Hi,

We bought a used car from a proper dealership 2 months ago (and were told at the time the car had ABS) - we have proof as well, as luckily we kept the documentation that was in the window of the car. Anyway, to cut a long story short today when we took the car into a different dealership for an oil change (one nearer our house) we were informed that the car does not have ABS.

We have contacted the first dealership and they said they have no proof that the car was sold saying it had ABS, we have just scanned and emailed the them the proof and waiting for them to call to discuss how to resolve the matter.

I have wondering has anyone ever experienced a similar problem? I've had a quick scan on google for similar situations and couldnt find any, so thought I'd just ask you guys what you would do in our situation.....

http://www.rosnerandmansfield.com/lemon_faq.html

http://www.rosnerandmansfield.com/le...html#question5

Does the car have a warranty?

If it wasn't in writing, then you're probably screwed. It becomes a he said-she said, and without written proof, you can't substantiate your claim in a situation in which the burden of proof is on you.

But because it is in writing in your case, then you may have a claim.

You have to decide what you want out of this. ABS has a certain economic value that can be quantified in Kelley Blue Book, plus you may have additional losses if you end up with a higher insurance premium because of the lack of it, so at the very least, your claim is worth these amounts.

But if you want to return the car and have the contract rescinded, then you may have a bigger problem to wrestle with.

Depending upon the amount of damages that you wish to claim, you should be able to go to small claims court, which is cheap and easy -- no attorneys involved. However, you may have signed paperwork that required you to use a arbitrator -- those agreements are considered to be binding, and therefore may exclude you from using the court system.

(As a consumer and the financially weaker party, arbitration generally works to your disadvantage, so it is wise to avoid signing such agreements if possible; however, many dealerships will refuse to complete the transaction if you don't.)

Decide whether you just want some sort of refund of the purchase or whether you want to turn back the car, and then determine whether you've agreed to arbitration. Those will determine your next course of action.

Whimp ! ........... Who needs abs anyway ? How do you think people drove around before such easy peasy crap was invented ? Most abs systems fail after a couple of years anyway so it makes no difference

If the car goes put up with it FFS

If you bought a car without ABS it must be old and therefore probably low value?

thanks some good advice.

Well age and worth are all relative to each consumer. I don't personally think the car at under 3 years is a particular old car but I guess you may disagree.

Anyway, the matter is not really the age or the worth of the car its more the fact that we bought something which we were led to believe had a feature which it does not have.

anyway thanks to poppy girl (I have never heard about the Lemon Law before) and to RoadWarriorFromLP.

I doubt that you are covered by the Lemon Law, which relates to obtaining refunds for defective vehicles that suffer from problems that cannot be cured. Your issue is one of not getting something that you paid for, which at the very least was a honest error and at worst was an act of fraud and misrepresentation.

I am skeptical of the effectiveness of government agencies in these situations, but you may also want to contact some state agencies, such as the attorney general. These links might be useful to you, I'd at least research these:

http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/a...le_dealers.php
http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/g.../cmpltba.shtml

In addition, if the vehicle was advertised prior to it being sold, I'd obtain a copy of that advertising. If that advertising included a reference to the ABS system, then that this could constitute false advertising, which could allow you to involve the DMV.

yeah would fall under Truth In Advertising (but does it involve the DMV? just wondering) - which would be a matter of the state attny office and/or regulatory agencies which handle state licenses - ie dealership license.

Strikes me that it's a straightforward contractual dispute. Calculate the price difference without and the insurance difference over the expected lifetime of the car -- then file in small claims. You'll find they do exactly nothing until the case comes up, then attempt to settle out of court with you 10 minutes before the hearing.

It would in California, apparently. Regulating car advertising comes under their jurisdiction.

In this case, it probably wouldn't be a federal matter, for it wasn't probably advertised across state lines.

I should note that I had thought that OP indicated that she was in California, which was why I posted those links, but I could have been mistaken. If the OP is in a different state, then she'll need different resources from those that I provided. Every state handles these things differently.

The one potential problem with doing that is that if she signed anything that waived her right to trial and required her to use arbitration, instead. Those agreements are enforceable, so the civil court would not have any right to get involved. Otherwise, though, this is certainly the way to go if the OP can live with the car and just wants compensation for her loss.

Didnt mean to cause offence - I am surprised that such a recent car wouldnt have ABS - could I ask what it is?

As I think has been said dont think the lemon laws will apply its more of a trade description - having the window sticker is a good start but not binding. Worth checking with your insurance too as you get an ABS discount which may now be recinded (usually only a few bucks though)

No offence taken.

Yes I did realise from reading the Lemon Law that it was not applicable here, but I also had never heard of it, so thanks to Poppy Girl for bringing it to my attention anyway.

Any yup I do live in California, so the links and advice are all applicable - thanks RoadWarriorFromLP!

The major point, to my mind, is if the purchase was made largely based on the vehicle having ABS....if that was a key to making the purchase, then the possibility exists to have the purchase rescinded. But it could be difficult and certainly require legal advice. No clue what the laws are in California, but here we have to honor our claims or the purchaser has recourse.

Keep in mind that most businesses do not like negative publicity, so offer them the opportunity to do what is right or see their name in the news.

As for ABS, there were quite a few late model cars on which ABS was either optional or not available. There are still some. ABS is an over rated in my opinion. In California it is one thing, in the snow belt it is something else. If you have ever tried to stop at a very slippery intersection while your abs chattered away...you get the idea. I have slid into more than one intersection thanks to abs, or on other occasions steered to the side and took the snow bank to avoid sliding into traffic.
Too many ill informed drivers are of the mind that ABS will stop you faster in a panic stop..when actually the opposite is true...it takes a longer distance to stop. They are oblivious to the fact that ABS is intended to allow you to steer under panic braking. By the way, that little feature doesn't always work so well on ice or snow either. ABS was designed for Autoban driving in normal weather. Under too many other circumstances it can actually be a hazard.

I can live without ABS. But not that easy to avoid it anymore. GM made it standard on all of its vehicles, and then reversed and made it optional on some of their smaller cars. Not that I would EVER own a piece of crap GM.