Need to talk to an Attorney

[madokie]

If one of you would be so kind as to PM me I have some questions concerning a new car we bought july 15 that has a transmission problem that showed up the first day we took possession of said car. The dealer replaced some parts in the transmission and now are trying to tell us that the problem is normal and that after a few more miles it will fix itself. In the 500 miles we drove it waiting to get it in to have it looked at the problem kept getting worse.
I need to see what my options are.
I refused to accept the car today when they went to telling me that it is just something we basically have to learn to live with.
Thanks in advance.
I really don't want to discuss this on the board but rather through PM's and with an Attorney.

I hope this isn't wrong that I post this request. I just need advice. Possibly even hire someone to represent me/us.

[JaneyVee]

1. Lemon law may apply.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

5. Lemon law typically only covers new cars.

Used cars are typically sold as is and shown. Or maybe subject to a dealer warranty but those are usually B.S. 50/50 warranties where the dealer just jacks the price and you pay it all anyway.

The best option when buying a used car is a service contract from a REPUTABLE company - preferably one of the manufacturers. But those ain't cheap and usually work out for the seller.

The dealer might be on the hook as they attempted to fix the problem. That might make them liable.

But I'm not an attorney. I was a finance mgr in a dealership.

[madinmaryland]

16. It was a brand new car off, not used.

[Sanity Claws]

2. Lemon Law

Lemon laws differ from state to state. Google "Lemon Law" and the name of your state. You should be able to find a good summary of how the law works in your state. Reading up on it will help you formulate some specific questions to ask an attorney, once you do get to talk to one.

[tammywammy]

3. Oklahoma lemon law

http://www.ok.gov/omvc/documents/Lemon%20Law%20Guide.pdf

[madokie]

4. 500 and change miles

[tammywammy]

8. I'm no lawyer, but I used to work at a dealership.

Other avenues to approach is contacting the manufacturer directly. Also, for lemon law to apply it says 4 attempts at repair. I'm not sure about OK but days in the shop if they give you a loaner vehicle or rental car sometimes don't count towards the day limit for lemon law.

I suggest contacting the manufacturer first.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. When you talk to the attorney

ask about the Lemon Law

[Chuuku Davis]

7. Brand new car from a dealership??

Or new to you used car?
Lots of info left out of your post

[madokie]

9. Brand spanking new ford focus

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Another thing you can try, but with lawyer it is better

Contact national...we had a similar issue with our Honda. It was resolved to our satisfaction.

Will look at my browser history to see if I find the place I found info, including recalls.

[madokie]

12. Thanks

[madinmaryland]

17. As an aside to Nadin's comment we bought a low mileage 2010 Hyundai Sonata about a year ago,

and about four months ago had problems with it. Called CarMax who referred us to a local Hyundai Dealer. The dealer was going to charge us up to $1k to fix the problem (which turned out to be a defective starter). I called Hyundai and confirmed that the car was still under warrantee and that the dealer had to fix it at no charge to us, even if we were not the original owners. The dealer did indeed fix the car for no charge, after I filed a report with Hyundai!

If the dealer is not going to help you call Ford and they will probably get you the assistance you need.

Good luck!

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. We filed a complaint with Honda NA

And showed up with recall paperwork. We had trail of complaints as well.

[madokie]

20. This is a brand new car with 500 miles on the odometer

the problem showed up with somewhere between 1 and 2 hundred miles. We called about the problem and took it in the day they said bring it in. That it would be ok until then to drive it and so thats why we have the 500 miles on it now. All the time the problem was getting worse.

[madokie]

19. According to the service rep at the dealership where we purchased it

and who worked on the transmission he said that the ford rep is who told him that we'll just have to live with it.

[madinmaryland]

21. Call Ford directly. The service rep gave us the line that we would have to pay for it.

Going to Ford directly will put pressure on the dealer to fix it or replace it.

[madokie]

22. Thanks

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Echo that

The dealers will do all they can to avoid replacing a tranny...or buying the vehicle back. They will say anything.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Here

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0f7ced/728

Edmunds is a great resource.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

24. Ahhhh. Once I realized it was a new car, the first thing that popped in to my head is the Focus.

We have a 2012 we bought new.

My boyfriend is a car buff so he knew what to expect out of that CVT transmission.

It's definitely not for everyone and I'm wondering how the sales people are handling this issue by prepping people for this somewhat strange transmission. Obviously not good.

