Opening a case with customer service, curious of your thoughts and best outcome.
2018 Toyota Camry SE Bought in 2021 as a certified pre owned vehicle
Feb 9 2023- short block in the engine had a hole and they essentially replaced the entire engine, however I just found out they replaced the starter as well but with an aftermarket starter without my authorization
after the engine was replaced they internalled the car which after doing some light research i have gathered essentially means that they know they made a mistake.
i got the car back feb 28 and on march 3 i went to turn my car on and the engine shut down and had a massive fuel leak over my drive way, the car was towed back to toyota and they told me that they put faulty O-rings
after that i took the car in 5 times due to check engine light flashing (june 6, july 13, july 28, august 7, august 14) everytime they told me it was a wire issue and they repaired it. july 13 they also had me replace the MAP sensor ($600) and then the 2 visits after that were related to the wiring to that part and even on the july 13 invoice they said it was a wiring issue to the MAP but not the MAP itself.
anyways, i took it in this past week but where the car broke down i was closer to a different toyota dealership and they replaced the 1st cylinder wiring (this was the main issue all of the summer) and informed me the repairs the other dealership did were not up to standard and there is also incorrect bolts used on the engine and incorrect routing of the vacuum lines. the transmission breather tube is also not harnessed or secured at all.
so i opened a case with customer service and am planning to ask for a full refund and lemon law the car.
anyone been through this ? does my situation qualify?
so the original dealership who did the repairs are aware of the issues, they’ve mentioned it here and there and the new dealership told me that it’s clear in the notes that they know they messed up. also it’s california and lemon law applies to used cars who have certified pre owned warranty
does anyone have info about them using an aftermarket starter without my authorization? i also did not know they were going to replace the starter until i picked it up
What aftermarket starter did they use?
it wasn’t disclosed to me and doesn’t give an item number on the paperwork. i found this information on my own, they never asked for authorization and said they would do that
How did you find this out?
What does the paperwork state for this specific service visit?
What did the Carmax from the previous owner show?
Sue them.
I don’t believe lemon laws apply to used cars.
Depends on the state’s laws.
Which states have lemon laws that apply to used cars?
A quick google search shows:
Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York.
I think AZ has a few as well.
I won’t smother you in the details on why the industry is the way it is, but I’m sorry on behalf of all service writers. It’s never our intention for you to have a terrible time. You absolutely can and deserve to have your car repaired correctly. My personal advice would be to talk to your original service advisor. Be calm and clear but let them know, “Hey, this is a serious situation, like red flag, and I need your help. Multiple things are wrong, I need a different tech to check everything over and we need to go out there and look at it together.” We do our job to help people but sometimes forget and need a reminder. Besides you, they’ll know the most about the situation and know which strings to pull to get the results you need. It absolutely has to be a different technician though, comebacks tend to go back to the original tech and you got a careless one.
so the dealership calls my car the come back toyota and they know my car will return they’ve said that. they also use a different tech each time according to paperwork except one time the same tech was used out of 7 visits
This is a slam dunk job for the new service company. They would love the warranty work. Be genuine and nice and have a copy of all your records with them to take to the new dealer center
You can’t lemon law used vehicle
Idk about every state but you absolutely can in Massachusetts
Depends on the state and depends on the issue.
California, previous dealer messed up on a lot of repairs.
Depends on the state and depends on the issue.
https://www.jdpower.com/cars/shopping-guides/used-car-lemon-laws
Totally untrue depending on where you live, yet here we are with misinformation as the top comment.
This is absolutely not correct
My advice speak with a lemon law attorney. First hour consultation is free. They won’t take your case as it’s a used car but may give you advice.
Right now your only recourse is to keep taking it in until they tell you to kick sand or you run out of warranty.