I traded a Mustang convertible at a local stealership 7 months ago that didn't have the airbags in it. I had repaired accident damage myself (no insurance claim) and elected to leave them out. I got a call yesterday that the guy that bought it from them is giving them a hard time about it and they are going to sue me (the dealeship, not the individual). I told the salesman at the time I traded it in, it had a dash warning light on for the airbag, and the fake covers were painted flourescent orange in a black interior. They said that it isn't their responsibility to dis-assemble the column to check for airbags. The fact that I told them and that it was obvious to an idiot wasn't enough for them, I would have had to give it to them in writing. Anyone know who I can talk to in PA that would have the correct info. I thought about AAA, and I contacted my rep. who simply gave me the federal law which states pretty much an individual can do what they want (not a business). Other than that it is a state problem. The dealer said it should have had a reconstructed title? Any contact info for someone that could help would be great. CHAZ
The only thing that would make it a recunstructed title or "salvaged" title is if the amount of the repair was more than the worth of the car. So you can tell them to shove that part of it... And as said...they bought as is...you didnt supply a warranty.
funny thing, when i used to do brake and lamp inspections i called the bar with a question. i had a truck with the air bag light on and i was going to fail it, i was told that i couldn't, it's a "safety device not covered by this inspection" and when i started to argue i was yelled at. bear in mind this is the ONLY inspection you need to re-register a salvaged vehicle other then a vin verification, so you would think safety equipment would be part of it. i didn't charge the customer and told him he needs to talk to the bar (bureau of automotive repair) because i'm not signing my name on something that is unsafe with future legal ramifications. also it's only a salvaged vehicle if the insurance company totals it (basically buys the car from you) and that get filed with the dmv.
I'd suggest that you have a lawyer write up a letter. Have it say something like 1. You traded the car with full disclosure. 2. It was traded as-is, and the trade in value reflected that. 3. If they want to renegotiate the trade-in, you want to talk about your new car, too. The dealerships in this area have an inspection process and refurbush the trade-ins, or wholesale them. If the car went through anything like this, they "signed off" on it at that point. The whole thing is BS.
when they called you back about it i would have said nothing.. and i still say this.. its your word against theirs..thats how it will probably go in court too, if it ever gets that far.. Used cars are sold where is..as is..been the normal practice for years..once that money changes hands , any problem with that car becomes the responsibility of the new owner.. Thats my opinion..and thats the way ive seen it done over years.. you were a stand up guy and told them they were gone..and made the attempt to make it obvious..scew them..they knew about it. whos to say those bags werent taken out after you sold the car? they have no proof? you have no proof?..gavel hits wood..case closed..thats the way i see it..But im probably wrong.
So here's what really happened. First they repainted the airbag covers to make it look normal. Then they removed the airbag warning bulb. Then they sold the car. The new owner takes it to a shop for repair, and the computer spits out an airbag code previously unknown because of the light removal. Mechanic digs deeper and discovers the dealership fraud. They're in deep shit and trying to pass the buck.
Actually I met the guy that bought it, and the covers are still orange, and the light is STILL on. Of course the dealership told him it wasn't on when he bought it?!?! CHAZ
The local MTO inspector told me as long as the warning lights are working then ABS and AIRBAG systems to not have to be operational for a safety certificate.
As a Pa state insp mechanic I can tell you that the air bag system being inop is not a reason to fail the car for state insp as long as the seat belts are working.The state considers the air bag system as a secondary system and the seat belt primary.I would still spend the money and talk to a lawyer.It seems as if they lied to the person they sold the car to.
This is just a related story about car dealerships. I knew a guy who bought a car. Got half way home and there was a call on his cell. Turns out the dealership put the wrong numbers on all his paperwork and he'd payed too little. They told him he needed to turn around and come back to sign new papers they were making up with the corrected higher price. He said no. They went on to call his employer and everyone else they could think of. They asked the employer if they(the employer) knew they had such a low class and dishonest individual working for them. I don't know what ever happened, but it just shows, when it's your fault it's your fault, when it's the dealerships fault it's your fault.
Well I talked to a lawyer, and his news was "just wait and see." He feels that no car dealership is going to take the hit to their reputation like suing a customer on a trade in would cause. He was concerned with personal injury, but there was no accident, and of course the new owner knows about the problem so that shouldn't be an issue. He said the dealer was probably "fishing" to see if I was going to roll over and play dead and pay them off. The way I treated the guy on the phone I made it fairly clear that wasn't going to happen. CHAZ
Well, they are used car salesmen. Adept at ripping people off and not generally known to be the smartest people in the word. But it is fundamental industry practice that unless you buy a warrantee of some type, and I assume they didn't get one from you, they bought whatever they got, airbags or no airbags. Its their responsibility to inspect it and take the risk. Unless you clearly tried to deceive them and were successful, I don't see any grounds they have at all. Plus, just putting in 2 new airbags is going to cost less than fighting with lawyers and they are going to lose. Just don't respond to anything but a legal summons to appear in court. My bet is they are hoping a quick and cheap letter from a "lawyer" (probably actually Joey in detailing) will scare you enough to pay for some new airbags.
That one sounds like a libel/slander lawsuit and the guy ending up with the car for free, to me. I'm not that surprised, though, I've seen a lot of dealers do sleazy stuff. One here used to have a sale every so often where they'd set up at a remote location, let you do a preview, and they'd seed the lot with half a dozen or so cars that they normally couldn't sell on the lot - too old, salvage title, high miles, whatever. Then the trick was those cars would sell for $5 - but they wouldn't reveal the price to anyone until the next day when they went from car to car putting prices on them. In the meantime they hoped people would get so attached to the cars sitting in them for 4 hours waiting, they'd buy them anyways. They had to stop doing that when the last one turned into such a mob they damned near knocked down the portable gate set up to let people in through. Given what airbags cost this dealer's probably trying to avoid having to try to install a pair, too.
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