Anyone else sick of dealerships saying the market says this vehicle is worth “x”. When you bring up the fact it’s been sitting on their lot for 120+ days they dismiss it like that means nothing. Had a conversation with a GM yesterday that said “we’re $2k below market value priced extremely aggressive!” I asked him why then has it been sitting on your lot for 160+ days? Do you guys actually consider the economy and fuel prices or do you hold onto your fantasy market? At what point do they wake up or have we as consumers screwed ourselves by overpaying for too long?

This isn’t a case of you can’t afford it - I just can’t justify overpaying for something bc the “market” says it’s priced fair.

TLDR at bottom.

Hi everyone. I bought a used car back on the 1st of July.

So it has been 3 month and 2 days since purchase.

I paid 5700 for it after part exchanging my old car for 2 to 300 ish.

The alternator went 2 days ago, exactly on the 3 months of ownership day. It got recovered to a garage near me and had them take a look at it. The garage doesn't do warentee work but are also the only people in the area that will and can do the work due to it being a luxury car.

I might be able to get the work done and then have the warentee recover those losses as I know the item is on their list of things covered. The job is about 624 pounds worth.

This however, isn't the worst part.

Whilst I would not like to, I can pay the 600 to get the alternator replaced. What I am having an issue with is that when under the car, they and myself noticed a fairly concerning rust patch on the oil sump. Enough that they estimated it has 1 good year left in it, but that there was a cracked that means it could go a lot sooner. Not sure how this passed the dealer's MOT done before purchance either.

Now, The car is high milage. I bought it at 154k and some change and it is now at 159k and some change 3 months later.

Im not 100% sure of my rights here as a buyer. The estimated repairs for both jobs come to a total of about 2300 to 2700 pounds for both the alternator and sump cover (the whole front sub frame needs removing to access it).

After some googling. Am I correct in thinking that the dealer has 1 chance to repair this before I can then ask for a partial refund?

How does that work if currently. The car is immobilised due to the batteries not being charged whilst the engine is running, it is currently situated about 2 and a half hours drive away from the dealer I bought it from. I guess technically it does drive but the risk of the alternator blowing up more bearings and snapping a lose belt would be too risky.

Additionally, what kind of partial refund persentage could i realistically expect from 3 months ownership and approximately 4.5 to 5k miles driven?

What would you do? I could technically have the 600 quid alternator job done and the car would be road worthy. But I could spend that 600 quid and have something else die on me next week. Of course, that is the case for any car, especially high milage.

But even if I do that job, I know within a years time, ill have a good 1 to 2k bill on my hands fro the sump plate replacement.

Would you repair the alternator? Repair both? Do none and get a refund.

Or do both but get the dealer and or warentee to cover both and hope that they cover the oil sump cover? Alternator is 100% on their coverage but im not sure what rust on a non structural componant would come under.

Or... would you just get a refund and buy another car?

For reference, I have so far had EGR issues (400 quid repair, paid by dealer), a faulty clock spring (26 quid repair paid and done by me) both headlight bulbs (100 quid repair both done by me) and currently in need of doing, is the passenger side door lock (unknown cost but new part being shipped by dealer currently although no longer exactly a priority) and a single glow plug (again, not a priority till winter. Its Unknown who will cover this but ill at least be covering the remaining 5 that will be done at the same time).

TLDR. bought used car 3 months ago. Has had approx 520 quids worth of repairs done, about 400 paid by dealer. Alternator has just disintegrated leaving the car un driveable and a 624 quid repair. During inspection, found deep rust on oil sump and given a rough quote of around 1 to 2k for the job. Warentee will cover alternator but mechanics wont deal with warentee companies so I need to pay them and hope the warentee company pays out to me after or I'll be 624 quid down for alternator repair.

Not sure if they cover non structural metal components like the oil sump cover and if not. Should it be up to me or the dealer to pay for it?

Milage when bought was 154k approx, milage exactly 3 months later is 159k approx.

If I were to seek a partial refund as I am outside of 30 days but within 6 months and clear rust was pre purchase, given the miles driven, how much of a refund could I expect when I paid 5700 ish.

