Bought me a used euro lemon

[coronet340]

I am hoping to get some advice with a junk car I bought.
About a month ago we upgraded my wife's VW bug to a 2003 Audi Allroad. Yea I know, it's European and they are expensive to fix. But it is the right sized car for our new baby and two big dogs. And the wife wanted it which means... well you know...
When I bought the car the guy said it was a 9 out of 10 on body condition and an 8.5 mechanically. Told me he would sell it to a friend because the car was that good. He was a private seller but since he sold more then 6 cars a year in the state of Texas he had to use his friends dealer license. The guy seemed nice enough, but I guess who isn't when they are trying to get into your wallet. AND I looked at this car at the guys house, which made me think he was more honest then a guy trying to make sure I didn't know where he lived.

Anyways, I got less then 100 miles on this car before it went into "limp mode" (won't come out of 4th gear). When this car first went into limp mode I contacted the guy I bought it from and he said "It was fine when I drove it" I informed him I was going to take it to a shop. We text back and forth a few times until he stopped responding. And I decided that he would get his and I just needed to handle MY MISTAKE for being overly trusting on used car.
It was in a shop for two weeks while the guy diagnosed the problem. He told me that it needed about 3k in tranny work alone. PLUS it had an oil leak on the main turbo. This sounded a little high for the torque converter and sensor he wanted to replace.
Last Friday I took it to a tranny specialist that quoted me 1500 for the same job, pending the first guy was correct on the torque converter and sensor. Well I just got off the phone with him, he said the tranny needs some work but that both turbos are leaking oil and that there is a coolant leak around the sensor among a few other problems.

I was ok with eating the cash to fix the tranny because that was my fault for not doing a better job investigating this car and it only has 81,000 mile on it. I figured 1500 and I could get another 1000000 miles out of it at least. BUT now it's pretty apparent I was defrauded by this jerk. This car is a lemon. And after the initial 7k cash we paid for it, it's looking like its going to be another 4k to get it right.

So my question is, in the state of Texas what recourse do I have? The lemon law does not cover me because there was no warranty with car. But the guy told me it was a sound car and I literally got less then 100 miles out of it. It's one thing if I had gotten like 1000 miles then yeah, this is my problem. But pretty much the car broke 3 days after I purchased it which is wrong warranty or not. I didn't even burn the 30 bucks in gas I put in it.


Thanks for all the help in advance!

 

[mopwrd340]

If you can get someone to look at the cars code history you might be able to tell if the codes have been erased and i believe it tells the mileage when it was erased . Hopefully you can pin it back to him while he had it ,

 

[ga66mopar]

From my experience if the seller isn't a dealer it's hard to win a case in court. He's just going to play dumb. Hate it this happened to you.

 

[Hemi Rebel]

You bought a used car as is where is. Hate to be blunt about it, but at least you can chalk it up to one of life's learning experiences.

 

[Bruzilla]

Most lemon laws do not pertain to used cars in general. These laws were written to protect people who buy new cars that are just not right from the factory and people have to keep taking them back for repairs over and over again. This car has 80,000 miles, so it's not only used but used beyond any commonly accepted warranty period. Unless there was a specific warranty expressed or implied, the car probably isn't going to be viewed as anything but an as is purchase and there won't be anything you can do.

 

[monaco66coupe]

I feel for you, I almost bought a 2007 BMW sedan, mint condition, 70k miles, a good price. he had had it for sale for two months, though. Second owner, fresh from Florida. I called a few Bmw owners to get feedback,as well as Mechanics, and decided not to take the risk. They told me to buy an Audi, a much better car. a 3k trans was the biggest worry. As hemi Rebel said, learn from it, and at least it is fixed.

 

[coronet340]

From my experience if the seller isn't a dealer it's hard to win a case in court. He's just going to play dumb. Hate it this happened to you.

That's the thing, technically I did buy it from a dealer. He used his friends license to sell me the car.

 

[Jonnyuma]

I like several of the euro-trash sport coupes from BMW, Audi, M-B and Jaguar, but I've never let myself buy one simply because I don't know enough about them to make an educated purchase. Sounds like you did the best you could as far as due diligence goes. Hidden problems are just that...hidden. It sucks for sure, but once you get the trans sorted out (Audis are fairly famous for trans issues) you oughtta be able to get that next 100K out of it. It's not much help as your digging deep in your wallet to un-F a car you just dropped 7 large on, but you'll get your use out of it over time.

Or you could unload that sucker fast before anything else goes bad and buy mama a Jeep Cherokee w a 4.0....they tend to outlive thier owners.

 

[coronet340]

Most lemon laws do not pertain to used cars in general.

I understand that a lemon law does not cover me. But I just found this -

If the car broke almost immediately after you took it out of the used car lot, you can file in small claims court and argue that you were defrauded.
If the dealer made any promises, either in writing or orally, about the good condition of the vehicle, he or she may be required to live up to them. Why? Because statements about a product that you rely on as part of deciding whether to purchase the product constitute an express warranty that the dealer breaches if the promise turns out to be a lie.

 

[Bruzilla]

I would suspect your best hope would be if your state has an "intended use" law. These laws state that anything sold for an intended use has to be capable of being used for that purpose unless otherwise stated. So if someone sells a car that's not drivable, and doesn't inform you of that, they are guilty of fraud. The problem would be you drove the car for 100 miles before experiencing a problem, which makes it hard to prove there was a known problem at the time of sale.

