Buyers Remorse??

Ever have buyers remorse? What is the biggest ticket item you have returned or wish you had not bought? :cry
I once bought a new Laptop got home and found someone else's info on it. They had not even done a Factory Reset.:mad
The explanation was "We don't know how that happen!"

 

Does the 3 day return policy apply to autos in USA?

 

1992 Corsica, used. I was in desperate need of a cheap car because I'd just totalled mine hitting a deer and had NOT budgeted for buying a new one. Turns out the "excellent condition" car I bought had been in an accident and had only cosmetically been fixed...just enough to get me about 45 days of driving before it started leaking oil so fast I had to add a quart every other day.

Katkat, while we do have a 3-day return law for some things, cars are not one of them. Once you sign the contract, sucks to be you if the car sucks. Unless it's a lemon, which would fall under the lemon law (which varies by state). But that only applies to new cars which prove to be defective in the first year (?) you own it.

 

A HG Holden Monaro GTS ..... went like the clappers off the mark but couldn't stop or go around corners and was unsafe to drive in the wet rolleyes
Looked really sweet in the magazines of the day and considering it was a large sized sports coupe there wasn't much room inside. Jeez it sure guzzled petrol and if you drove it on a hot summer day in stop start traffic it boiled after about 10 minutes
But other than all that it was great :confused

This is the same colour and model Monaro that I bought except mine had factory mags

 

Considering the Test Drive on an auto purchase is usually just a few miles it is really hard to know for sure what you are getting into. Hard to make a good decision that quick.

 

In the US, there are services like CarFax that provide a history report of accidents based on the vehicles VIN. Most reputable dealers will provide one for free or you can go to the CarFax website and purchase one on for a car being sold by a private party.

If you like a used car and are thinking about buying it, ask the seller if you can bring it to a mechanic you trust for an inspection prior to purchase. Being out $100 or so to discover it's a lemon prior to purchase is far better than spending thousands afterwards because you didn't.

 

Key words: reputable dealer. As in, a dealer that uses traditional financing. As in, a dealer at which the only way you can get financing is to have perfect credit, much like buying a house. As in, a dealer at which a great number of people cannot get financing, and who does not sell a car for less than $10,000. Which is great if that's the situation you're in, but sadly a large majority of us are not. I bought my last two cars from a place that offered financing...at 27% interest...because of my credit rating. They not only laughed when I asked about a free CarFax report, they wouldn't waranty the vehicle for more than 30 days.

And yes, you are correct. Spending $100 on the CarFax yourself is always a good idea...but not everyone has an extra $100 to spend on it. Likewise paying a mechanic to do a thorough inspection for you.

 

2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V.

Had one of the most unfriendly transmissions ever in these modern times. Notchy, hard to shift smoothly (was not user error, its documented), geared too low (first gear was unusable for anything but burning rubber, or climbing Mt. Everest), cheap interior, even cheaper rubber seals around the windows.



Fantastic in the twisties though, and a semi-decent V6 Rustang killer.

It didn't even live past a year though.

 

One od my pet peeves about auto buying is that what you pay depends on how good a negotiator you are. Hate that! Why can't they just put a price on it and everyone pays the same?

 

Most Dealerships I have been to have the Salesperson go with you on the test drive. Some might let you take it to a mechanic but seems like something you would need to schedule with the mechanic first. CarFax would be a good thing to check.

 

The last two vehicles I test drove, one new, one used just made a copy of my DL, tossed me the keys.

+1 on scheduling with the wrench turner.

 

Sadly I was very young and in love with the image and looks of the car and just driving around the block in a test drive didn't show up the faults. This car drove like the other more common Monaros with a six cylinder engine except my one had a 350ci Chev V8 engine

I bought an almost brand new car and it had the same problems all the other Holdens had but this was in 1972 and there was no such thing as consumer protection. A friend of my fathers was a mechanic and gave it the thumbs up and the faults in my car were the same that most Australian V8 cars of the day had inherited after swapping out the six cylinder motor with a heavy V8. Today you can have an RACV (Royal Automobile Club Victoria) check including the history of the vehicle and whether it has been in a serious crash as well as check online reviews.

