Bought a Lemon, Any Suggestions?

[Julien]

sounds like the upper chain guide went south. take all that energy that you want to sue or fight him and just fix the car.

[Vtec?lol]

sounds like the upper chain guide went south. take all that energy that you want to sue or fight him and just fix the car.

All I want is for him to pay for parts. I'll pay labor. If you knew how much timing components cost you'd be as livid as I am. Plus I just can't accept the fact he sold me a clunker and conned his way out of a bad review.


A lemon is any car that is sold in running condition and while in the possession of the new owner multiple issues arise. It doesn't necessary mean the car has to be new but I do understand everyone's familiarity with the term.

The part that bugs me the most is him admitting to resetting the codes and knowing of the huge misfire.

I guess I'm shit out of luck.

[Ryan Stewart]

Term wise, sure you win. But legally, unless you have proof he knew of issues that he did openly lied about, its not a lemon.

[evandael]

if you have the space and time, part it out and find a better maintained car.

most 10+ year old BMW's are gonna have issues. sorry you got burned.

[Julien]

All I want is for him to pay for parts. I'll pay labor. If you knew how much timing components cost you'd be as livid as I am. Plus I just can't accept the fact he sold me a clunker and conned his way out of a bad review.


A lemon is any car that is sold in running condition and while in the possession of the new owner multiple issues arise. It doesn't necessary mean the car has to be new but I do understand everyone's familiarity with the term.

The part that bugs me the most is him admitting to resetting the codes and knowing of the huge misfire.

I guess I'm shit out of luck.

yeah, you are pretty much SOL unless you paid via paypal with a credit card.

a used m62 isn't too bad price wise if you don't want to go replacing the timing components

[_JohnnyD_]

I buy me and the mrs. a plane ticket from Dallas Tx to Philly PA. He ask me for a copy of my itinerary to see if I'm bullshitting and I send it to him and tell him I will be at his dealership at 10:30am sharp that saturday morning. He says ok and he will have everything ready to go, clean car, and basic maintenance.

Issue #1, before I fly out and when I land in Philly I text him and tell him I'll be there in 30min. We used iChat so It shows he read it the minute I send it. I get to the address he gave me and it's not a dealership at all. He works out of some hole in the wall and the car is nowhere to be found. I call him and he's with another customer selling a truck and he walks up to me. "Oh shit, you're here today? you're really here" I reply, yes I'm here. I text and called you and you said you'd have the car and paperwork ready. "Oh I'm sorry, walk around, go eat and give me 10min."

Fast forward 2hrs later and my car is still not ready. He disappears and I call him again. "Oh yes, I am at carwash my friend. I'll be there 10 min no worries." My friendly reply is you've said that 2hrs ago.

He finally gets the car in and it's a filthy mess. It looks like a wolf has been hibernating in it with all the different colors of hair everywhere. I ask him why the fuck it's so dirty and how could he had been at the carwash. "it's a used car, I'm sorry it's not perfect." Right then I felt I didn't want to do business with him but I didn't fly in for nothing so I looked passed his arrogance.

We test drive it and it pulls like a train. Smooth, quiet, no issues to the untrained eye. I popped the hood and see the oil is old and needs to be changed. He says it's only a few months old but he also agreed that he would change it before I got there. "oh i'm sorry, I'll give discount"

I don't understand why you are so surprised. You had all the signs that dealer was shaddy and the car was not well maintained right there in your post and you ignored them hoping for the best.

You should have looked at the car and politely demanded your $500 deposit back and walked away.

Every book or article on buying a used car tells you to avoid everything that happened to you.

Do you at least have a CarFax showing the car had a clean history?

Sorry about your luck, I hope you can fix the car and make it the great car it once was.

[Dozyproductions]

Does he have something to stand on if he can show that the codes were reset before purchasing the car? That shows knowledge of the codes existing which of course proves that there were some heavy problems with the car that got swept under the rug.... eh?

[Mlarsen]

sounds like the upper chain guide went south. take all that energy that you want to sue or fight him and just fix the car.

This. Honestly, you're up shit's creek with no paddle. That's why you always do a pre-buyers inspection, even if you're out of state. The seller shouldn't have any issues with taking it to a shop to have it checked out and if it's an issue, do not buy it. Just fix it, in the grand scheme of things it's not worth the energy to go after the guy. Karma's a bitch, he'll get what he's got coming to him. I know of a shady used car guy that sold a lemon. Buyer came back all pissed off, told the guy to fuck off. Guy waited till he was leaving, fucking kidnapped him, beat the leaving shit out of him, and then left him naked and tied up around a light pole in the wal-mart parking lot. True story.

[Dozyproductions]

^that's not a bad approach.

[freeride53]

Karma's a bitch, he'll get what he's got coming to him. I know of a shady used car guy that sold a lemon. Buyer came back all pissed off, told the guy to fuck off. Guy waited till he was leaving, fucking kidnapped him, beat the leaving shit out of him, and then left him naked and tied up around a light pole in the wal-mart parking lot. True story.

Sigged. I just burst out laughing in the library.

[rturbo 930]

Dude I'm sorry this happened to you, but what were you thinking? Your gut was telling you he was a shady fucker from the start, and it was confirmed when you arrived at his "dealership." You should have turned around and gone home then and there.

I'd prolly part it out, or swap the engine with a JY motor.

[Stanley Rockafella]

yeah, this scenario is as old as the internets. Can't believe OP fell for it! OP must be all of 19

[golde30]

Uhhh, all these stories sound the same. You fucked up, now you got your work cut out for you. That shady seller isn't going to give you shit while yer all the way down there in TX, probably why he sells on ebay, and not locally.

[JCarp90]

Should have finished the vert. It's bullshit but you have to accept that you bought a car that you shouldn't have bought. You had all the signs.

[QUKBMER]

This. Honestly, you're up shit's creek with no paddle. That's why you always do a pre-buyers inspection, even if you're out of state. The seller shouldn't have any issues with taking it to a shop to have it checked out and if it's an issue, do not buy it. Just fix it, in the grand scheme of things it's not worth the energy to go after the guy. Karma's a bitch, he'll get what he's got coming to him. I know of a shady used car guy that sold a lemon. Buyer came back all pissed off, told the guy to fuck off. Guy waited till he was leaving, fucking kidnapped him, beat the leaving shit out of him, and then left him naked and tied up around a light pole in the wal-mart parking lot. True story.

This ^^^. Couldn't have said it better myself.My wife even tells me ,dont get caught up in the car. If it seems like its going south before you take the car back out of the deal. And you didnt buy a lemon....you bought a piece of shita.