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advice for buying back a car. PLEASE HELP!

lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
edited April 2014 in Nissan
I bought a 91 Nissan Stanza, as is no warranty, 3 weeks ago. I want to return the car because it is having more problems than it is worth. I did not buy the car outright, I simply put a down payment of $1200. What are my options?? Am I stuck with the car or do I have a 30 day leeway to return the car and get my money back? Would appreciate any help or advice on this. The car overheats because the fans don't turn on unless you run the AC, the radiator is leaking, one of the hydraulic lifters is knocking loudly, the car smokes, and it ate almost 2 quarts of oil in 3 weeks. Please help!!

Comments

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I'd suggest you call the local branch of your Consumer Affairs office....look in your phone book under State or Couny or City agencies.

    I don't believe you have much legal recourse given the slim details you've presented, but they would know for sure. Sometimes, even without any legal ammunition, you can approach a dealer and work out some compromise, with help from these agencies. Whatever you do, don't default on your loan. That is the worst thing you can do, because the car will be repossessed and sold, and you will then definitely be at risk to have to pay for the difference between the price you agreeed upon and the repo selling price.
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    I worked out a deal with the dealer. After explaining all the problems, he said he couldn't do much, but offered to sell the car to me outright for $1800. So, I used my credit card and chewed him down to $1700. I paid a total of $2900. Now I'm not so upset. It was the fact that I was going to end up paying $5300 for the car through financing (way above its value) and still had repairs to do. I actually ended up with a better deal than he was originally offering for cash. The car is very solid and runs good. You can tell its the original paint and has never been in an accident. The interior is in great shape. But it was the smoking, burning oil, and overheating problems that worried me. Now I have the funds to fix the overheating and I think some thicker oil will help the smoking, which isn't as bad as another car I had. Anyway, glad this stress has been alleviated.
    You can delete this discussion now if you like.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    thanks--let's keep it open a bit and see if anyone else has similar issues. Very glad to hear you were able to work out a compromise!


    Mr. Shiftright
    Host

  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Now that the price was reduced, the car started running better!

    I love it when things work out!
  • snowmansnowman Member Posts: 540
    Ingtone, aren't you the one who were trying to advise me about accord maintenance and declared yourself very qualified do it yourselfer and telling me how you were saving money on maintenace items, proudly? How could you bought that car????????
    Himmm, what you did is not matching with what you said.
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    Isellhondas: I never said the car ran better because the price was reduced. Don't know where you got that idea. The car was a strong runner to begin with, thats why it was bought. All the problems I was having developed after the car was bought. I'm sure you would agree that paying over 5 grand for a car with these problems is not a good thing. The fact I got it for a more reasonable price makes the problems not as perplexing and more easily managed on my tight budget.

    snowman: The car I'm referring to I did not buy myself literally. The car was bought by my partner, who has bad credit and cannot get a nice car from a respectable dealer. It would not have been my choice for a car, but the options were very limited. I could not have known the car was an oil burner because it was not visibly smoking when I test drove it. The knocking lifter was caused by an oil change place that overfilled the engine by an entire quart. I redrained the oil to the proper level and the lifter quit knocking (goes to show that it is always a better idea to change the oil yourself to make sure its done right). When I drove it, I was using the AC which forces the fans to turn on. So they appeared to be running fine. However, a few days after it was bought, it began to get hot while idling because the AC was off and the fans were not turning on like they were supposed to. It turns out there was a break in the wiring to the radiator fan sensor. The radiator was not leaking when the car was bought (the plastic probably cracked due to the engine getting hot). All these problems surfaced within a few weeks after buying it. And yes, I am a do-it-yourselfer and will be replacing the radiator and fixing the wiring myself. Something I'm sure you could not do. If you had let a shop replace the radiator, expect to pay $300-500. It only cost me $95. It will only cost maybe $5 max to fix the wiring. So, yes, I will still be saving lots of money and know what I'm talking about concerning maintenance. I suggest you find out the whole story before you open your mouth and try to claim I was lying.....
  • snowmansnowman Member Posts: 540
    Well I am sorry to offend you. It was not my intention. I was not trying to claim you were lying. I tried to tell you something else but you did not get it. Let me give you a hint: I did not suspect anything about what you say regard of your ability. Because the things you have mentioned are very common abilities among people Those things are not rocket science. I think my diagnose is correct based on how you state your response.
    Why you are writing these things when you are responding to me (in fact you did not have to respond me). You think I care why you made a wrong decision by buying that car, how much you paid, what the problems are, when they were surfaced, how much you save by doing things yourself, whether you know what you are talking about or not....Are you trying to prove your expertise level to me (regardless of you have it or not)??? Well you should not waste your time, I don't care.
    Whatever you do, you are doing it for yourself and you will be facing the consequences of your own actions.
    When I was in college, I changed the radiator in my Dodge Aries and other maintenance items. I don't do it any more. Not because of I can't but because of this is very low level challenge for my expertise and intelligence level and there are much much more important things to do in my life. I can not waste my time by spending my weekend to change oil filters, couple wires etc.
    But you can keep practising , who knows you can become lube technician one day.
    Ohh! by the way there is a way to check the car whether it is burning oil or not even tough someone put a bottle of smoke eliminator oil into crankcase. You don't have to have smoke coming out from the pipe. I guess your expertise level did not rich that level yet.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Okay, let's stop sniping at each other, allright? Other folks will just leave the discussion and you'll just be sitting by yourselves in here arguing. Not very exciting, right?