Yep it is tough when you can't get reasonable interest rates on finance. Luckily for me I have always been able to borrow at less than 10%. Even now my credit cards are linked to the mortgage on my house at about 6%. A few years ago, my sister was in your position after her marriage broke up and she had to get a car quickly for work. Car salesmen can sense desperation and she was sold a clunker at exorbitant rates but when my brother and I went and had an ahem "friendly" chat rolleyes with the car dealer he decided to release her from the contract without any penalty and return her deposit. He also agreed to crush the car because he didn't want the police told that the car my sister bought had been "rebirthed" and was made from the the front half of a stolen car and the rear half of a "write off" and the compliance plates were taken off the write off and put on the stolen car. The two cars had been cut in half and welded together just behind the front seats and over here that is illegal.

With 20/20 hindsight me buying the Monaro was a good thing because from that day forward, when I buy things I thoroughly check that the item will do the job required
For me it is once bitten twice shy :cool

 

Last dealership I went to just tossed me the keys and said have fun! Was surprising because usually they are more careful with higher horsepower vehicles. They even handed me the Carfax for it.

 

A video card, oddly enough . . . didn't do the proper research on it. Didn't realize it only had a 128 bit memory bus, and I could have gotten the same model of card that had a 256 bit bus for about 10 bucks more . . . :-o

Ditto here, as far as the keys go . . . although it was a used truck. The fact I had purchased two new cars through this dealership might have had something to do with it.

They gave me an Auto Check for the truck, but I got online right there in the lot and got my own CarFax. It usually takes me about three hours on a car lot when I look at used cars . . . I check every thing I can, crawl under it, and do an extensive test drive.

Still, when buying a used vehicle you are still taking a chance . . . my truck did come with a bit of a warranty though.

 

A friend just told me they actually took back a new car the next day after buying it and got all their money back. Guess they were just lucky if it is not a law that the dealer has to take it back.

 

It might depend from state to state, but the law doesn't protect you here either.

Dealers arent interested usually either, because a (new) car depreciates once it leaves the lot.

 

Just not for cars.

 

I have a friend who's a mechanic and he said Carfax, while good in theory, can be rather hit or miss considering they only report what's been reported to them.

As for buyer's remorse, I've had that. Never with something as big as a car though and I always end up returning said item.

 

They said the paperwork had not been filled and car was not licensed, just temp tags, so technically it was still a new vehicle. Just fortunate for them.

 

Unfortunately, this isn't the case in all states. The only Federal law in the US allowing a 72 hour cancellation applies to items purchased from a salesperson who comes to your home (vacuum cleaners, alarm systems, etc.).

When buying a car, you should get a copy of the return policy in writing. Many limit the return period by both time and miles driven.

 

True . . . but a CarFax is a good resource along with an AutoCheck. I generally look at both when buying a vehicle. That, along with good, old fashioned extensive visual check of the vehicle, and a long test drive are good practices.

I never have had buyer's remorse for a large item either, Dy. Been lucky in that respect I guess . . . but I am having misgivings about the Central Air unit I bought 4 + years ago. It's starting to show signs of malfunction already. Shoulda went with the Trane!

 

How did the cleaner work?
I try to not be hard hearted when I hear a sad story also. I believe in helping people that truly need help. Yet unfortunately there sure do seem to be more con artist out there now days. Makes me suspicious more than I'd like to be. I do draw the line when people try to use their child to get to you. That is just wrong on so many levels.

Still you did a good dead and the rest if up to the person on the receiving end.

 

Years ago the door to door vacuum cleaner salesman would offer to clean your carpet in one room for free to demonstrate their wonderful carpet cleaning machine attachment for the super expensive vacuum cleaner they hoped to sell you. No obligation to you. After 15 minutes of saying I was not interested and was not buying I finally said OK you can clean my carpet but I am still NOT BUYING. After he cleaned the middle of the room he started his sales pitch again. I reminded him I WAS NOT BUYING. He got mad and said I had wasted his time.:-D I ask him what part of "I am not buying" had he not understood. I told him he should of took NO as a answer.

 

That reminds me, that kirby we bought definitely had some buyers remorse to it at first, but now since its still runs and cleans great at least for 8 years now, not so much remorse.

 

I would have asked how well it works on the linoleum in the kitchen, and how does it work on the different surfaces in the house? And last of all, how does it clean up the welcome mat outside my door.

I understand they are trying to do their job, but if you politely say you are not interested, and they keep on, I will get silly with them.

 

15 minutes of saying "I am not interested and I am not buying" should be sufficient don't you think?