Milford Auto Mall

I received a car that had preexisting issues that compromise the use and safety of the vehicle.I recently bought a 1999 VW Passat wagon from Milford Auto Mall for $2600 cash. I drove the car home from there, to my insurance company, to the registry, then straight to a transmission shop [redacted], less than 200 miles three days later, Saturday. At which point I contacted the dealership and told them I had taken it into a shop and the transmission was slipping. Their comment was good thing we gave you a warranty the transmission is totally covered, good thing we gave it to you. This shop told me that there was a serious problem with the second gear and it needed to be overhauled. I then brought it back home and to another shop, that I had been recommended, on Monday first thing in the morning. [redacted] in [redacted] MA. They told me that they suspected the same thing and I asked them to call the warranty that the dealer issued with the car. The shop said it was likely a problem with the clutches in the second gear. The warranty company [redacted] said they do not cover clutches and they can not help with the cost of the repair. [redacted] then told me "I would go demand my money back", as it was only the fourth business day since I had bought the car, Tuesday. I then called the dealer again and they told me to bring the car to them and they would straighten it out. I told them I wanted my money back as the estimate from [redacted] transmission was about $2800 more than the car. They told me that the [redacted] had lied to me in order to make money off of me, that the warranty company was going to cover the repair and it was nothing serious. After numerous phone calls hounding these people to tell me what they were doing to my car they insisted that there was only a minor problem and the car was fine. I had also been calling the warranty company [redacted] who had told me they would not be covering anything because it was obviously a preexisting condition as I had driven almost no where. After days of calling the warranty company, the transmission shop they took it to, who asked me not to bring them into the middle of this so I will not name them, I was able to know that Milford Auto Mall was lying to me about everything. Their solution was to insist that the car is fine, replace the fluid and have me pick it up. I am going to get the car tomorrow, bring it home and take it to a VW dealer ship to diagnose the problem on Monday. Three different shops including theirs have told me there is a problem with the second gear it is going to fail and their solution does not fix that problem. Desired SettlementI want my $2600 back for the car$262.50 for the sales tax and registration fees$50 for the first shop diagnosis [redacted]$85 for [redacted] diagnosis$112 for the VW dealership diagnose it on MondayTotal of $3109.50Had they just refunded me the money for the car the first time I would have not been forced to take so much extra action and it would not have been so expensive for them, as I am fully prepared to file a lawsuit if they are not willing to work with me on a refund.Business Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted]Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXXContact Email: [redacted]@milfordautomall.com To whom it may concern. Mr.[redacted] baught a 1999 vw passat with [redacted] miles from us on 08/08/2013.192miles later on 08/09/13 the vehicle passed Massachusetts SAFETY and EMISSION inspection at [redacted] sticker#XXXXXXXXX. That is where he took the vehicle to get inspected and it did pass. Also on 08/13/2013 when the vehicle came back to milford auto mall it had XXXXXX miles. it has been driven more then 250 miles which shows that the vehicle is in good driving condition and also it did pass inspection which also shows that the vehicle is safe not like Mr [redacted] is stating. Also we have a AS IS form signed by Mr. [redacted] clearing stating that the vehicle is sold as is without a warranty from milford auto mall. We were only responsible by law for the state inspection sticker which the vehicle passed ** an inspection station where the buyer took the vehicle to get inspected. Also at the time of the sale Mr. [redacted] did decline a warranty company contract that we usually offer at no extra cost to every customer and insisted on going with the [redacted] Warranty company. we did give him that warranty at no extra cost. However a few days later we did get contacted from [redacted] warranty and got informed that the warranty got rejected due to suspession that Mr. [redacted] is requesting work to be done on a vehicle with 152k miles that didn't need to be done such as replacing the transmission with a new one from the VW dealer and also replacing the timing belt at the warranty expense. Please take into consideration that Milford Auto Mall did service the vehicle before the sale and also the vehicle did pass state inspection. it is a 1999 with 152k miles sold for $2600. If you need any further clarification on this matter please feel free to contact [redacted] ([redacted]) at