GM's rules to take the car back. It sounds to me like you were misinformed. The dealer certainly sells certified used vehicles. I looked and they currently have 2 certified vehicles in stock. However, it is pretty easy for a salesperson to respond to the question "is this a reliable car?" with an answer like "We sell certified cars at this dealership" He hasn't technically lied, but the response is deceiving. He has not answered the question either. This could cause the buyer to think that he is buying a certified car when in fact that was never stated and is not the case.. Kind of like if I ask you "are you hungry?" and you reply with "I had pizza for lunch". While no lie was told, no question was answered. Whether you are currently hungry or not may not depend on what you had for lunch. Just like the reliability of the car you are purchasing has nothing to do with whether the dealer sells certified vehicles or not.

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