How would you handle this?

[scotts]

Relative bought a new GM car recently. 7/25/05
- traded and wrote dealer a check for "new" auto
- car had 175 miles, dealer told them demo miles.
- purchaser goes to sign up for free on-star and on-star tells them that the 1 year on-star demo was registered in March of 05 to a "Mrs Thomas". They can't give the purchaser the full one year free on-star.
My relative asked my advise, I told him I could care less about on-star, but looks like they sold the car to someone who then returned the car to the dealer. Car was never titled, but certainly was not new. His check for the car has
already cleared.
He found this out last night and has not talked to the dealer yet.
Suggestions?

[Cave Man]

Call the State attorney general's office and have them investigate. Or at least ask the dealership if they would like you to.

[jjwvette]

Take It Back To The Dealer And Make Them Purchase The On Star For The First Year.
Did It Say Demo On The Sales Order?

[benenati379]

Run a Carfax and see if it has been titled before, don't just take their word for it. It could have just been a mix up with the On-Star. But if it has been titled already to that Mrs. Thomas and he was sold the car as "new" then that is just plain illegal. Whether it has 175 miles or 17500 miles, if it has been titled it is Legally "USED"!!! They will have to buy back the car!

Personally, this wouldn't bother me one bit, but I see how people coudl be VERY upset over something like this.

[RC45]

The main thing is the cars price should have been devalued to used price.

So they probably got ripped on the price.

In Texas what that dealer pulled is a hanging offence... you can't mess with a man's(or woman's) horse round these here parts

[Stumbo]

Demo cars should be discounted, at the least. Demo means not registered previously. Obviously, by saying the car was a demo, the dealer hid the real facts of the situation. Maybe a call to the better business burear, the local police (fraud) division, may get the dealer off the stick.


Your state vehicle department should have specific rules on what is and what isn't a used car. If it was taken off the lot by a private party who paid for the car and in whose name it was registered, it probably s/b considered used.

Other than checking the rules/laws, filing complaints and threatening the dealer, if the dealer won't do anything, it may not be worth your time. I would at least get the dealer to pay for the On-star and maybe throw in a car cover or other accessory for your time and trouble. Possible a small-claims action may be appropriate.

Note: I'm not a lawyer. I've had a bit of experience in lemon law claims and such. Good luck.

[Polar Bear]

Originally Posted by scotts

Relative bought a new GM car recently. 7/25/05
- traded and wrote dealer a check for "new" auto
- car had 175 miles, dealer told them demo miles.
- purchaser goes to sign up for free on-star and on-star tells them that the 1 year on-star demo was registered in March of 05 to a "Mrs Thomas". They can't give the purchaser the full one year free on-star.
My relative asked my advise, I told him I could care less about on-star, but looks like they sold the car to someone who then returned the car to the dealer. Car was never titled, but certainly was not new. His check for the car has
already cleared.
He found this out last night and has not talked to the dealer yet.
Suggestions?

I sold cars in college

it was not uncommon for sales people to use cars for theri personal business like soda runs or lunch runs, or just to cruise around on a slow day. that many miles indicates that somone was using the car for personal errands.

also slaes managers would just take home cars they wanted to over night. Those cars were never advertised as demos, the sales manager would just bring it back to the lot and we would try and sell it.

[allgoodhits]

In recent years many dealers no longer refer to cars as "used". The current term seems to be "previously owned".

If the car was not titled, then it could probably be argued that it was never sold as the transfer was never complete. Many dealers have programs where they let people take cars home overnight. Perhaps it was one of those. A few test drives by customers, a few lunch runs by sales staff, and an overnighter and that could easily account for 175 miles. Regardless, I have never seen a car with 0.0 miles, so they are all used to a degree. My Z had 3 miles on it at delivery. What level of used was it?

If the dealer will make the OnStar good and the price paid was fair, then the buyer knew it had 175 miles on it when purchased, so what is the damage?

Some battles are not worth fighting. Enjoy the new car....why spoil it from the start?

