So lets make this short I bought a car for my daily driver from this guy who had false information about the car. He told me the transmission & motor mounts were new and the car is in good condition. It was in good condition interior wise/exterior wise for a 99 but the engine is messed up. This incident is in southern california by the way.

He knocked out $100 since he didn't smog it and he guaranteed it will pass smog so we just took the offer. I drive it to work and 50 miles later the check engine light pops up. I took it to a mechanic and the codes read
P0420 (Catalytic converter) P0421 (EGR valve) low effiency due to carbon built

I call him and he was being rude on the phone saying he has nothing to do with the car anymore and take it to a smog shop and guaranteed it will pass and wouldn't listen to what we have to say.

Heres what the shop told me about the car.
1) Engine motor mounts all blown
2) Blown shocks
3) Leaking oil ( needs a new oil pan & silicone)
4) New serpentine belts (He said he had brand new belts)
5) Tires aren't specified for the wheels
6) bad hoses
7) alignment
8) Transmission flush

I spent $850 for the new catalytic converter, egr valve & cleaning of the whole intake manifold/circuits/new knock sensor altogether. And I have to spend a couple more thousand just to get this thing running good. Is it possible to sue this guy?

 

sorry this happened but honestly half of that could have very easily been avoided.

you should have opened the hood and looked at the engine bay such as the hoses and belts, just driving a car you can tell if it has blown shocks, oil pan leaking is visable just by getting on the ground and looking under the car usually. and the MAIN issue. is you should have told him he needs to get it smogged himself.

 

Yeah really what did u do take this guys word for everything he said?? U gotta look inspect and take it for a test ride..

 

I honestly think you would spend a lot more money trying to sue this guy and might lose. Is he a guru with cars? If he was just some average joe shmoe than I wouldn't sue because it would have been my job to inspect the engine for any signs of leakage, drive the car to test the alignment, test the suspension during the test drive, look at the serpentine belts, i honestly think the shop just wants you to feel like you got ripped off.

all that **** sounds exaggerated honestly, wheel alignment how many degrees was it off? transmission flush? sounds like they're trying to take your money! if you can, change it yourself. blown shocks? how did they come with that conclusion? did they see any leaking?

you know what i'm saying, i'm not trying to say all mechanics do this but a lot of mechanics i have met like to point out **** just to make me feel like i got ripped off. i mean hate to be the dick but all that sounds like something you should have been able to spot out..

 

unless what he told you is in writing or something i think your SOL...

Sorry about this... its people like this really get me goin

 

I freakin hate it. I sold my g35 to get over the payments and i got myself a nice daily driver until I found the problems. I really wished i kept my g35 now. Feeling like **** atm.

 

Seriously though im not coming back to this shop again because they quoted me alot just for a new egr valve/circuit cleaning. I'm going to a different shop from now on

 

yeah, seriously but sometimes i understand how it feels to be in that guys shoes man. sometimes i just don't know what ELSE could be wrong with the car and i'd hate for the owner to find out. how else would i know that a cat is dieing? or my alignment is 1 degree off, or i have scratches on my flex pipe etc.

i sold my subie to a friend, and he constantly texts me saying another thing after another is wrong with it. i didn't sell him the car intentionally knowing **** is bad, but it eventually got bad. i feel bad but all i can really do is help him fix the problems. i sold it to him for dirt cheap too.

@ stillenedoutg, well you're local. if you ever need **** done man just bring it by me i can do all that **** on his list besides the alignment lol. i don't got the machine.

 

Yeah bro I ordered all the parts. Waiting on the 5 piece motor mounts & oil pan/silicone gasket. Do you have you're own shop?

 

my dad does, i do work in my driveway, i go over there to mooch his tools & ask questions if i'm ever stuck. if you want a professional good mechanic, i'd go to my dad he charges dirt cheap prices cus it's a ma&pa kinda shop. his prices are sometimes high sometimes low, it's a hit&miss but i don't like people to lowball my dad so i don't really refer people to him that are cheap. usually his prices are REALLY cheap. he replaced my friends starter and timing belt for like 80 bucks or something.

all i know is i get phone calls saying "aye cholea! your dad just ****ing hooked me up good man, he charged me like 80 bucks to do my timing belt!" he charged my friend 120 to change his timing belt and water pump on his ae86.

 

Sounds good where's his shop located at?

 

Sorry to hear buddy. I hope everything works out for the best bro!

 

you only have a chance if he clearly says in his listing that certain things were fixed and later you determined they were not.

if your only evidence against him is what you say he said..........that aint gonna fly.

 

The shop is out in long beach, on anaheim street.

 

If the bill of sale shows "AS IS" you are responsible for anything wrong with the car after you sign.