I bought a used car from a Taxi service, after 10 minutes of buying the car it died on me. It turned out to be the fuel pump and the mechanic said he would fix the issue but has failed to and keeps giving me excuse after excuse about completing the repairs.
I would like to take legal action , I know that a seller can not falsely state that the car is in running condition when it is obviously not, I bought the car nearly 10 days and i do not have a running car or my money I would like to sue for either the car back in running condotion or my money back I have proof of sale and I know that I could sue and have the contract reversed or nulled .
My question is: What steps should I take at this point to make the mechanic take me more serious and know that he can not pull the shady mechanic routine on me? What type of lawyer do I need in this kind of situation?
I have heard that a call from a lawyer can really get a mechanic to take notice or a call to the state attorney. Any help is appreciated.
we have a lemon law in Tennessee I’m not sure about Chicago but you should, I have delt with the BBB up there are they help me with some legal matters.
Some of it depends on under what conditions you purchased the vehicle. Did you buy it “as is”, or with a warranty of some kind. If you bought it as is, you are responsible, if there is a warranty, you have recourse. Did you have a mechanic look at it before you purchased it? If the seller stated that the vehicle is in running condition, did he put that in writing?
I would call a consumer lawyer and see what my options are.
Good luck with this, purchases should not be as difficult as they end up being.
Try your state’s Consumer Affairs and see if they have a ombudsman. This happened to me in Oklahoma and I made one phone call and within an hour the situation was resolved and I got my money back. Don’t know how much you paid for it but if it was under $10000, you can take them to Small Claims Court.
Illinois does have a “new car lemon law” known as the Illinois New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act. However, this law only pertains to new cars and only covers a defect that remains unremedied after four or more repair attempts by the seller.
There is some protection for used cars depending on how it was presented at the time of sale. You must first ask yourself what representations were made by the seller when you purchased the car. Any representations made by a seller are governed by the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The second question is whether the car performs as you thought it would when you purchased it from the seller. In other words, if you bought the car with knowledge that it was defective, then the law cannot help you unless the seller misrepresented the car’s true condition. This area is governed by the Uniform Commercial Code and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. The final question is whether the contract itself is unfair or one-sided and whether the seller’s behavior was abusive. When a contract for the sale of goods is negotiated, both the buyer and the seller must have an equal bargaining position. A seller would have the unfair advantage in a negotiation if, for example, the buyer does not understand the provisions of the contract, the buyer cannot read English, or if the buyer feels intimidated by the seller. The law protects the buyer in these situations under the Consumer Fraud Act and the Uniform Commercial Code.
If you bought it “as is” (which is the usual scenario), fix the fuel pump yourself and remind yourself not to buy without having your mechanic check it out first ever again.