    I see people go through all kinds of changes when they pay out lots of hard earned money for a car that doesn't perform well. First they are disappointed, then they get angry, and then, (worst of all), they get this idea in their heads that their car is a LEMON, and that they don't want it anymore.

    In most cases, a new car's defects can be fixed and the car will settle down...but negativity destroys any chance of success. I personally don't believe that there are very many LEMONS out there...most cars called "lemons" are really 99% okay and 1% not okay. This hardly makes an entire car BAD.
  • haroldhx1haroldhx1 Member Posts: 14
    I have a 94 Mazda 626, 4cyl. car. I have the same problem of engine getting very hot when I stop at traffic light. After reading your message, I believe mine is also a wire problem. I know nothing about my car except for checking oil level etc. Could you pls tell me how hard it is to change the wire(s) by myself? How many wires are there anyway? I am afraid I might mess up. Thanks in advance!
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    I can't be of much help to you as I don't own a Mazda 626 and every car has different wiring. Did you try checking the thermostat? If it is not opening fully, your engine will overheat while stopped. A very inexpensive repair and easily changed. When the car is running hot, did you open the hood and see if the radiator fans were on? The sensor that turns on the fans could be burnt out or the wiring has a break in it. At any rate, I can't be of much help without looking at your car in person.
  • snowmansnowman Member Posts: 540
    I guess this is what you wanna hear. First of all, any comment that carries question mark might not be a question as any person with white beard might not be your grand papa.
    I tried not to make you more upset after this purchase by telling you things straight. But it appears to be you are having problems to understand it.
    Actually, I should have stated in a way that you could understand.
    You post your problem to a public forum, I responded, not because of I care ( you think people respond each other here because they care each other???-this is not a question), because I wanted and surprised.
    I was surprised because you meet a reader that states how he is knowledgeable about cars and maintenance, tells you how much he saves all the time by using after market filters-rotors. etc, tries to give you advise and couple days later in different topic, you find the same person, already dumbed his saved money into a junk, crying and bagging an advise about how to return the car, thinks that it was a pair of sucks that he could return within 30 days. Yeah right, make sure you bring your receipt-where you are from?
    I never claimed you were lying. You accused me by accusing you were lying and tried to mock me by telling me "Something I'm sure you could not do". I did not like it. If you respond in a civil manner you will be treated the same way. That was why I answered you. And you figured out correctly, this is exactly what I was trying to say in my second posting "I determined from how you worded it that you figured I was an idiot for buying the car and that I have no business giving tips on maintenance because of that mistake".
    Bingo. Good job!!!!!!!!!
    I still think the same way and I believe you have some personality problems or you are not medicated well.
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    I can't stop laughing at your moronic posts. If anyone has a problem it is you. You don't like me saying you can't work on a car. Well, conversely, I don't like you coming in here and trying to mock me. It goes both ways. If you can't take it, than don't dish it out. Still can't write in English can you? LOL "Where you are from?" I believe the proper way to say it is "Where are you from?" And that's surely a question I would like answered. I know we can't get "a pair of sucks" in the US, LOL. Learn how to type or learn how to write, one of the two. It's been more than a few days since I have corresponded with you in another forum. The last time I saw your name was at least 4 months ago. And what I tried to get through your thick skull earlier is you never know what you are buying when you buy a 10 year old car with 135,000 miles. I had nothing to do with its prior maintenance. There is no way I could have known it would have these problems literally days after I bought it. It doesn't matter now anyway, because it turned out to be a good car. And like I said, its not my car. I have a 2000 Hyundai. So how buying the car has anything to do with my character and abilities as a do-it-yourselfer is beyond me. You don't know the situation or the events, so I suggest your shut your mouth because you are making a fool of yourself blabbering about something you know nothing about. The reason I started this forum was to find out if I had any rights as a buyer to get the dealer to do something about the problems. I have never purchased a used car from a dealer so I did not know if I had any rights. And yes, the whole purpose of this environment is to HELP others with their problems, not sit their and mock them at their misfortunes. Maybe you don't comprehend that fact, but everyone else does.
