In the hierarchy of sleaze, the used car salesman ranks right above pimp. Often, stereotypes are false, but in this case, the shoe fits: the used car salesman is a liar and a schemer, and his commission is based on squeezing as much money out of you with whatever methods at his disposal as he can.
It’s easy to see how so many customers walk away feeling like they’ve been cheated when they get home and realize they’ve paid way too much for a mediocre vehicle. But far worse than the price gouger is the salesman who sells an unwitting customer a car with serious mechanical or structural issues. This is why there is a lemon law in every state.
This happens far more often than most us realize, but once you’ve fallen prey to this kind of predatory sale, you’ll begin to see lemons everywhere. The most typical and egregious cover-up is the concealing of flood damage. A vehicle that has been damaged by flood water will have chronic engine and structural problems for the rest of it’s severely shortened life. Flood water is extremely corrosive to the engine as well as the frame, and often there are contaminants that can affect the health of the occupants of the car.
The easiest way to avoid buying a lemon is to check the vehicle identification number, or VIN, against a database of automobile accidents and damage. Every time a vehicle is in an accident, it’s VIN is logged and entered into a national database. This information can be had for a small fee through a popular service known as carfax. Since the advent of Carfax, lemon law trials have dropped in number dramatically, though unfortunately they will never cease altogether.
As helpful and inexpensive as this accident database service is, it is still subject to fraud, as even a VIN can be falsified by a dishonest used car dealer. Which makes the lemon law in your state the last redoubt against the fraud perpetrated by these unscrupulous car dealers, and lemon law attorneys the defenders of citizens rights and reclaimer of their hard-earned money.
If you find yourself unfortunate enough to have purchased a car with mechanical or structural issues that were concealed from you at the time of purchase, the first thing you should do is call a handful of lemon law lawyers. They’ll be happy to speak with you, and they’ll be best qualified to determine if you have a case against the seller. More often than not, the lemon law can be used to recover the money you spend on the vehicle, as well as damages and legal fees.
The lemon law is designed to protect consumers against unscrupulous, fraudulent, and dishonest used car dealers. If you’ve been taken advantage of, call a lemon law attorney today.