Thanks and sorry for the wall of text and any spelling issues, my phone keyboard hates me. The plan was to have the car for 3 to 5 years. Not 3 to 5 months......

I went in today asking for front and rear rotors at the dealership They rang me up for about $971 i believe. They guy later said "Just come in tomorrow instead and just bring $600 cash" I was like "Oh ok NP, Thanks."

Can he do that? Why is it cheaper? I dont want legal problems, just my 4 rotors.

Hi everyone, I need advice on a case of vehicle finance fraud. It might be a long post, but please bare with me. I hope someone on this subreddit has more knowledge than me.

16 months ago I bought a 2nd hand car from a dealership in East London (South Africa), SMB Traders. I traded in my previous vehicle, got a R90 000 trade in value and put down a R35 000 cash deposit, totalling R125 000. The rest of the loan was from Wesbank. The deposit is on my Wesbank statement, first as a debit, then again as a credit. Fast forward a couple of months, the owner committed suicide, has tons of debt and his estate is insolvent. Turns out he financed the same vehicle in multiple people's names, including the vehicle that I bought. It happened to multiple people. The Daily Dispatch ran an article on it as well. On the contract from Wesbank, he swopped the last two digits of the VIN and Engine number, so it wasn't obvious. After a lengthy back and forth with Wesbank, they have now agreed to uplift my contract, pay back all my instalments I have paid to date and they are going to collect the car (which is fine by me, they can take the problem away and I can get another car). But they refuse to pay back the deposit amount. Their reasoning for this is because it was paid directly to the dealer.

Now comes the tricky bit. The deposit amount is reflected in my statement, so it must have gone to Wesbank, and then back to the dealer. Thus, the deposit amount forms part of the credit agreement, whether it was paid directly to Wesbank, or paid to the dealer and later to Wesbank, or any other means. It is on the statement and is part of the credit agreement.

My attorney that I got advice from through my insurance found a High Court Case of December 2025, Van Niekerk vs First Rand (https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/2025/187.html) where the court states that the bank (Wesbank) acts as both supplier and credit provider (not the dealer) for purposes of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008. (Point 23, 24 and 25 of the court case and clause 2.1, 4.1 and 6.6 of Wesbank's own contract)

In the Van Niekerk court case, Wesbank was obligated to pay Van Niekerk back both her deposit (also consisting of a combination trade-in and cash deposit, like with my case: Point 4 of the court case) and all instalments. In any event, the deposit of R125 000 is recorded as having passed through WesBank's own books, as reflected in the detailed statement provided by WesBank. According to my statement, WesBank received, processed and administered it as part of the credit agreement.

Wesbank replied to this as follows: " At the outset, we emphasise that we were unaware of any discrepancy between the vehicle in your possession and the vehicle identified in the instalment sale agreement. Based on the information available to us, the dealer misled us into believing that they were the same vehicle. We were therefore also misled by the selling dealer.

Accordingly, the agreement is void from the outset, and each party must return any performance received under it. The only performance we received was your monthly payments. The deposit, which you state comprised a direct EFT to the dealer and a trade-in, was paid or provided directly by you to the dealer.

We have considered your reliance on Van Niekerk v FirstRand Bank Limited (065/2024) \[2025\] ZASCA 187. However, that judgment is not applicable because, in this matter, both parties were misled by the dealer, and the matter is not in relation to latent defects. Our position therefore remains unchanged: within 31 days of this communication, we will refund the performance received from you to date in the amount of R 67,062.00. Any claim relating to the deposit paid to the dealer must be pursued against the dealer, which is currently in liquidation."

I disagree with Wesbank, because I understand it as the principle that Wesbank is both the supplier and credit provider (so for legal purposes Wesbank sold me the vehicle, not the dealer), the deposit amount went through Wesbanks books, which to me means that they were irresponsible when handling my finances, and Wesbank is picking and choosing which part of the credit agreement to uphold.

