July 10: I bought a used convertible from a local used car dealership. I am handicapped, and found something locally I could afford.in finalizing the paperwork, I asked the owner if there was anything I needed to know about, as this was the most I could pay on a used car, and my disability makes it hard to get around to hitch rides, do repairs, pay for repairs. I made it clear, that I expected that I was buying a used car, but I didn't want to have to do fix anything for awhile. Coast Auto Sales assured me I was paying High Blue Book because it was such a great car. I asked specifically if the roof leaked, he assured me it did not.
No sooner did I get it home, than a visitor alerted me the brake lights didn't work. I immediately had to replace bulbs and the brake light switch. The trunk lid didn't stay up and needed lifts replaced. I also noticed the "service engine" light was going on and off. I hadn't had the car a week, and was unhappy that all this was happening so soon. The dealer asked that I take it to the shop across the street from him. I asked this business to also check the brakes, as they were noisy and inefficient. The auto shop got authorization from Coast Auto Sales to fix the problem. They'd however forgotten to check the brakes. Soon after I got a call from the dealer, and was told that the dmv paperwork didn't go through, as it was purchased from out of the county, and needed a special "smogging" that no one did in the area.By this time, the "check engine light had come right back on, I'd had the chance to take the car through a car wash (it leaked like a sieve). The convertible roof would go "down" only, and no longer went "up", and the car needed a brake job. I was livid. I sent registered letters to Coast Auto Sales. Tom, the owner, called and asked me to come in, as he said he would do 'whatever it took' to make me happy. I went in with another witness, and told him I was there to give the car back. Tom at Coast Auto, made it very clear, he did not want this car back. I re-iterated the paper work was improperly filled out, I was angry about all the immediate repairs. The owner refused to take the car back.
So, I left unsatisfied. I sought legal council, who assured me the dealer was at fault with the smogging. I'd sent demand letters, but they were ignored. My physical disability, and the added expenses of all the car repairs and inflated sticker price, made going though a court battle too much. The registration was about to expire, and a week and half ago, I was forced to allow Coast Auto take my car to smog it, so I would have a valid legal registration, so I could travel the highways without being ticketed and hassled; ending up in court explaining (Who wants to go to court). Coast Auto Sales took advantage of my disability, and played it out. Up until then, I was driving with no paperwork on the car. When Coast Auto sales returned my car, I asked where it was smogged (as it was rather quickly done), he said it was done at the shop across the street from his car lot. Suddenly the out of area smogging wasn't necessary. It made me very leery, as I knew a car couldn't be smogged if the "check engine" light was on.
I've since paid for brakes, roof hydraulic repairs, window repairs, crank shaft position sensor, cap, rotor, plugs and wires. Well, the check engine light is still on. Heating and cooling do not work. I have photographed the check engine light dates numerous times. I took it to many reputable shops in town that hooked it to a computer that diagnosed 2 things that could cause it.in this past week, I paid for those repairs, and the "check engine light" is still on, and the car runs worse than ever. I have to drive my daughter to school, and many times, the car came to a stop. This car has been to the shop at least 5 times, with numerous repairs in between. People he contracts work out to, gave me contacts to turn him in, so he seems to have a reputation.
I just don't do enough driving to quantify the repairs, I know it's may seem irrelevant. I am, and have been concerned the smog issue, and that the "check engine" light is continually on, and this dealer has taken advantage of an obviously handicapped person, I cannot be stranded and walking. I'm concerned this business might have hook ups to by pass the law. I really don't know how this car passed smog.
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