1. Paid for a warranty from who? Did you buy the warranty from the used car dealer? Seems odd this wasn't noticed long before your claim months later.I'm currently in a dilemma.
I bought a (14' Ford Taurus) last year that broke down a few months ago due to water pump failure.
I originally paid for warranty at signing however it was cancelled as it was discovered the car has a rolled-backed odometer and the true milage is unknown. I already went down the legal route and sued the dealer, however, since it's a used car, I couldn't prove that we're behind it and I lost the case in court
Without warranty, my mechanic quoted me 2-4k to fix the car, however, it exceeds the value of the car at this point.
I am now forced to pay for both insurance ($260) + a high interest loan (21% currently at 13k) with a $430 m/o car note for a car that is not functioning and it's a nightmare having to travel to work/errands/whatnot.
I tried fixing the car myself but only made matters worse and don't want to tear it apart again and destroy more.
Besides voluntary repossession, does anyone else here have any ideas? I'm at my wits end and am looking into a personal loan to pay for the repairs.
2. How do you know the odometer was rolled back? As to who did it, the title should show the odometer reading at purchase. If that is not in agreement with reading now, then it was rolled back post purchase. OTOH, if current reading is more than what is on title, seems pretty obvious it was rolled back before purchase. I assume you took this to small claims court. You might want to talk to a lawyer and see if you have any further recourse.
3. If you owe 13k then I really doubt that 4 k exceeds the value of the vehicle running. What is the value if the car was running? But regardless, the 13k is a sunk cost. Regardless of what you do to the car or don't do, you owe that 13K.
4. If the car is not running and you are not going to fix it, then arrange to sell it for whatever you can get or haul to junk yard and sell for scrap. Pull the plates. And then cancel the insurance. If you are going to attempt a fix later, then contact state and see if you can suspend the license and then suspend insurance.
5. How did you make it worse when you attempted DIY repairs? The 4K estimate sounds extremely high to replace a water pump. What other damage is mechanic quoting? Based on your other follow up, I suspect you warped a head or similar when you drove w/o a working pump, regardless of the coolant level.
6. Repossession will not relieve you from the 13K you owe. If they could only sell for $1000, you would still owe $12K plus costs. Getting a personal loan to pay for repairs, if you can get one as it doesn't sound like your credit is great, will be at close to 30% likely but still might be the best plan.
Statistics: Posted by LotsaGray — Thu Sep 12, 2024 9:50 pm