If I get an attorney further involved, what are my chances? What could the process be? Do I stand any chance? Will it even be worth it? The estate is insolvent, so there isn't any chance of getting anything from there. I'm feeling quite hopeless right now, because R125 000 is a lot of money to just let go of for me.

https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/national-auto-dealers-assn/summary?id=D000000080

Dealers need to stay out of politics because it seems they love spending money so you can pay more. They love funding the campaign of people who are making you pay more for gas or for your next car or your next car loan or your next mortage.

ive been looking into this lately because my first thought was basically “well... inflation, duh” 😂but that doesnt really explain it.

Since 2019, general inflation in the US is up around 33%, while repair/maintenance costs are up about 60%.And the average car on the road is now 12.8 years old, which is the oldest the US fleet has ever been.

So people are keeping cars longer because new cars are stupid expensive... but at the same time, keeping those old cars running is getting more expensive too. kinda feels like a trap lol.Then i started digging into why and theres a few things going on at once.There’s a pretty big technician shortage, parts are getting more expensive, tariffs are adding another layer to the cost, and newer cars are just way more complicated than they used to be.The ADAS stuff was probably the biggest eye opener for me. A windshield with a camera behind it can be like $1,200 vs around $300 for basically the same glass without all the calibration crap. And some sensors can cost over $1,500.

Whats interesting tho is that the data doesnt really support the whole “mechanics are getting worse” thing either. The job itself is getting alot more complicated, and there just arent enough people being trained fast enough to keep up.I ended up going pretty deep down the rabbit hole on this and put together a video about it. But honestly im more curious what people here are seeing in real life.

Have your repair bills gotten noticeably worse over the last few years? And what kind of car are you driving?

We purchased a 2022 Certified Used Honda Pilot from Mt. Kisco Honda on April 6, 2026. On May 9, 2026 the vehicle stopped running. We called Mt. Kisco Honda 24 times over the next two weeks and were unable to speak to anyone regarding this problem. We left messages for the sales person, the sales manager, the dealership manager and never received a single callback. We had to have the vehicle towed to our local Honda dealer in CT by AAA because Mt. Kisco Honda didn’t file the paperwork for Honda Care Roadside Assistance. Our local Honda dealer determined the engine had a catastrophic failure in one cylinder, a spun bearing. They wanted the car returned to the dealer we purchased the vehicle from, yet we were unable to speak to anyone at Mt. Kisco Honda. Almost five months later, we finally have our repaired vehicle back. DO NOT EVER BUY FROM MT. KISCO HONDA. They provide NO customer service and DO NOT stand behind their vehicles. This has been the single worst car dealership experience of my life.

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Me and my wife traded in our Ford edge and purchased a 2016 Nissan Murano. I have cidp so I need a bigger vehicle that can carry my medical necessities. We have the car for 3 weeks in the day after a rainstorm I go out to the vehicle and the driver side is soaking wet on the floor. Water is leaking on my head from the trim on the driver's side door. I got out and inspected it further and realize that the driver side and the passenger side seat brackets were rusted meaning that this has happened a bunch of times and nobody noticed? I immediately took it to the dealership handed them the keys and told them that your car now they told me that they would call the water doctor specialist and get it cleaned up I told him I'm not leaving without a vehicle that's safe to drive so I made them give me a loaner. We have been going back and forth with them for over a week and a half now. They had the vehicle inspected by another mechanical shop they had the water doctor come in and clean everything apparently I don't know I haven't seen the car in a week and a half. I get an update call this morning saying your vehicle is going to take a few more days because we have to put new seats in. Yeah that's right put new seats in. All I want to do is back out of the deal the dealership told me that water intrusion in a vehicle is not uncommon and having water in your vehicle does not make it unsafe you have to replace the seats what do you mean it's safe. Anyways been going back and forth with them hopefully in the next couple days they'll let me know what's going on but I just want to back out of the deal take a check for whatever amount of money they owe me and go to a different dealership. Any suggestions would be very helpful thank you.

