Need advise on used car purchase issues

Hi, This is my situation,
I purchased a bmw x3 2004 with 84,000 miles used after test driving it for 12,500 or so, financed. After the purchase 03/23/2012 I was asked to pick up the car the next day 03/24/2012 so that they may inspect it. I picked it up the next day 03/24/2012 and was told that they needed to order oil change filter and a/c belt. Upon taking it home, within a few days, it start making a squealing sound and the service engine light came on. I called the dealership to check if the parts had arrived and told the person on the phone about the light and sound and he stated it was probably due to the belt. After several days of calling them, on Monday 04/02/2012 I was able to confirm the parts had arrived and scheduled with the service department to come by Wednesday 04/04/2012 at 3. I took the car to the dealership and was advised it would take 2 hours, after 4 hours of waiting they brought up the car and told me that the service engine soon light was on and was given a vague explanation of why it was not covered under the 2,000 mile/ 2 mo warranty. When I started the car, there was another light on that was not present prior to my arrival and I notified the service representative and he stated it was probably related to the other light and gave me a written statement of the fast that I stated it was not present prior to my arrival vs the technician that worked on the vehicle saying it was. I drove back home from Joliet to Lombard and the car was having issues with shifting correctly and abruptly speeding up or slowing down causing a hazard to myself and cars around me. At this point I got home and contacted the dealership and notified them that I was now having more problem than I started with and had spoke to the same service rep and he stated that the manager had gone for the day and asked for my contact # and stated he will get back to me tomorrow. The car has so far had numerous problems which appeared within the week after purchasing the car and new problems after addressing repairs which should have been inspected prior to my purchase. They were quick to sell me the vehicle but dont want to take any responsibility for all the problems I am having. Not to mention because of the distance, I have spent a lot of time and gas money having to make numerous trips out there for what should have been a painless purchase. I dont know what to do rite now.

 

what does that 2k warranty cover.

 

powertrain, any lubricated parts only engine/trans

 

I would look into the Illinois Used Car Lemon Law. Do some research about the dealer with special attention on any/all past complaints. contact your local news affiliates. Many *good and honest* services stations out there will inspect your car for a small fee and in writing will tell you exactly what is wrong with it. Have this in hand when you return to the dealer as proof.
Whatever you do, do not do nothing!!!

 

Threaten to sue if they do not fix the car, threaten to go to the news stations about how they are scamming you. That right there should be enough to get them to fix your car, the fear of having their name slandered in the news, and possibly miss out on screwing over others is usually enough to get them to do the right thing haha

 

First thing I would do is go out and buy a OBD code reader. They are like 35$. It might be a little more because your a little newer than the cars I tinker around on, but the point is still the same. You can get a code reader for pretty cheap and it will work on you future cars too. Pull the code yourself before you ever take a car to a shop. Just the fact that you come to the shop saying "it's reading code such and such and when I looked that code up it said this..." will make the shop respect you more. Auto shops are a lot like lfs in a way, if you come in and don't have a clue what your talking about they don't really give you much attention. I mean could you educate some one about a tank in one or two trips to the lfs when all they want is for you to fix their tank? Some of the things you are saying is pretty standard for that mileage (like the belt), but the speeding up and stuff is weird. It's most likely a sensor some where that is confusing the car. I would not say that the car is junk quite yet because I think it's most likely a sensor that can be replaced and everything should be good, the hard part is to find the right sensor because there are a few sensors. Once you have the code yourself you will know more about that. I think your getting some crappy costumer service because they think you don't know what your talking about. Going public might work, but they also might have covered themselves in the contract and turn around and say that you did not know enough about cars to evaluate this car and should not be buying a car for yourself because your not a mechanic. Be careful because if they wrote the contract right they can counter sue you if you go public and don't have a leg to stand on. It's all in the fine print. Did you have the car looked at by 2 third party mechanics before you bought it?

 

So I took the car back to the dealer, the service guy spoke to his supervisor and they agreed to take the car from me to a local bmw dealership and have it diagnosed to see if its a problem involving anything covered under the 2 mo 2000 miles powertrain warranty. If it is they will repair it. However, if its not, I have to pay the diagnostic fee that bmw charges and will be responsible for any problem not covered. The belt issue however is something that they had the responsibility for so they will have to correct it. I am just hoping that the shifting issue is something simple as a computer reset or atleast a covered repair. I also asked them that I want to see the report from BMW myself before any judgement or repair. I will be contacting an attorney tomorrow as well as the BBB just incase. I dropped the car off thursday and was told I would hear early next week. I contacted the bmw dealership today and they had not yet received the vehicle. I was not offered any alternative transportation for the time I am without the vehicle. It is also about 30 miles away, so these numerous trips and gas price is another issue not to mention time spent during travel and waiting.

 

As a hardened veteran of the Lemon Law my best advice to you is to document everything,including all times and dates of what has occured to the car. Also be sure to document the phone calls you have made, and who you spoke to, and what was said. It will help you later if you are forced into legal action or a BBB Arbitration.