My boyfriend and I purchased a 2004 Jeep GC Limited with 132k miles on it at a used car dealership 5 days ago. The day after we purchased it, the "CHECK ENGINE" light popped on and stayed on. We had our mechanic look at it and he said that the 2 bolts holding the transfer case on the transmission had broken completely off, and the tranny is loose!

He said in order to fix the problem the whole thing would have to be removed and be very costly. In addition, the torque control in the transmission is broken as well. Either way, it's a costly fix.

The dealer never made us aware of these MAJOR problems. We asked him if it was mechanically sound and he said "yes, it's good". That was after he had HIS mechanic look over it prior to purchase. He said that his mechanic does not check things like that but he checks a number of other things...

So, when we confronted him with these issues centered around the transmission, he replied, "What do you expect? It's a USED car! It's USED! You never know what you're going to get!"

Please, anybody that knows anything about car sales fairness laws, PLEASE help suggest what we can do. We already put 1500 deposit and financed several thousand more before we were aware of these issues! Thank you so much for any helpful information. Sincerely, DepressedCarGirl

 

I know in Georgia there is no used used car lemon laws...are you from Georgia?

 

https://www.freeadvice.com/resources..._lemon_law.htm

If you bought it as is, you may not have much recourse. Call up your state resource and ask their advice.

That said, if they KNEW it had issues and they did not disclose them to you, depending on your state, you could have a case. Since the Check Engine Light went on after one day after you bought it they could have reset it, which would give them time to sell it before the code reappeared. The time between resetting the code and its reappearance varies depending on the issue.

OBD computers store ("log") the code history including when it was reset. IDK how sophisticated that is on 2004 GCs, perhaps someone here can chime in or you could go to the dealer and get that read. If you can demonstrate that they reset the CEL just before you bought it you'd have a strong case for refund or civil action.

BTW what was the code?

 

Stuff that you might have in the history:

• Distance traveled while MIL is activated
• Number of warm-ups since DTCs cleared
• Distance traveled since DTCs cleared
• Engine run time while MIL is activated
• Engine run time since DTCs cleared

 

Consumer Law varies with jurisdiction, so you must Google what is applicable for where you live.

It would be helpful for you to give an indication of where that is, as others may know

Used vehicles sometimes have limited warranty, other times not, depending on age, mileage, price, circumstances of sale, and applicable Consumer Law

The dealer will give you nothing unless he is legally obliged, and you take the correct action

I should also point out that a '04 Grand Cherokee is not technically an XJ Cherokee, but a later inferior model, which is dealt with on a sister sub forum

 

 

And since this would now become a fraud case instead of Lemon Law, you may be able to legally contact the previous owner and find out what they knew. If they turned it in knowing that there were issues (at the very least it had a CEL), forget about a refund, launch a lawsuit.

 

there is very little recourse for such instances in the used car market. the only way you’d have something is if somehow you could prove the seller knew of issues the vehicle had and did not disclose them to you. not likely. it is a used car, they’re all a gamble once out of manufacturers warranty. not to mention you’d prob need at min a couple thousand for a retainer as no lawyer will take a case like this without it.

 

Not so. Bring it to small claims court and you'd only have to pay a filing fee. If the evidence is strong, they'd probably settle before you got to court anyway.

 

small claims is a max of $6k here. i think $8k in marion county. plus you’d have to provide some sort of proof, he said she said will not qualify. good luck getting any PROOF in a situation like this.

 

Well, we don't where the OP resides we don't know what the limits are, but if she wants to return the vehicle then the amount on that could be academic (more on that later). Going price is about $7K so we could be OK regardless of the state. Or if the OP just wants the $$$ to repair the vehicle we should be well within the limits in any state. Evidence has already been discussed-- present the existing damage and offer that there was a reasonable expectation that the seller should have known this; get as much history as possible from the DTCs to show that the seller was aware of the issues; and seek out the previous owner to find out what was known beforehand (in my state if they are unwilling they can be subpoenaed to testify).

During the small claims process there will be multiple opportunities to settle out of court, and IMO the seller may very well just back down as the bad PR alone wouldn't be worth it. And he won't have lost very much, as he'll get the GC back to sell to some other unsuspecting customer...

 

Before you all get way too carried away with misinformation . There is no recourse for you . I have been in the auto industry since before I could legally drive . I’ve worked in small and big dealerships . It is the BUYERS responsibility to make an informed decision on their purchase and 99 percent of the time the buyer rushes into a purchase not being mechanically inclined and too excited to spend the time or money to do things right . You can read online about all the lemon laws you want but I’d bet a significant amount of money it had an as-is where is contract printed on the window or at time of sale to prevent such fall back . Don’t waste your time trying to fight it take it as an educational experience . If you’re going to buy a used vehicle protect yourself .. don’t expect the salesman to do it for you . Also... most people and I mean this whole heartedly have no business buying older used vehicles especially 4.0 Jeeps... too many people expect to be able to hop in any given care and just drive without having to work or tinker and that’s just not reality .

 

This is not true. If the dealer sold the vehicle fraudulently he is ABSOLUTELY not protected under the "as is" umbrella.

 

Sorry but you’re wrong I’ve seen people hold signs up in front of one of the shops I worked for... threaten law suits etc etc and it has never once held up. You have to prove they KNEW there was a problem or that it was intentional which you can’t do . I’m not trying to be a know it all but I’ve seen and heard it all and not seen one single person win that case . It’s always determined the buyer is at fault for not educating themselves on their purchase .... always . In fact I’ve seen/heard of down right crooked salesman lying about whether a vehicle was 2wd or 4wd or had one engine vs another and still never won the case ....

 

Isn't that what I just said?

And if the OP comes back that's exactly what we're going to do.