Why are car salesman such lying scum???

[alex673]

Hi all.
About 8 months ago, my wife was after a second-hand 7 seater van to run the kids around in. Her old Nissan Pulsar, even though it was in excellent condition, was too small, and she was having problems driving it due to a medical condition.
To cut a long story short, we ended up buying a 2nd hand 2007 Kia Carnival from a used car yard in Victoria Park, Perth.
We took it for a test drive, and it drove nicely. The wife could drive it confidently, and it didn't make any major noises. The dealer told us that it had been recently serviced, and had the statutory 3 month warranty.
Fast forward to 6 weeks ago, and the rear main seal went. It was quite unexpected. One minute there was no leak. Then there was a major one, all within a 24 hour period.
We had that fixed, and a couple of days ago, another seal went. We sent the car on a flat-bed to Kia in Cannington, and it turns out the engine is rooted! The top is full of carbon, and it rattles and bumps like mad. The mechanic reckons whoever owned it first never serviced it, and the yard we bought it off did a dodgy and "fixed" the noises, and not the problem... We were guaranteed by the car yard that the vehicle had a full 100 point check, and was perfectly safe and roadworthy. Obviously, they lied...
We are now up for a replacement motor, at $10,000!!! And to make it worse, the company who supplied the "extended warranty" we bought claim it isn't caused by a fault, so they aren't going to cover it!
I wonder what the car dealer and warranty people's reaction is going to be when I contact the Motor Trades Association and the Department of Consumer Affairs... And maybe even an Ombudsman and "A Current Affair"...
Whinge over...

[Squall]

Being slightly mechanically retarded I would never buy without being able to take it to my mechanic to have a look over it. I know they probably wouldn't pick up something like you described but they might see the tell tale signs do a dealer trying to pull the wool over my eyes. This has some downsides of course, I can't buy at auctions or interstate. All I know is I can do some of the advanced stuff like gearbox swaps but I have no idea how to pick up a sketchy salesman. They have years in the trade learning how to hide little problems.

[Jeepo]

Good luck with the rebuild. Sounds a tad overpriced though I'm not familiar with those vans.
Often a look at the bottom of the oil filler cap (Pre-purchase) can reveal motor condition and lack of servicing. Also the radiator cap can tell similar stories.

[layback40]

Always best to talk to the previous owner (s).
The dealer probably got it from an auction & knew no history.
Many dealers are financed by finance companies & they are no different to insurance companies.
Your warranty comes from an insurance company, remember how many in QLD got shafted by them in the floods a few years ago? Well guess what? You are dealing with the same people.
They are all only interested in making money (extracting it from you) & that is what has occurred.

[Macca2801]

Firstly its standard practice for insurance/warranty to deny liability, keep at them with evidence from your mechanic and extracts from the policy and they will probably fold.
second, I used to be an Apprentice Supervisor for the northern suberbs of Perth and was quite surprised to always see a Carnival in the Kia workshops with an engine being replaced. They actually realised the pre 2002 vehicles were defective and replaced alot out of warranty.

Being a 2007 model its a different engine (*just read...3.8V6 from mitsi 380 supposed to be bullet proof)) but it might pay to do some more research to ensure they new engine doesnt suffer the same fate and maybe also be covered out of warranty by Kia themselves.

Always pays to do some research before hand and then walk in for-armed!
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...2570280009D8B9

If that fails, I would definitely proceed as you have described with your plan to tackle the problem!

Goodluck
Matt.

** worse case, being a 380 motor I cant see the replacement cost being $10k...surely you could get a good condition, low km, second hand motor or auction wreck for waaaay less than that!
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mount...sed/1019542264
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/smith...nel/1023955581
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/cocon...ng-/1024815450
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/bibra...ing/1024259454 Last one is Jandakot!!!

[alex673]

Hi Matt.
Apparently I was wrong, the car is actually a 2004... My bad!!!
I thought $10,000 was a lot too, but apparently that is the current price. These motors were superseded in 2006, and for some unknown reason, they are now worth money, even though they were only good to use as a boat anchor!

[alex673]

Originally Posted by Mals-JK

your right there, insurance companies first response will be negative even if you have a rightful claim, reason being they work on the fact most people will leave it at that and give up, only persistent people get through to the next stage.
they're bloody criminals!

Yeah... I had this problem with my Income Protection insurance too. They kept denying, I kept persisting. Eventually I told them I'd see them in court. Within an hour they were on the phone offering to settle. Funny, that...