Tag Archives: safe car

Too Risky: Buying A Car from a Dealer can Ruin Your Life

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The car dealership looks like a gleaming palace. But what is really happening inside?

Some car dealers sell vehicles they don’t own. They also fail to pay off the loans on vehicles that are traded in. They ruin their customers credit and sometimes also their lives.

Robert Anglen, consumer reporter for the Arizona Republic, investigated dealerships in Arizona that ripped off consumers in multiple states, leaving them with faulty vehicles and stuck trying to make loan payments on two cars — even ones they had traded in, that were sold to someone else. Here’s what he found:

Read more: Arizona dealer didn’t pay off trades or transfer titles

How can you avoid become a victim of an unscrupulous auto dealer?  CARS tips for how to get a good deal on a safe, reliable used car, without having to set foot on a car dealer’s lot:  How to Buy a Used Car, Painlessly.

Buying a used car? YIPES!!

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Comedian and commentator John Oliver lambastes crooked car dealers and greedy auto lenders. These are the unscrupulous characters we’re battling with, to protect consumers.

How can you avoid becoming a victim of greedy dealers and Wall Street bankers? It’s easier than you think. Here’s how you can get a good deal on a nice, safe, reliable used car — without having to deal with professional crooks.

How to get a good deal on a nice, safe, reliable used car

 

 

 

 

Used car buyers have friends in the White House in auto safety battle

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America’s used car buyers and our nation’s roads will be a lot safer if the Obama Administration wins the battle against shady car dealers who sell unsafe, recalled cars to used car buyers.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Dr. Mark Rosekind, are urging Congress to make it illegal for car dealers to sell unsafe, recalled used cars to consumers.

They joined the President of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety at a press conference in Richmond, VA, along with representatives of Hertz, Enterprise, and Avis, and the American Car Rental Association, who have been working together with CARS to enact federal rental car safety legislation. Auto manufacturers (except GM) and car dealers are blocking the rental car safety bill, and lobbying Congress to weaken protections for America’s car buyers.

It is historic for a President and his safety team to call for people who rent cars, or purchase used cars, to have the same level of protection as new car buyers. Under federal law, it is illegal for car dealers to sell recalled cars with lethal safety defects to NEW car buyers. That has been the law since the 1960’s. But there is no similar federal law to protect people who rent cars or purchase used cars.

“What we need now is for Congress to step up, and to make renting or selling a recalled vehicle [to a consumer] illegal,” said Secretary Foxx.

Read more: US DOT safety recall news

ABC 20/20 exposes CarMax’s sales of damaged cars and unsafe, recalled cars

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CarMax Admits It Sells Unsafe, Recalled Cars
So — how can a car that’s so unsafe pass their so-called  “rigorous 125+ point inspection”? No one seems to know…and CarMax refuses to go on camera…

From ABC NEWS RADIO:

” CarMax says it has transformed the used car buying experience with no haggling pricing and financing and its “125+ point” inspection process to make sure drivers don’t end up with a lemon. But consumer advocates say CarMax sales reps don’t always disclose the complete history and condition of the vehicles they sell.

A 20/20 investigation found instances on two CarMax lots where vehicles were being sold with reportedly significant accident histories or unrepaired safety recall issues….

When it came to outstanding safety recalls, the Hartford dealership salesman was recorded on hidden camera telling Benitez that CarMax is unable to sell a car with a major safety recall. “We can’t even sell it until that’s taken care of,” he said. “We take care of any kind of safety concern prior to the car even being out here.”

However, a check of a federal government website revealed that the Toyota Camry at the Hartford CarMax dealership had three outstanding safety recalls on it at the time of our visit, including one for a power switch that could overheat and melt, possibly resulting in a fire. Five other vehicles sitting on the lot also had unfixed safety recalls, according to the government website.

CarMax declined an interview but told 20/20 in a statement that it doesn’t automatically fix recall vehicles before selling them and only does so if a customer requests it. CarMax says it does inform consumers about any open recalls and recently upgraded its website so customers can look up open recalls online through the government database. CarMax also says it retrained its staff on its recall policy.

A coalition of consumer and safety groups filed a petition with the Federal Trade Commission this June, urging the agency to investigate CarMax’s safety recall policy. Rosemary Shahan, head of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS), is calling on the FTC to require CarMax to have all safety recall vehicles repaired before selling them to consumers. “CarMax sells vehicles that are under safety recall without bothering to fix them,” said Shahan. “If they wanted to do it right, it would be very easy for them to do it right.” (Emphasis added)

Read more: ABC 20/20:  What Do Some CarMax Sales Reps Tell  Consumers?

CarMax sells unsafe, recalled cars

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CARS continues to hear from more consumers who bought cars from CarMax, believing that they were safe. They were astonished and dismayed to find out that their car or truck was so unsafe, it was being recalled by the manufacturer due to safety defects.

One consumer in Richmond, VA called to say that he bought a GM car from CarMax, which advertises that all its cars must pass a rigorous “125+-point inspection” and be “CarMax Quality Certified” to be offered for sale. Then he found it that GM had recalled it because of the notorious ignition switch defect, which causes the car to die in traffic without warning, and also disables the power steering, power brakes, and air bag. A local GM dealer told him that it could take months before repair parts are available.

CarMax told him that was his problem, not theirs.

Meanwhile, he is afraid to drive the car. So he and his partner have a very expensive lawn ornament in their back yard.

Did CarMax sell you an unsafe, recalled car? Here’s what you can do:

1. Contact CARS. We want to hear your story. The only way we’re going to get CarMax to stop selling unsafe, recalled cars is for enough consumers whose lives are being put at risk, to speak up.

Contact CARS

2. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC has the authority to crack down on CarMax over its false, misleading advertising, that claims its cars are so safe, they passed a 125+-point inspection. But — CarMax does not even check for safety recalls.

Complain to the FTC