We may have to get another van

@suspenseful (40193)
Canada
November 30, 2009 2:21pm CST
The handicapped van we bought has been having problems. Not only is it a Ford and they gerry rigged the floor board, and used short cuts to put it together, they put the gas tank too close to the driver's seat and now it is being recalled. So our friend is going to get it fixed for resale and sell it to someone who is not as handicapped. Then he is going to get one that has already been safety checked and what is safer. The trouble is that handicapped vans cost a bit more, but he thinks he can get one that will not be as much more. The trouble is that had the former owners fixed the van even a little bit, it would not be in as bad a shape. So have you gotten a lemon that you had to sell after fixing it up?
2 people like this
8 responses
@mipen2006 (5528)
• Australia
30 Nov 09
Sure have. I bought a car a few years ago that had all the electrics tampered with. One of the previous owners had rewired it, and didn't do a good job. Finally everything stopped, and there were no lights, or anything that required power. That car cost me a lot of money, and there was nothing I could do. Good luck suspensful, you deserve it.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Dec 09
They really made a mess of the van and most of the stuff was hidden. We would not have found it if we did not have it safety checked in our own province. Now I figure that it was safety checked in the other province and the one before but instead of fixing it, they sold it out of province. So I suppose we will be the first ones who decided to make it come up to standard.
1 person likes this
@mipen2006 (5528)
• Australia
1 Dec 09
I'm surprised you can't take civil action gainst the vendor. Otherwise the buyer has no protection at all. In Australia a vehicle cannot be transfered to another unless it has a current safety (roadworthy certificate) See what you can do. I think legal advice from someone who specializes in the sale of used vehicles might be a good place to start.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
2 Dec 09
We are trying to. We wrote a letter to him, or rather an email or our friend did, and that guy will probably delete it. I suggested writing a certified letter. I hope they take me up on that. There is no protection here is you buy something as is. That is the trouble. All the bad things were hidden and this guy was a mechanic so it was assumed that he worked on the van before he sold it.
• United States
30 Nov 09
I've never had a lemon but I've driven a peach before, it was the pits!
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Dec 09
That is terrible. And I bet it was a Ford. Am I right?
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
5 Dec 09
I thought only Fords were lemons. That shows how wrong I was.
• United States
1 Dec 09
No, it was a Hundai.
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
30 Nov 09
Got lemons that I never could sale and it was a ford years ago never could get it fixed. Never bought another Ford thats for sure!!!!
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
1 Dec 09
yup I do know they cost more to be already fixed for handicapped people!
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
5 Dec 09
good luck in that!
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Dec 09
Yes we thought that this Ford was the exception. It was not. And if we get a similar year van it will cost more and there are few available.
@mipen2006 (5528)
• Australia
30 Nov 09
Sure have. I boughou deserve it. Mike.t a car in Bangkok. It ran ok when I test drove it, but after a while all the electrics started to play up. Finally, they gave out and nothing worked. Apparantly, one of the previous owners had rewired it, and they didn't do it properly. I lost a lot of money I cou;dn't afford on that car. Good luck suspensful, y
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Dec 09
At least it has been fixed for handicapped people and these vans are few and far between. Most of the new ones are owned and used as handitransit vehicles and after five years are sold at auction and snatched up very quickly so we will get our money's worth, but will it be enough to get another van?
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
1 Dec 09
No, I've never fixed up a lemon just to have to sell it. I have however bought a lemon (didn't know it at the time) that I ended up having to sell. My husband and I planned to fix it up and keep it, so we held onto it for a while, but in the end we decided to sell it the way it was. The sale from it didn't bring us that much money, but with us selling a couple of other vehicles that we had we were able to get the vehicle that we have now. Oh, and I forgot to say, the vehicle that turned out to be a lemon was a Ford as well. We now have a Nissan. Good luck in getting a van!
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Dec 09
The trouble was that the man who sold the van to us was a mechanic so he knew very well what he was doing. He just did not want to be bothered to fix it up. Well even if he could only afford a little bit, and if the ones before him had fixed something themselves, then we would have just had to make minor repairs.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Dec 09
I'm sorry you have to go through all that! I've been fortunate enough not to ever get a lemon. I haven't had many cars, I run them until they fall apart so they last a long time. My first car, my mom had it checked out by a mechanic before we bought it. The second, I did the same. Those two cars lasted me 12 years! After that, I was married and my husband bought only new cars. I have a Toyota now that should last me until I can't drive anymore. I would take those people to court who sold you the car. They stole your money and misrepresented the van, willfully and with intent to defraud.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
2 Dec 09
The trouble is that the one who sold it was a mechanic and he told our friend who picked it up that he had had it safety checked. It was only after it had been driven for a little while that it started to sound funny. And when our friend had it safety checked and it had failed, we learned that whomever whether the mechanic or the previous owner had hid all the errors. Our friend has written them a letter, but I doubt that anything can be done. I wish there were an interprovincial law for lemons or misrepresentations but it only applies in each province, not for sales to other provinces.
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
1 Dec 09
I am so sorry that it is that bad of shape. I cannot imagine someone selling it and not telling you things. They had to know how hard it is to get a hold of equipment like that. I did have a car that we bought after trying it out and it went down the road crooked. It was not straight. We did not notice until we were on our way home. It cost alot to fix and things kept going wrong with it.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Dec 09
If our friend had been able to visit his relatives in Alberta instead of having to get back to work right away, he would have had it safety checked and would have come back by plane without it. But he did not notice because he was able to drive it from Alberta to Winnipeg, Manitoba with no problem and it was only after he took it to get checked here, that they noticed that it was a lemon. Now he found more things wrong with it.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
30 Nov 09
hi suspenseful oh thats awful and you were going to be all fixed up you would think they would have been careful where they put the gas tank. Some people, my husband was one, willjust drive a vehicle until it practically falls apart before they do even routine maintenance on it. My dad got a lemon during the last of the second world war. It was a new plymouth but the brakes would freeze up on it going down certain hills and he literally could not move the car. He finally got the company that sold it to him to make good on the warranty and got a new car out of it, while this one ran pretty well he was never personally satisfied with it as he had always driven a chevy before. Nobody could get him interested in other brands and finally he did trade the plymouth in on the newest chevy. I do not drive and I and my son never had a car so guess I did not miss too much.Hope you can find another van that will work for your handicapped husband. cheers. good luck and God bless. hugs from hatley.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Dec 09
I hope so Our friend knows someone who converts vans for handicapped use. but as soon as they get one, guess what it is snapped up. And handitransit is not that reliable. They are on a tight schedule and there are only so many for people in power wheelchairs. Also we have to see the vehicle itself and will try to avoid getting one out of province. When we get this one fixed up, we will sell it for what we paid for it plus the repairs and improvements.