file.newsgroup.cars.102982 Maven / Gradle / Ivy
From: [email protected] (jack wood)
Subject: BBB Autoline Arbitration
My BBB Autoline arbitration experience is over.
The outcome was decidedly mixed. I won the battle but
lost the war. The arbitrator found that the car was
defective, but decided to offer a repurchase well below
market value :(. At the time of the hearing, average
retail on my truck in the NADA book was $21,025, but
the decision was for $17,665. I wrote a letter to the
Council of Better Business Bureaus pointing out the
fact that if you have an automobile that does not
depreciate rapidly, the manufacturer has no incentive
to deal with you. There is no way that the
manufacturer can loose because they can turn around and
sell the vehicle at a profit if the consumer is awarded
a repurchase. The attitude of Chevrolet's
representative at the hearing tends to support this
point of view; he was totally unprepared and did not
seem to take the proceeding very seriously.
I decided to take the repurchase, even though I am
getting totally screwed on the price. I will not have
to deal with continuing repairs or selling a lemon
myself, and I have no case for a civil suit based on
the Idaho lemon law. I am planning to send a letter to
my elected representatives telling them how utterly
ridiculous the Idaho lemon law is. The law allows for
a "use deduction" equal to the IRS mileage allowance.
As if Chevrolet were buying my gas and paying
for my insurance.
Summary of the case: In May 1992 I bought a new 3/4 ton
HD Chevrolet pickup. Between May 1992 and December 1992
this vehicle required repair after repair. Systems
that required attention included the transmission,
heater fan, paint, suspension, and motor. The main
problem was the five speed manual transmission. They
could not install a non-defective transmission in at
least four attempts.
So, in summary, it is possible to get a repurchase, but
you are going to get screwed on the price, unless you
paid too much in the first place, or if your car
happens to be a model that depreciates rapidly.
[email protected]