XXX XXX XXXX as I will be away for a while due to family emergency. Thank you Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)[redacted]First: the mileage on the car consists of 243 miles driven back and forth to repair shop and having it registered and inspected. Mass inspection does not check transmission or gear ratio box. Next: as for the warranty that came with the car, it was the recommended warranty from the salesman. [redacted] was not present at the time of sale. The only shop I know who contacted the [redacted] Warranty Company was [redacted]. The timing belt was not an issue, and was not something that was asked to be repaired; the entire problem is a gear ratio box as well as a bad transmission. As far as the "As Is" condition please read the implied warranty law below:Implied Warranty Law: The implied warranty of merchantability is a guarantee provided by law in the sale of all consumer products, including automobiles, even if they cost less than $700 or have been driven 125,000 miles or more before sale to you. The implied warranty is in addition to any express, written warranty. Under the implied warranty, a product must do what it was designed to do with "reasonable" safety, efficiency and ease for a "reasonable" period of time. If it does not run properly, the seller is responsible for repair, replacement or a refund. The law does not define the word "reasonable." This will depend in part upon the condition, age, and sale price of the vehicle.I have filed the following demand letter:Dear Milford Auto Mall:Under the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 93A, Section 9, I hereby make written demand for relief as outlined in that statute.On or about (08/08/13), the following unfair or deceptive act occurred:Having taken delivery of the VW Passat [redacted] within 24 hours the transmission was slipping on Aug 10th I took to [redacted] who said the transmission was slipping and needed replacing. I called you and you said good thing gave warranty coverage, on call we agreed to have an authorized Transmission shop look at the vehicle on Monday the 12th. The car was taken to [redacted] who confirmed that the transmission was bad and needed to be replaced. We notified you, and you ask us to bring it in to be looked at by your shop. On August 13th we brought the car To Milford Auto Mall. You took the car to [redacted] and had them look at the car. You called and said nothing was wrong with the car on August 16th and I could pick up the car. On August 17th my parents picked up the car as I was moving and they noticed the same problem we had returned it for. They drove to [redacted] who notified them he was only asked to Scan the vehicle and change the transmission fluid. We again called and you said the car is fine. We took the vehicle to [redacted] as the vehicle did not seem safe to drive around. Their finding was the transmission and valve box where no good and priced parts at $6800.00 without labor for repair. This car is not in a safe drivable condition.This unfair or deceptive act or practice is, in my opinion, declared unlawful by Section 2 of Chapter 93A, which reads as follows: Implied Warranty Law: The implied warranty of merchantability is a guarantee provided by law in the sale of all consumer products, including automobiles, even if they cost less than $700 or have been driven 125,000 miles or more before sale to you. The implied warranty is in addition to any express, written warranty. Under the implied warranty, a product must do what it was designed to do with "reasonable" safety, efficiency and ease for a "reasonable" period of time. If it does not run properly, the seller is responsible for repair, replacement or a refund. The law does not define the word "reasonable." This will depend in part upon the condition, age, and sale price of the vehicle.Again I would like to reiterate the [redacted] Warranty was in fact the recommended warranty, [redacted] who wrote the last response was not there at the time of sale, and that I have not attempted to get the timing belt fixed at the expense of the warranty company, or at all. The warranty company told me they would not cover anything due to the fact the car had been driven so little there must have been preexisting issues. Final Business Response Thank you [redacted] for giving me the opportunity to reply on this matter. I want to clear few things. The state inspection does check for any issues in the vehicle when the inspection machine is connected to the vehicle ODB to read for any stored codes in the ECU. and if there is an existing problem in the transmission it will trigger a hard code that will be stored in the ECU. ask any mechanic and they will confirm that. Also again it is a 14 years old vehicle with 152k miles sold for $2600, it's an old used vehicle that is going to have issues. if the buyer was expecting a brand new vehicle for $2600 they are completely wrong. And also by state law for any vehicle over 125k miles the dealer is only responsible for the inspection sticker. and this vehicle already passed state inspection.