Defective Used Cars Often Sold Despite Recalls

[JQPublic1]

It's a case of buyer beware, with potentially dangerous consequences.


More than 46 million cars and trucks on the road in the U.S. - about one-fifth the total - were recalled because of safety defects but never repaired, according to a study by Carfax, a company that sells vehicle history reports. Some of those defects have the potential to cause a crash, injury, even death.


Last year, around 5 million of those cars were sold to new owners. That is because there is no legal requirement for dealers or individual sellers to get the repairs done before a used car is. They are not even obligated to tell buyers if a car is subject to a recall.

 

[JQPublic1]

This is another example of unbridled Republican conservative capitalism. Conservatives traditionally led the fight against industrial regulatory legislation regardless of safety concerns for the general populace. Curiously, there are a number of auto safety organizations; however, either through ignorance, apathy or something else, few if any have bothered to address this serious and deadly matter. Stricter regulatory legislation is called for. Please view the organizations in the link and, using the available phone numbers, voice your concerns with emphasis on Congressional intervention.

 

[Muhammed]

You should always check for recalls when you buy a used car.

For example, a few years ago I bought this 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse for practically nothing. I think maybe $150. The interior was like new and it only had about 25,000 miles on it IIRC. I got it cheap because the automatic transmission was FUBAR and the black paint on the hood and roof was delaminating very severely. I figured that I could get a tranny from the bone yard and get it a cheap paint job. A little bit of time and elbow grease and I could turn a nice quick little profit.

I was surfing the net messageboards for pitfalls to look out for when you are replacing the transmission because I had never replaced a Mitsubishi transmission. I was informed by one helpful poster that there was a recall on the transmission. Then later I found out there was also a recall on the black paint. Those were the only two things I was going to fix.

Bottom line, I didn't even have to touch a wrench. The local Mitsubishi dealer installed a new transmission and repainted the entire car like new for free. And I quickly sold it for a 1000% profit. That's a pretty good return on an investment.

I'd advise anyone who drives a car that they bought used to get on the internet and search for recalls, especially before you take it to a shop for repairs. You never know what kind of freebies you'll dig up.

 

[Politico]

If someone does not research the vehicle they are buying they get what they deserve.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

How the hell is this the Republican's fault?

 

[JQPublic1]

If someone does not research the vehicle they are buying they get what they deserve.

Researching an automobile's history has an aurora of vagueness to it. Does that mean looking up the accident record of the vehicle or browsing through the maintenance history? For most of us that is the extent of our research. But even then we generally do that when buying from a private party, if at all. Buying from a dealer is another matter. We tend to assume ( tongue in cheek) the dealer has had the car inspected thoroughly for safety and would not knowingly sell dangerous vehicles. Giving the dealer the benefit of the doubt, let us suppose he does give his vehicles a thorough inspection before selling them. He and his mechanics may not be aware that a recall is in effect on that vehicle. Recall defects tend to be less conspicuous things related to mechanical design or engineering flaws; a mechanic wouldn't have a clue unless he is privy to a list of recalls. Not all do.

The bottom line is that when a defective vehicle is sold and driven, we are all at risk. The vehicle coming towards you on the highway may have a recall defect that could send it careening into your lane. At least with a statutory requirement for all vehicles to be checked for recalls and have them fixed before being sold in place, there would be more peace of mind than we have now concerning that oncoming vehicle.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

If someone does not research the vehicle they are buying they get what they deserve.

Researching an automobile's history has an aurora of vagueness to it. Does that mean looking up the accident record of the vehicle or browsing through the maintenance history? For most of us that is the extent of our research. But even then we generally do that when buying from a private party, if at all. Buying from a dealer is another matter. We tend to assume ( tongue in cheek) the dealer has had the car inspected thoroughly for safety and would not knowingly sell dangerous vehicles. Giving the dealer the benefit of the doubt, let us suppose he does give his vehicles a thorough inspection before selling them. He and his mechanics may not be aware that a recall is in effect on that vehicle. Recall defects tend to be less conspicuous things related to mechanical design or engineering flaws; a mechanic wouldn't have a clue unless he is privy to a list of recalls. Not all do.

The bottom line is that when a defective vehicle is sold and driven, we are all at risk. The vehicle coming towards you on the highway may have a recall defect that could send it careening into your lane. At least with a statutory requirement for all vehicles to be checked for recalls and have them fixed before being sold in place, there would be more peace of mind than we have now concerning that oncoming vehicle.

