{black}:idontknow: Scotty. I purchased a 2011 BMW 535i. Three days after the purchase, a piston and rod was damaged. Pepboys, suggested replacing the engine. What do you think about replacing the damaged piston and rod, and do I need to think long term about replacing the engine? I just picked up a third party Car Warranty through Endurance. I hope it's worth the $100 a month.
Goodbye engine.
If they sold you such a badly damaged vehicle, you need to ask for a full refund, and if they refuse, contact a lawyer.
Did you do a pre purchase inspection on the vehicle, before purchase?
Since the China Virus I was jobless and had an accident in my previous car. My credit wasnt good enough to get a vehicle loan. I had no fast resolution to prevent me from going to a legit dealer, so I went to a dealership that offered a "buy here pay here" deal. I put $7k down and three days later the piston and rod went really wacky. About a week later, I had to put an additional $2k down for labor costs. My car has been at the dealer for over 30 days for repair. I called numerous lawfirms, all of them said they weren't interested in helping unless my car was still under manufacture warranty. Florida's Lemon Laws dont really help with cars without that warranty, especially a 11 year old car.
I’m sorry about your situation, but you’re really stuck between a rock & a hard place, on this one..
You need a new motor.
If you bought it as is, the dealer owes you nothing legally, even though it was a sleazy thing to do. Did you get it checked out by a mechanic prior to purchase? Did you happen to buy from.a dealer with a 5 or 7 day return policy?
No warranty was offered and the guy wouldnt allow me to take it to a shop to overlook to make sure things looked and worked well.
I picked up a warranty through Endurance last month, but before I can use it I have to put 1000 miles on it to show it works fine.
As soon as they wouldn't allow you to have it inspected, it was time to walk. This will just be an expensive lesson. Hope you can go 1000 miles and don't be surprised if they refuse coverage and call it a preexisting condition.
There's a lot of lessons to learn from this situation, going forward. The loss and heartache you're feeling was avoidable. (The comments below are not meant to be personal.) I'm going to cover a few:
1. Because there's no effective coverage of used cars under Florida's lemon law, you're on your own from the beginning. That increases risk, substantially, and makes the attitude expressed by the aphorism "caveat emptor" even sharper, more necessary;
2. That attitude is also even further enhanced by your apparent description that you're in the sub-prime credit category, which is the subgroup that is targeted by the least reputable reptiles in the car sales business;
3. Apparently, you didn't do any research on the reliability of various vehicles, particularly as they age. Carcomplaints.com has a listing of manufacturers and models, along with recorded histories of complaints. It's instructive.
3.a. All other things equal, you could have sought out far more reliable cars: 2004-06 Camrys, a decade old Corolla or Civic. These have much better long-term track histories than a Mercedes, BMW, Audis, etc. These European models ooze status, yes, but they are, in Scotty's oft-repeated words, "money pits as they age."
4. At the very least, it's necessary to bring along an OBD2 scan tool, such as a Blue Driver, MX Plus, Innova, etc., to search for DTCs (Diagnostic Trouble Codes). A scanner such as the Blue Driver has enhanced diagnostic codes, and the ability to read Live Data. All that is useful information.
5. You did not get a PPI (Pre-Purchase Inspection) by a mechanic. Given that the pandemic has severely impacted you (as it has tens of millions), any major financial commitment should be tempered by risk management, which is what a good mechanic's eyes and mind will do for you. You would have been steered away from this lemon.
6. After the car's engine self-destructive, you apparently gave this con-artist another $2K. Why? Is there a signed contract for services? But why would you give someone who sold you a lemon more money?
7. Your extended warranty contract will not save you. As Scotty has said, many times, even recently, run away from these. Their contracts are structured to exclude coverage far, far more than they include. And if they repair, it will be with substandard parts and labor.
__
So, as an uninvolved observer, this is what I see. The American economy is set up to fleece the most desperate and least informed about how the system is set up. (Payday loans are one good example of this, with their usurious interest rates). As I understand it, part of Scotty's goal (and some of his videos are examples of this) is to counter such practices with knowledge, information and the tools for self-empowerment.
That means being honest, which Scotty is, in his expression. Following Scotty's lead, this is my conclusion: This scenario of yours is mistake piled upon mistake. Learn from it, and don't repeat it. Do things differently next time.
The real shame of it is that if I'm reading this correctly he put $7K down plus $2K more - a total of $9000. Bad credit not withstanding, that would have bought a nice used Toyota or Honda for cash, possibly even a trade-in with a known history at a new car dealer. (Though of course you have to be on your guard with any dealer.) Most of the people victimized by the bottom-feeding "buy here pay here" lots don't have anywhere near that much on hand to spend on a car.