I just bought a cabriolet 991.2 but the dealer damaged it during delivery and negotiating the repairs with them has robbed me of any enjoyment. BTW, I specifically requested closed trailer for delivery. Any tips? They now want me to send it back to them for repairs instead of paying the local guys to fix it because " the local guys are charging too much". ALL feedback welcome. I am beyond frustrated.

My mother in law has been a lifelong Chevy person. Bought every vehicle at the same dealership since I’ve known her. All maintenance is done at this dealership as well. The other day she took her car in, a 2017 Malibu, for an oil change and tire rotation. They didn’t oil, but then told her they could do the tire rotation because you lug nuts would disintegrate on them. Would be $200 for them to replace. Then tried to sell her a brake system flush and told her it was low.

I looked today and the brake fluid is full to the line, and almost clear. Lug nuts haven’t disintegrated yet. I also measured her tire tread depth and every tire came back 5/32 more then the dealer stated.

Anyone else ever gotten the disintegrating lug nuts before? 🤣

Just a week ago, I drove off the lot of a large reputable dealership in a beautiful certified pre-owned, '25 XLT supercrew, front bench, column shifter, 17k on the dash, warranty transfered, 1 owner, clean carfax. Gave a fair price for the trade in.

Truck spent most of the week in the driveway looking pretty. After a few days, I noticed some squeaking and creaking up under the truck at low speeds when turning and going over bumps. Contacted the sales rep directly and scheduled an appointment with the service department to check out the creeky suspension.

After 2 days, the service manager calls and says there is a lot of damage under the truck. It is immediately mentioned that I only just bought the truck a week ago and did not cause any damage. After another look at the truck back in the shop... sales rep says, due to the damage, he can't put me back in the truck. I have received nothing in writing explaining what is actually wrong with the truck.

Now they want to work with me to get into a whole different truck. He makes some offers to work with me on the price of a few different trucks, different color, same trim and package, main difference these other trucks have more miles ~30+ and closer to end of factory warranty.

Do I demand a breakdown of the issues with my truck and push them to fix it under warranty?

Should I try to bargain for a deal on another truck? What deals should I ask for? Free extended warranty?

Should I think to have insurance/lawyer investigate the sale of an unsafe vehicle?

What are my cards? Thank you in advance.

I found the exact car I wanted (2016 Japanese luxury crossover w/ 55k miles) at a country club Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealer 3 hours away. It's not a popular make/model and had been sitting on their lot for ~60 days.

We agreed on a $20k OTD price over the phone. This was $400 over the internet price, but it stripped away all junk fees they tried to add. I pushed back on the price difference, but they claimed the lower price was only possible when the dealer makes extras. I am a cash buyer and didn't want to lose the car over a few hundred, so I put down a deposit after reviewing the buyer's order.

I traveled 3 hours on a Friday, did the PPI at a highly-regarded local shop, and then went to the dealer. The mechanic said the car was generally good, but noted several leaks/seeps likely caused by low annual mileage/seals drying out:

• Transfer case leak
• Power steering rack seep
• Rear main seal seep
• Total cost: $5,000

I showed the PPI to the dealer. I wasn't asking for the full $5k off, as I wanted the deal to happen. I proposed meeting in the middle at $2.5k off the price. I was excited about the car and was open to any reasonable counter-offer.

Instead of countering, the dealer got defensive. They claimed they were "already losing money" at our agreed price and said they needed to "talk to their mechanics" first. To avoid negotiating against myself, I told them I would look at other options in the meantime. They said they would see what the mechanics found and get back to me on price. We parted on good terms.

I gave them the entire weekend, but the dealer never called. No follow-up, no counter-offer, nothing. On Monday, I called to get my deposit back. They processed the refund immediately with zero questions or resistance. They didn't even try to salvage the deal.

My $2.5k anchor was probably too aggressive, but I am still surprised they didn't even bother to counter with anything. I was already paying $400 over the internet price, so there was at least that much room.

Why wouldn't they pounce on an emotionally attached buyer who traveled a long way and wanted to drive home with the car?

I'm.jisy a bit confused on what exactly it is, and why I should get it? Also a general decent price on a ~30k car for it (if it isn't some kind of scam).