[Speedratchet]

I would go back to the dealer and see if they could explain the problem with on-star.

[scotts]

Just to update, the guy went to buy plates and the car had not been titled yet, so they could argue that it was new.
But, you should have heard the song and dance about why the OnStar was registered to someone.
The dealer claims that they sold the car to someone out of town, and mailed some of the paperwork to them, since the prurchaser could not come to get the car for a few weeks. The prospective owners called and registered the new car with OnStar before they picked it up. When they saw the car for the first time they didn't like the color, so the dealer put them in a different vehicle.

Anyway, he got a full year of OnStar out of them.

[Steve Tillman]

It could have been sold to someone and then the dealer could not get the financing that they thought that they could get for the orginal customer and the customer was asked to resign at a different APR or term and backed out of the deal and dealer got the car back..not a big deal just enjoy your car..and now that they have paid for the Onstar you got the better deal as a result of your complaint..

[Greg Irvine]

Steve is right, it's called an unwind...It happends all the time in California...Have your relative look at the sales contract...It will say New or Used...Usually at the top...If you have doubts, run the Carfax and ask them to show you...They pay a monthly fee so it shouldn't cost them anything but it will give your family piece of mind...Enjoy the car...

Greg

[Fleetone]

Originally Posted by scotts

Relative bought a new GM car recently. 7/25/05
- traded and wrote dealer a check for "new" auto
- car had 175 miles, dealer told them demo miles.
- purchaser goes to sign up for free on-star and on-star tells them that the 1 year on-star demo was registered in March of 05 to a "Mrs Thomas". They can't give the purchaser the full one year free on-star.
My relative asked my advise, I told him I could care less about on-star, but looks like they sold the car to someone who then returned the car to the dealer. Car was never titled, but certainly was not new. His check for the car has
already cleared.
He found this out last night and has not talked to the dealer yet.
Suggestions?

This is what might have happened, Buyer comes in and buys car, says he makes xxxx per year and on the job for 2 years. Finance dept gets approval and contracts buyer, salesman does online sign up for buyer, a few days later lender calls to confirm buyes income and job time and find buyer has not told the truth, lender calls dealer and cancels contract do incorrect info. OnStar clock is still running, it cannot back up. Hope this helps, Regards, Jerry

[yankee0304]

Originally Posted by allgoodhits

In recent years many dealers no longer refer to cars as "used". The current term seems to be "previously owned".

If the car was not titled, then it could probably be argued that it was never sold as the transfer was never complete. Many dealers have programs where they let people take cars home overnight. Perhaps it was one of those. A few test drives by customers, a few lunch runs by sales staff, and an overnighter and that could easily account for 175 miles. Regardless, I have never seen a car with 0.0 miles, so they are all used to a degree. My Z had 3 miles on it at delivery. What level of used was it?

If the dealer will make the OnStar good and the price paid was fair, then the buyer knew it had 175 miles on it when purchased, so what is the damage?

Some battles are not worth fighting. Enjoy the new car....why spoil it from the start?

Just to answer why no car that I know of will ever have 0.0 miles on it at the dealer lot:The vehicle gets test driven at the factory to test for leaks and bad parts. Then it goes to the dealer and they do a PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection) and make any adjustments/repairs necessary and drive the thing to the gas station to fill it up for the purchaser after it is bought, assuming there is not a gas pump on the dealers lot.

The same pretty much goes for the Caterpillar plant that I work at...the tractor gets tested/operated and driven at the factory. It's about quality assurance, and errors do happen in assembly, some parts do get left out or parts are just plain defective. I've seen bad parts, parts that werent installed that should have been (that created a junior ExxonValdez on the shop floor), and errors that happen for whatever reason. Humans are involved and thats why they get checked out before anyone of us will get the finished product.

[vant]

I go into the dealership, carrying a machine gun in one hand, and the car keys in the other.
"Say hello to my little friend!"



Scratch that.....bad idea.