The most popular story online so far this month for Mission Record is about a woman who sued, and lost, after buying a lemon.
No, not the fruit, but a lemon-colored vehicle owned by a Mission resident after seeing an ad on Craigslist.
You can read more about the story here, but basically she bought the vehicle and then the car imploded on the way home from Mission.
A Civil Settlement Court adjudicator ruled in favor of the seller and our readers were divided on whether that was fair.
I’ve gotten a lot of feedback since then, most notably from Jerome Rodriguez with Pioneer Chrysler Jeep, Mission.
“First things first, it’s always unfortunate to see situations like this when someone loses their hard-earned money because of some misrepresentation or misunderstanding or even bad luck,” Rodriguez said. “Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to avoid these situations.”
Rodriguez offered these five tips to stay safe:
• Inspect the ‘selected vehicle’ – These inspections are performed by trained professionals and can be done through your local service shop or car dealer. The process involves a thorough inspection through the vehicle to certify its current condition. This inspection will reveal any potential problems you may have and will also tell you whether or not it is safe to drive. These, however, can cost up to $150-250.
• Always request a CARFAX report and lien check – Carfax reports are official vehicle history reports that will tell you exactly how many owners the vehicle has had, where it has been driven and if there have been any accidents etc. Additionally, having a lien check is also integral because when your private transaction is complete, the car is transferred to your name along with any outstanding payments. These detailed reports are a must when buying a used vehicle, but they can cost up to $61 to obtain.
• Understanding the seller: Now this is probably the most difficult part of a private transaction. You must carefully weigh everything the salesman tells you because, despite his “honest answers,” he may never know why he sold that car. It could be a major repair that they hid or the fact that the car is always in the shop. Maybe it has an unpleasant smell or maybe it is not reliable.
• Avoid Curbers: These people pretend to be private sellers when, in fact, they are in the business of selling cars without a license. Since they operate without a car dealer license, cars purchased through them may not be protected by the British Columbia Vehicle Sales Authority (VSA).
• Buyer Beware: Regardless of how good your due diligence was, how prepared you were, or even if you followed all of the above advice, if the deal goes wrong, there will be no recourse.
“Despite their best efforts, the car can still have accidents that don’t show up on Carfax,” Rodriguez said. “You can still have problems that an inspection doesn’t uncover. Or the seller could lie to you outright. That is the hard truth when it comes to private sales.”
Fortunately, there is already a form provided by the government that gives you the option of legal recourse, should something go wrong, at no cost to you as the buyer. The VSA was created for exactly the purpose of safeguarding each and every consumer in the marketplace.
“This authority enforces all of the above advice and the latest safety laws and regulations on dealerships like us (Pioneer Chrysler Jeep, Mission) to make sure all used and new cars are properly inspected, safe to drive along with resources legal, if necessary. he said. “We also do a deep background check and disclose it to the buyer at the time of purchase. This whole process, if done by the consumer, can cost quite a bit of money, assuming there is no damage to the vehicle.”
Rodríguez urged people to stop by a dealership to reduce risk.
Chris Campbell is the interim editor of Mission Record.
@shinebox44
chris.campbell@missioncityrecord.com
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