I remember one video where Scotty worked with a woman who bought a new white Toyota truck (probably a new Taco) from a shady Houston-metro Toyota dealer. They added a $7500 addendum (sheer thievery) and charged her an outrageous interest rate. She took it up with Scotty, who intervened.
Scotty took her to a local credit union, and refinanced the loan at a rate that took off $12,000 over the life of the lien. Apparently, then, this Toyota dealership, apparently infamous for avarice, wiped out the addendum, if I remember correctly.
Scotty had the "cultural capital" (after all, he was a post-graduate ABD - All But Dissertation) given his education. She had the sense to tap into that, and understood Scotty's sense of fighting the good fight against structural thievery. Her knowledge of Scotty was her "cultural capital," but it was Scotty's SES knowledge (refinancing) and his subsequent use of social media that made all the difference for her. On her own, she didn't have a chance.
This fellow has no such allies. Obviously, he's on his own.
It's easy to forget how it is for people who don't have any automotive knowledge. Not a big deal for someone in a position to buy a new car. However, when hard times hit people who lack knowledge become easy targets for the bunko artists. I'm Scotty's age and have had times in my life when I was broke but fortunately I've always been able to pick up a cheap beater and wrench on it myself to make it work. People who are unable to do that are just stuck, and if they don't understand the nature of "buy here pay here" lots, junk warranties, etc. it's a double-whammy and like getting stuck in a tar pit. It really burns me to see people taken advantage of like this and I wish there were something that could be done for this guy. The shyster "dealer" probably doesn't care about his reputation or repeat business since there are always more potential victims to prey on, so Scotty providing his usual type of pressure would likely not do any good.
I'm really thinking the thing to do at this point though is ditch that money pit and regroup. Even under the best of circumstances a 10-year-old BMW is going to be a black hole for dollars and these are far from the best circumstances. Heck, he could have been taking cabs or ubers for far less money than has been poured into this thing.
Really a bad situation all the way around. Bad car. Bad dealer. Bad deal. Likely a bad 3rd-party warranty. Scarce funds poured into a black hole.
Those "buy here pay here" lots are mostly shysters taking advantage of people in a bind. They pick up crap cars at auction for cheap, make the down payment at least enough to cover the junker's cost, and tack on huge profits and usurious interest charges. In that kind of establishment it's heads they win, tails you lose. In most cases they wind up repo'ing the car and pawning it off to some other poor soul caught in a bad financial squeeze. That type of car lot is right up there with the "payday loan" and "title loan" gyp joints, wringing out the last dime from people who have next to nothing to begin with.
Probably the only way to salvage the situation would be to install a good used motor from a wreck, and that assumes that there are no other serious problems with that car - and chances are there are going to be problems with the drivetrain and electronics. Wouldn't be surprised at all to find it was a flood car or rebuilt from a serious accident. So replacing the engine will likely be just a temporary fix and the beginning of endlessly shoveling in more and more money for repairs.
It's looking more and more as details come to light in this situation that the car is going to continue being an endless money pit no matter what is done with it. It might be best to cut losses at this point and get rid of it, or if there are still payments due just let the "buy here pay here" creep repo it and chalk this experience up to a very expensive life lesson.
Agreed. But it's also a social class issue, as well. There's certain kinds of "cultural capital" that we have in differential amounts, the knowledge of how the system works, and how to get things done, and what to avoid. That knowledge (or lack thereof) is SES (Social Economic Status) related and is related to knowledge that is either generationally-transmitted (parents and other social role models teaching kids) or learned via experience. The narrative we read goes to these SES issues.
You got sold a bad car. As others have said any recourse you may have depends on the conditions of sale and laws in your state.
Note though that going to Pep Boys (or other chain service centers) for repairs is a very bad move even with garden-variety grocery getters, let alone a complex European model. If you replace the engine take it somewhere that specializes in those cars.
When my Endurance warranty is effective after 1000 miles, I will only take it to a BMW dealership that is authorized to work on it.
Did you buy the warranty before or after the problem happened? If after, aside from the fact that those 3rd-party warranties tend to be sketchy if not outright ripoffs you might want to check the fine print regarding "pre-existing conditions".
I got the warranty before the problem arose. 3 days before the problem.
The car worked fine until the third day. I even drove it from Orlando to St Pete Beach florida twice. (My way to see if car was working). No engine lights came on before or after noticing the problem.
OK, at least they should be legally obligated to cover it, though they may well try to weasel out of it. Chances are they will want to install a used engine from a junkyard.
I'm thinking that's why they've had it for over 30 days. They refuse to tell me the parts hes replacing. I've even asked for a copy of receipts in case something happens after I get it back. The owner isnt compliant. The only thing he keeps telling me is, dont worry I fix it for you. He said he charged me 2k for labor, he says he bought the parts.