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    This topic has gotten completely out of hand. I would appreciate you deleting it as it is no longer of any help to anyone. It will just continue on in the bickering and I would rather just get rid of it so I'm not tempted to continue conversing with rude, vindictive people like snowman. Curiously, why isn't there a provision for the person who started a forum to be able to delete it? That would be a nice feature to have. Than you can delete the forum once your question has been answered.
  • DReynoldsDReynolds Member Posts: 17
    With no smoke coming from the pipe? It was in one of your responses, and you didn't give the answer and I'm interested in knowing. I have a 96 Grand Caravan that may be burning oil. It's consumption right now seems to be about a quart every 500 miles or so, but only blue smoke on start up. Any thoughts?
  • snowmansnowman Member Posts: 540
    I will do my best to help you. But I can not proceed without mentioning something. "With no smoke coming from the pipe?" is not a QUESTION. YOU WANNA MAKE SOME IDIOTS UPSET OR WHAT. OUR GRAMMAR INSTRUCTOR WILL GET ANGRY (I did not know smashed brain cells may cause this much strong impact on someone)
    Anyway, you need to know that I am not a professional or advertise myself here or there as qualified person to give advise. All I can do is to express my daily experience and hope it helps.
    I wanted to e-mail you but your e-mail was not there. Remember, majority of Saturn are burning oil but they don't have smoke coming out from the pipe.
    This method worked for me many times when I was buying used car. Hope it helps you too.
    While your car is idling, close the tail pipe with inside of your hand, hold it there like 3-4 seconds. If you see oil or tar looking (not carbon deposits)residue in your hand most likely it is burning oil. If you wanna get more accurate result use toilet brush and stick it into tail pipe and see what comes out. Please don't get mixed up by carbon residue + water. Because some healthy cars drip little waters from the pipe when they start to run. If you like you run this test after you drive 5-10 miles, you might get accurate results. No matter what, if it is burning oil it will leave oil residue in you hand. Hope this helps and let me know, I am in Honda Accord problems topic.
  • snowmansnowman Member Posts: 540
    As you can see from the existing postings I am the one who was approaching this discussion kindly and in a civil manner. I believed after his posting #7 I became entitled to answer him because of his personal comments about me.
    But if other side is hostile and angry because of wrong purchasing decision and finds himself in a humiliated position because of the reason that in his previous postings he was approaching issues and people in a authoritative way even tough his lack of technical knowledge, or whatever the problem he is running, that he should not be carrying his negative attitude to public forums.
    I think you might wanna eliminate this topic because this is enough humiliation for him, people already saw how obnoxious and uncivil he is.
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    The fact you only see a little smoke on start-up pretty much tells you the problem. The valve guide seals are worn out. When they go, you generally only see a little blue smoke on start-up or after idling for long periods of time and than accelerating, even though it is burning oil all the time. This is what's wrong with my Nissan Stanza. Do you have the 3.0 liter Mitsubishi V-6? How many miles are on the car? This engine is known for having premature valve guide seal problems in everything from the Mitsu Diamante to the Dodge Caravan and Spirit/Acclaim twins. You can try adding numerous different brands of stop oil-burning products. This should lessen your oil consumption if you don't have too many miles. Also, use a thicker weight oil. I have used a product called Lucas Oil Stabilizer combined with straight 30 weight oil with great results (only use this combo if the cold weather has passed your area). It makes the engine run quieter on start-up for 2 of my cars and has lessened the oil burning in my Stanza. When I first got it, it was burning about 1 quart of oil a week (or about every 400 miles). Now it burns a quart every 2 weeks. A small improvement, but better nonetheless. Valve guide seal replacement is not too expensive of a repair, but it varies from engine to engine. You normally do not have to take apart the whole engine to do it if the mechanic knows what he is doing. You should maybe consider doing it if the car is reliable and has low mileage because 1 quart every 500 miles is excessive consumption.
  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    Dwayne, the symptoms you describe are typical for worn valve stem seals as was previously mentioned. You'll probably also get a puff of blue smoke if you coast down from higher speed then quickly open the throttle. It's pretty common on 3.0L engines.

    As to repair costs, most legit shops use one of the aftermarket labor guides such as Mitchell, Alldata, Chilton, etc. My Mitchell Mechanical Labor Estimating Guide prices that job at 4.3 hours @ whatever hourly rate your shop charges. Add the cost of the valve seals, valve cover gaskets, shop supplies, (might as well replace the plugs while they're out) and you'll get a good ballpark of the cost.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Okay, if we can't agree to disagree like gentlemen, then I think closing the topic is a good idea. This is Town Hall, not Town Brawl, and we'd like to keep the place friendly and welcoming. I think newcomers are turned off by arguments, don't you?

    Mr. Shiftright
    Host
This discussion has been closed.