That's just what we need, more government control

 

[JQPublic1]

How the hell is this the Republican's fault?

If you haven't noticed, the GOP is infamous for wanting to deregulate everything. If something critical needs regulating and hasn't been, there is likely a republican blocking that regulatory process somewhere. Here is one clue that supports that premise:

It’s hard to imagine a worse time for big business to conduct a full-blown attack on regulatory protections. The country continues to suffer from a deep recession caused in large part by financial deregulation and underenforcement of existing rules. A string of corporate disasters—the BP oil gusher, the Massey coal mine explosion, unintended acceleration in Toyota cars, leaded toys, killer cantaloupes—all tied directly to inadequate regulatory protections, are fresh in the public mind.
Blocking regulatory protections has emerged as the centerpiece of the Republicans’ purported jobs plan. I

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

How the hell is this the Republican's fault?

If you haven't noticed, the GOP is infamous for wanting to deregulate everything. If something critical needs regulating and hasn't been, there is likely a republican blocking that regulatory process somewhere. Here is one clue that supports that premise:

It’s hard to imagine a worse time for big business to conduct a full-blown attack on regulatory protections. The country continues to suffer from a deep recession caused in large part by financial deregulation and underenforcement of existing rules. A string of corporate disasters—the BP oil gusher, the Massey coal mine explosion, unintended acceleration in Toyota cars, leaded toys, killer cantaloupes—all tied directly to inadequate regulatory protections, are fresh in the public mind.
Blocking regulatory protections has emerged as the centerpiece of the Republicans’ purported jobs plan. I

the key phrase there being IF something needed to be regulated. This does not.

 

[JQPublic1]

the key phrase there being IF something needed to be regulated. This does not.

That may be the shortest of famous last words I have seen.Of course IF could be an acronym for Infinitely Foolish or Indisputable Finality, take your pick and continue to play highway roulette with your life.

 

[Muhammed]

How the hell is this the Republican's fault?

Obviously, he's desperately grasping at straws. He doesn't even know how fucking stupid he looks.

 

[JQPublic1]

How the hell is this the Republican's fault?

Obviously, he's desperately grasping at straws. He doesn't even know how fucking stupid he looks.

I just hope I don't look as stupid as YOU! BTW what is that on your head...a time bomb?

 

[Politico]

If someone does not research the vehicle they are buying they get what they deserve.

Researching an automobile's history has an aurora of vagueness to it. Does that mean looking up the accident record of the vehicle or browsing through the maintenance history? For most of us that is the extent of our research. But even then we generally do that when buying from a private party, if at all. Buying from a dealer is another matter. We tend to assume ( tongue in cheek) the dealer has had the car inspected thoroughly for safety and would not knowingly sell dangerous vehicles. Giving the dealer the benefit of the doubt, let us suppose he does give his vehicles a thorough inspection before selling them. He and his mechanics may not be aware that a recall is in effect on that vehicle. Recall defects tend to be less conspicuous things related to mechanical design or engineering flaws; a mechanic wouldn't have a clue unless he is privy to a list of recalls. Not all do.

The bottom line is that when a defective vehicle is sold and driven, we are all at risk. The vehicle coming towards you on the highway may have a recall defect that could send it careening into your lane. At least with a statutory requirement for all vehicles to be checked for recalls and have them fixed before being sold in place, there would be more peace of mind than we have now concerning that oncoming vehicle.

The bottom line is it takes 10 seconds to type 'Chevy Cobalt Recalls' into your computer.

 

[Jarlaxle]

If someone does not research the vehicle they are buying they get what they deserve.

Researching an automobile's history has an aurora of vagueness to it. Does that mean looking up the accident record of the vehicle or browsing through the maintenance history? For most of us that is the extent of our research. But even then we generally do that when buying from a private party, if at all. Buying from a dealer is another matter. We tend to assume ( tongue in cheek) the dealer has had the car inspected thoroughly for safety and would not knowingly sell dangerous vehicles. Giving the dealer the benefit of the doubt, let us suppose he does give his vehicles a thorough inspection before selling them. He and his mechanics may not be aware that a recall is in effect on that vehicle. Recall defects tend to be less conspicuous things related to mechanical design or engineering flaws; a mechanic wouldn't have a clue unless he is privy to a list of recalls. Not all do.