 

[coronet340]

I like several of the euro-trash sport coupes from BMW, Audi, M-B and Jaguar, but I've never let myself buy one simply because I don't know enough about them to make an educated purchase. Sounds like you did the best you could as far as due diligence goes. Hidden problems are just that...hidden. It sucks for sure, but once you get the trans sorted out (Audis are fairly famous for trans issues) you oughtta be able to get that next 100K out of it. It's not much help as your digging deep in your wallet to un-F a car you just dropped 7 large on, but you'll get your use out of it over time.

Or you could unload that sucker fast before anything else goes bad and buy mama a Jeep Cherokee w a 4.0....they tend to outlive thier owners.

I'm WAS ok fixing the trans, but not fixing the trans and turbos and sensors and whatever else is hidden in there waiting to rear its ugly head.

 

[monaco66coupe]

That's the thing, technically I did buy it from a dealer. He used his friends license to sell me the car.

Oh, a Dealer license number, go after the friend. Look for disclosures that were required. Only a dumb broker
lets a private owner ride along on the license.

 

[coronet340]

I would suspect your best hope would be if your state has an "intended use" law. These laws state that anything sold for an intended use has to be capable of being used for that purpose unless otherwise stated. So if someone sells a car that's not drivable, and doesn't inform you of that, they are guilty of fraud. The problem would be you drove the car for 100 miles before experiencing a problem, which makes it hard to prove there was a known problem at the time of sale.

I believe this is the avenue I will be pursuing. I didn't drive it 100 miles - I drove it home, wife took it to school and the store one day then she said it was acting weird. Got in it, tranny was being weird. Took it home then the shop. Less then 50 miles, which if they cleared the codes I would be able to get 50 miles before it started acting up. The rest of the mileage is from the shop test drives.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, a Dealer license number, go after the friend. Look for disclosures that were required. Only a dumb broker
lets a private owner ride along on the license.

I was thinking I could gain some leverage by going after the friend with the license, last thing he will want is to be tied up over the other sellers BS.

 

[monaco66coupe]

Absolutely! I was a licensed dealer in the 90's before Real Estate. In Nebraska you can file on that dealers license,
and sue in small claims up to $3500 with a Judge only. I am sure if you call that guy, and threaten action, he will
poop the pants. If you file with the State here a State Police Officer shows up at the place of Business. If you tell
them this guy stated he "borrowed" the license,,,,,,,,,,OOPHS!

 

[Moparsmitty]

I'm sorry that you are going through this experience and I hope that you can get some resolution from the guy who obviously sold you a piece of crap, but like the title of your thread says, there's a big lesson to be learned here. Yes you bought a "used euro lemon". The car lots, Craigslist, classifieds, etc. are full of these used euro beaters that look real nice in pictures and in person, but have serious mechanical/electrical issues. Fairly regularly I'll get a call from someone I know saying "can you look at this Audi/Volvo/BMW/....... whatever that I bought, and it's usually something that costs big $$$$ to fix. A friend of my wife's bought a high mileage '07 Audi a few months ago because she thought it was so "pretty" and it's been a nightmare for her. She spent over 3K on the trans and now it's having all kinds of electrical problems among other issues. For the money she's spent on the Audi and the repairs, she could have bought a new car with a 5 or 10 year warranty. It's a tough lesson for lots of people. Good luck to you.

 

[ws27]

Also double check you States lemon laws, don't write them off without checking. My state has a lemon law for any vehicle sale above $600.00 You may have something you're not aware of.

 

[Meep-Meep]

In CA I can't sell a car legally if it isn't smog legal. So if there is an issue with a check engine light (not sure if you have that coming on) then the seller is liable to make it right. Engines and trannys on new cars are so tied together electrically that perhaps you can use this against him if your state requires a smog on transfer. Sorry you have to put up with this crap.

 

[coronet340]

Thanks all!
As far as Texas lemon laws go, so far, the most I can find is it really only covers new cars or cars still under factory warranty.
But I did find this:
"Second, each state has what are called Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices (UDAP) laws. If the dealer has, for example, made verbal promises or didn't tell you about issues relating to your used car, you may have a cause of action. Third, Texas's version of the Uniform Commercial Code may provide you with relief. Finally, the Truth in Lending Act and the Federal Odometer Act might also be valuable in obtaining lemon justice."
Meep - There are no smog laws here, just state safety inspections and registration.

- I also just found that if he is not registered under that specific dealers license through our states DMV then what he did was illegal.
- And our small claims court goes up to $10000 which I can use, I just want my money back, nothing more.

 

[monaco66coupe]

That is a good plan, small claims is the most efficient avenue with the least hassle.

 

[Bruzilla]

I'm not really clear on the whole dealer's license thing. You said the guy was a private seller, but since he sold more than six cars a year he had to use his friend's license. Do you need a license to sell a car as a private seller in Texas? If not, and he sold the car to you as a private seller, do you have any paperwork that shows the transaction was performed under this friend's business license, like a receipt from a brokerage or dealership, dealer name on title, or on the title transfer? If the only information that is on the record shows the car was sold by the seller, then he and his buddy are just going to deny any affiliation with the sale.