The car shifts and feels like a manual transmission. It even gets that hesitation feeling like it is going to stall on clutch release.

When we got the car, the trans sounded like a plastic jug with nickels rattling around. Believe it or not, that's normal and will go away. The trans supposedly breaks in according to your driving habit.

We did have some other non-trans related clunks that had to be taken care of. One strut was replaced and the other may need to be replaced.

This might help. The boyfriend spends a lot of time here:

http://www.focusfanatics.com/

[madokie]

25. This is not a CVT

Its a dual clutch 6 speed automatic transmission.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

26. Oops. My mistake. CVT was the Mini we had.

Whatever that Focus trans is what I'm talking about.

Does it sound like rattling nickels in a plastic jug?

[madokie]

27. Yup

good description.
We are sick from worry with this car. I'm retired/disabled and 65 yo. My wife is a nurse and 60 yo. Our plan was to buy this car and get it paid for before she retired so we'd have a good car to take us into our retirement without a worry with a vehicle. Now it looks like we are going to be taking a 6000 plus dollar hit to get out from under this thing. We haven't even made the first payment yet. Luckily we still have the vehicle we'd been driving for years to fall back on.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

28. That sound is normal and it goes away after the trans breaks in

Take a look at the link I posted and see what other owners are saying and doing. There is a lot of info.

My partner is a car nut. There are a few unresolved issues that annoy him about the car but the trans isn't one of them. He was surprised the trans finally settled down to his liking but it did. Like I said, that trans isn't for everyone.

Our Focus is a little over a year old and has over 20k on the odometer. We took it on a road trip in November (Chicago to Phoenix) and were quite happy with the ride and performance.

He still needs to get it in for that other strut. It gets a little annoying when you leave the car and pick it up to be told they couldn't duplicate the sound. He's too nice of a guy. I may need to go in and be a jagg-off and make some demands - like make the mechanic ride with me or leave it and don't call me to pick it up until they DO hear the noise. Or just replace the goddamn strut.

There are some othe software issues with the sync touch screen which I think he says will be fixed with a recall and/or update. Those are some pretty fancy gadgets so I'm not surprised there are some issues. For the most part, the gadgets work fine - they just reset themselves once in a while.

We got one with the auto park assist. I scoffed at that idea when we were looking but it turns out it comes in pretty handy. I never thout it would put you in a "real" Chicago tight spot but it does.

Hope you feel better about your "FoFo".

[riderinthestorm]

13. Our brand spanking new 1999 Honda CRV had transmission problems, same as you

right out the door.

It would "race", like the accelerator was stuck, when you got to 70 mph. Now in IL, you can't go over 55 but we were making regular trips to MI where the speed limit on some parts was 70 mph.

We took it in to the dealer twice and they said they couldn't replicate the problem since they couldn't take it over 55 mph. So sorry, so sad, and basically tough luck.

The third time I took it in after a scary trip to MI, I brought my toddler with me.

I went to the manager and said, "if I have a transmission problem with this car, and it injures me or ESPECIALLY HER, we will sue your ass off."

We had clear documentation that we'd been in there for the problem.

They DID completely change out the transmission and 289K miles later we still have that transmission (and the car) going strong.

My advice: borrow a toddler and threaten them.

If that doesn't work, get a lawyer

[madokie]

15. Hope to hear back from our state rep who happens to be a local lawyer in the morning

he was the first person I called. I used him once before years ago and liked him real well.

[Link Speed]

14. Why pay an attorney? Park in front of the dealership with a nice sign.

Nothing libelous or nasty, just a sign that gets the dealer's attention.

They are screwing with you.

Screw back. Tell them you may take out some ads in the local paper and put a sign in your yard.

By the time you get thru paying an att'y, you could buy a new tranny.

[csziggy]

29. Put a big "LEMON" sign on it, invite the owner of the business to go for a ride

And invite the local news to cover it. I know someone who bought a new Ford van that leaked from day one. After over a year trying to work with the dealer's service department to get it fixed - which involved many times it was dropped off and they did absolutely nothing to the vehicle - she put a "LEMON" sign on the van, persuaded the manager of the dealership to go for a ride in a rainstorm and had the TV crew for the local consumer show come along. The van still leaked, of course.

The dealer traded the 1+ year old van for a brand new model, no money involved by the end of business the next day.