The bottom line is that when a defective vehicle is sold and driven, we are all at risk. The vehicle coming towards you on the highway may have a recall defect that could send it careening into your lane. At least with a statutory requirement for all vehicles to be checked for recalls and have them fixed before being sold in place, there would be more peace of mind than we have now concerning that oncoming vehicle.

Recall check takes 5 minutes...can be done online or by calling the service department of any dealer. If you aren't bright enough to figure that out, you probably should not be permitted to operate a motor vehicle.

 

[JQPublic1]

If someone does not research the vehicle they are buying they get what they deserve.

Researching an automobile's history has an aurora of vagueness to it. Does that mean looking up the accident record of the vehicle or browsing through the maintenance history? For most of us that is the extent of our research. But even then we generally do that when buying from a private party, if at all. Buying from a dealer is another matter. We tend to assume ( tongue in cheek) the dealer has had the car inspected thoroughly for safety and would not knowingly sell dangerous vehicles. Giving the dealer the benefit of the doubt, let us suppose he does give his vehicles a thorough inspection before selling them. He and his mechanics may not be aware that a recall is in effect on that vehicle. Recall defects tend to be less conspicuous things related to mechanical design or engineering flaws; a mechanic wouldn't have a clue unless he is privy to a list of recalls. Not all do.

The bottom line is that when a defective vehicle is sold and driven, we are all at risk. The vehicle coming towards you on the highway may have a recall defect that could send it careening into your lane. At least with a statutory requirement for all vehicles to be checked for recalls and have them fixed before being sold in place, there would be more peace of mind than we have now concerning that oncoming vehicle.

The bottom line is it takes 10 seconds to type 'Chevy Cobalt Recalls' into your computer.

Recall check takes 5 minutes...can be done online or by calling the service department of any dealer. If you aren't bright enough to figure that out, you probably should not be permitted to operate a motor vehicle.

There are plenty of senior citizens out there who have not bothered to become computer literate. And even for younger people that are computer literate there is far too much naiveté when buying used cars from a dealer.
After having sat in the friendly dealers office poring over paperwork and reviewing the CARFAX, a certain peace of mind envelopes the buyer and the reassuring smile and handshake of the salesman, who looks just like Bob Barker, is enough. The car is driven off the lot and tested on the freeway with the driver completely unaware of the danger lurking silently within his valued treasure. An alarm is raised only when the buyer sees an ad in the paper for recalls or hears it on the news. Perhaps YOU consider that driver/buyer to be foolish in some way. I do not. And,if my op article is correct, there are a lot of people out there driving vehicles with defects. The real foolish notion is to believe that none of those vehicles will have an impact on YOUR lives.
That is not just foolish, it is plain stupid. If you don't think much more needs to be done in tacking this problem,
perhaps my efforts are being wasted on the wrong audience!

 

[Jarlaxle]

Again: if you are not bright enough to take 5 minutes and check for recalls on a used car, you probably should not be permitted to operate a motor vehicle on public roads. If you are not willing to do due diligence, you are an idiot. It took me 5 minutes on the phone to check for recalls on my Cherokee (none), and less than that on my Dakota (one, already done).

Hell, half the recalls are BS, anyway.

 

[warriorautotech]

I believe the manufacturers are using recalls as a marketing tool to get people back into the showrooms

 

[Missourian]

Recall lookup by VIN # at vinrcl.safercar.gov

Pull in H1 content dynamically Safercar.gov NHTSA

"Owners may not always know their recalled vehicle still needs to be repaired. NHTSA's new search tool lets you enter a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to quickly learn if a specific vehicle has not been repaired as part of a safety recall in the last 15 years."
​

/thread

 

[DGS49]

Can you cite statistics of people who have been injured or killed due to a published recall that was ignored?

I suspect the number is approximately zero. Most recalls are bullshit.

The good thing is that a recall - by definition - is usually a FREE repair for anyone owning a covered vehicle.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

Can you cite statistics of people who have been injured or killed due to a published recall that was ignored?

I suspect the number is approximately zero. Most recalls are bullshit.

The good thing is that a recall - by definition - is usually a FREE repair for anyone owning a covered vehicle.

most recalls are in fact not bullshit. It takes a lot before a repair is included into a recall.

^ Please don't listen to this guy, if you get a recall notice, take your vehicle in.

Also, if any dealer tries to charge you for a recall repair or refuses to do the work call the manufacturer directly, they MUST perform the recall work free of charge to the vehicle owner.