California Lemon Law Lawyer Blog

Joe Ducey, a reporter with the ABC affiliate in Phoenix, is reporting that cars caught in floods in the Phoenix area are being sold in the that area. Ducey counted 36 being sold one day in Phoenix.

The cars are listed on the Insurance Auto Auction's website as flood cars. The cars were totaled due to flood damage.

Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety warns that flood cars are likely rotting from the inside -- with ruined electronic systems, brakes, airbags, or engine components. Some of these vehicles might have gotten cosmetic fixes in order to sell the car, and a buyer may not notice. In Arizona, which has weak consumer protection laws, has no special designation on titles for flood. So, they could be seen as clean titles.

Before buying any used car, check the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) through the National Motor Vehicle Information System (www.add123.com). This is often a more up-to-date system than Carfax.com or AutoCheck.com.

Joe Ducey is an excellent consumer reporter who formerly worked for Channel 4 in San Francisco.

This week, a Colorado judge sentenced a used car dealer to 53 years in prison for selling salvage cars with clean titles. A jury had convicted Camden Fortney of Camden Motors of 21 felony counts of defrauding customers by selling salvaged cars with clean titles.

As reported in the Colorado Sentinel newspaper, Fortney paid bribes of $100 to $500 to insurance adjusters with Colorado Casualty Insurance Company so he could buy salvaged vehicles. After repairs, the dealer sold the cars with clean titles. The insurance company repoted the scheme to the prosecutor and bought back 52 vehicles with fraudulent titles. Two adjustors were fined and put on probation.

Dealers and oil changer companies typically recommend changing oil every 3 months or 3,000 miles. On November 6, 2008, GM issued a statement that this recommendation is the biggest myth in the car business. GM has a Oil Life System (OLS) in almost all its models that monitors combustion events, engine temperature and other parameters to gauge oil's life. Using the data, OLS tells drivers exactly when their engine oil should be replaced. Changing oil when OLS indicates it is time to do so, a motorist who drives 15,000 miles a year would make two or three fewer oil changes a year as compared to changing oil every 3 months or 3,000 miles.

If all drivers of GM vehicles equipped with OLS use the system as intended, they would save more than 100 million gallons of motor oil annually compared to the 3,000 mile interval.

There are environmental consequences to too frequent oil changes. The American Petroleum Institute states that 1 billion gallons of motor oil are sold each year of which 185 million gallons are improperly disposed in the trash or down a drain.

The California EPA encourages drivers to follow the manufacturer's recommendations on oil changes. Manufacturers that do not have an OLS system in their cars typically recommend changing oil every 7,500 miles,

Other myths--today's electronically controlled engines do not need "tune-ups" and there is no need for chassis lubrication, annual radiator flushes, or routine wheel alignment.

California's Car Buyers Bill of Rights gives used car buyers the right to return the vehicle for any reason within two days, but only if the buyer agrees to pay a fee ranging from $75 to $400 depending on the price of the vehicle. The first problem is that many dealers are persuading buyers to waive this protection. A second problem is that some dealers are simply refusing to take vehicles back even when the buyers paid for the return option. Some refuse to take back vehicles without payment of unauthorized "restocking" fees.

On November 28, 2007, consumer groups held a press conference on the steps of the Capitol to highlight the defects in the law. Rosemary Shahan of the consumer group CARS pointed out there is no good reason a buyer should have to pay anything for the two day right of return. If the vehicle is returned, the law provides for reasonable "restocking" fees and that should be sufficient compensation for the inconvenience.

Rosemary presented KABOB client Oscar Marin Fuentes as someone who was not protected by the Car Buyers Bill of Rights. Fuentes purchased a used 2005 Chevy Silverado from Capital City Motors in Sacramento. The dealer had Fuentes, who does not speak fluent English, waived the two right of return. With a day or two after taking delivery, Fuentes noticed that door would not seal and air was coming in gaps in the cabin. Fuentes returned the truck to the dealer the next day asking for his $23,500 back, but the dealer refused. Investigation revealed the truck had been in two severe accidents, one a roll-over. The air bags had popped.

At the news conference, Fuentes showed the press the problems with the truck. ABC News' video on Fuentes discussing the problems with the truck is here.

Under the new Car Buyers Bill of Rights, dealers cannot misrepresent the cost of after-market items, such as service contracts, surface protection, debt cancellation insurance (GAP protection), and theft protection products. Some dealers in the past falsely told buyers theft protection cost only, say, $3/month, when really the cost was $35/month. The dealer hid the true cost in what the dealer said would be the monthly payment on the loan. This practice is known as loan packing. To guard against loan packing, dealers have to set out specifically the cost of each after market item in writing, such as theft protection.