I'm screwed...

[Mark Farnik]

I'm so depressed right now I can't even begin to describe how I'm feeling. As of right now, I will not be able to chase AT ALL for the remainder of the season. Here's the situation:
Back in December of 2005 my parents bought me a 1990 Mercedes 300TE 4MATIC wagon from a dealership called Master's Collection in Franktown, CO. It supposedly had 66k original miles and they wanted $7k for it. The dealership gave us a VIN number to run a Carfax report, and it showed no records, which we thought meant there were no problems (we later learned this meant the vehicle doesn't exist!) So thinking there were no problems and thinking that with only 66k it would last forever, we drove down to Franktown, took it on a test drive, and purchased it on December 21st.
After we brought the car home, I looked at the actual VIN # and the VIN # the dealership had given us and was shocked to find that the last FOUR digits of the VIN #'s were different!
We ran the actual VIN # through Carfax and discovered that the car had had 129k miles in June of 2005, and in November it suddenly had 62k miles! They had flat out lied about the miles on the car.
We called them the very next day, but they were closed for Christmas. We tried calling them after Christmas. Still no response. And then the heater motor, which they had supposedly replaced before we bought it, went out. That cost $650 to fix, and our independent mechanic told us the factory seal had never been broken. Another lie. When my dad finally got ahold of them last March, the manager denied everything and when my dad asked for our money back, he refused. My dad told him we would go to the Colorado AID (Auto Industry Division) and file a complaint with the Dealer Licensing Board, and he told us to go right ahead and file the f***ing complaint and hung up on my dad. So we finally filed a complaint against them last August. And do you know we finally get to go before the Dealer Licensing Board to have our case heard?
JULY 13TH!!!!! 11 FREAKIN' MONTHS AFTER WE FILED THE COMPLAINT!!!!
In the interim, the Mercedes has developed a transmission slip, and the car will freeze up at random intervals and you have to pull the car over and turn it off. You wait a few minutes, then start it up again and it's fine. And more than once the electronics system has gone bezerk, one time while returning from a chase last summer after dark. It's quite hair raising to be driving down a highway at ten at night and suddenly have no headlights. It's reliability is more than questionable, and so my parents don't let me drive it anymore. My parents won't let me chase in my mom's car or my dad's truck (both of which they are still making payments on) due to hail concerns. They're going to let me use my mom's car for going to and from my shoots (I own my own photography buisness), but not for chasing.
This effectively leaves me without a chase vehicle.
So until we get our money back from those sons of b****s, I have no car to chase in.
And by the time we get the money back in mid July, the chase season will be over.
There is no one else who chases in my neck of the woods, so I can't carpool with anyone.
So I'm basically completely screwed for chasing for the rest of this season.
What's even more frustrating is I just got a new laptop and video camera. I was really looking forward to getting to use them in the field. Guess that's not going to happen.
I mean, yeah, my parents let me chase on March 28th and I saw six tornadoes, got pictures of one and video of another so I should be grateful for that.
And yeah, I'm only 17, and have plenty of seasons left to chase in my life.
But still...
I'm totally bummed.
Can you blame me?

 

[Derek Weston]

Buy a beater for < 500, you can get them in good running order. (however, maybe driving a piece of crap is scary for you..)

Depending on how far you're willing to drive, there will be setups mid July and on, very likely, that will yield interesting weather.

 

[Chris Allington]

I don't get to chase a whole lot cause of my job... most of my shifts run from 3:30 pm to 2 am. If i'm ever out in that neck of the woods i'll let you know and I'd be glad to have you along. Otherwise we can always chat on aim or something. Sometimes it helps to be able to talk about setups and virtually chase, plus you can use the time to work on your forcasting skills.

 

[Lori Meyer]

I was also screwed by a skeezy used car dealer. I bought a car in February and it didn't even make it home. We test drove it twice and bought it. About 5 miles later it overheated and we pulled over. The dealer was a total jerk after that and didn't take our calls. In the end it took 1,800 dollars and one whole month to get running again. I have never been so mad in all my life. I can't believe people can be so shady. The mechanic actually said there was a temporary sealant used for the head gaskets and that it actaully ruined the radiator as well. He also said there was actually TAPE used in a couple of places under the hood- TAPE!!! What a jerk-off. Lesson learned I guess. I will never buy a used car without a thorough mechanical check up by a mechanic of my choosing first.

 

[Danny Neal]

What happened to the Ford F-150 you took to Kansas?? Must be still damaged from that tornado encounter?

 

[Robbie Cox]

Get A rental

 

[John Erwin]

And do you know we finally get to go before the Dealer Licensing Board to have our case heard?
JULY 13TH!!!!! 11 FREAKIN' MONTHS AFTER WE FILED THE COMPLAINT!!!!

I thought they had already ruled in your favor? Sorry to hear about all this Mark, I would be pretty bitter too. Hopefully that dealership gets hit hard with this.

 

[Matthew Havin]

Cut your losses and buy the oldest, cheapest running Subaru you can find....... you won't be disappointed! One of my friends has one that she does not maintain at all..... more than once she has drove it 3 1/2 quarts low on oil (leaving only a half quart in the engine!).... and it has a quarter million miles on it.

 

[Willie Dines]

Awe man, that really sucks, unfortunately I don't drive yet or have any knowledge of cars, as reguards good or not so good cars, but reguardless of what happens, I really hope that you can get something sorted and get back on the road for chasing again

Good luck buddy and try to keep your chin up, where there's a will, there's a way

Willie

 

[Bob Schafer]

Ahhh, to be young and impatient again...

Hey, Mark, I know this comes off as flippant and callous, but you need to mellow out, dude. You can't go through life angry. Well, you can, and many do, but what's the point of that?

Look, here's the very very very brief version of my recent life:

I lost my career of 29 years, my girlfriend of four years, and I've not been able to sell my house (after nearly two years).

I spent $35,000 on a new engine for my car. (yeah, just for the engine) It's been FOUR years since I ruined the old engine. I still don't have my car running... but I'm (once again) supposed to have it back, hopefully (again) fixed for good this time... in the next couple weeks. My mechanic seems to have found the real problem that caused several blow-ups.

Am I bitter? No. What's the point? I refuse to go through life angry and depressed, and I won't. You never know which sunset, which sup, will be your last. Carpe diem, bro. Happiness is a choice.

 

[Justin Teague]

$35,000 for an engine??? It better run 9s.

 

[fplowman]

Yep got the same problem.. Car issues.. For whatever ungodly reason Lincoln decided to put a plastic intake manifold on their 4.6 liter engines ( save 30$?? ).. well its cracked and spewing antifreeze.. 900$ to fix it. 210k miles on the engine I figure what's the use buy a new car. Of course that is a whole new set of challenges.. Trying to find a new car and Im upside down on what I owe for the Lincoln..

I feel screwed like you Mark. I have missed 2 possible chase days and maybe a couple more in the future weeks to come. I just changed out jobs and work straight commission so Im building my pipeline and will be broke barely getting by for the next month or two..

just got to roll with the punches man. Am I depressed? Yep..

Be glad your not drinking to mask your life issues.. lol

Leads to more problems

 

[Bob Schafer]

$35,000 for an engine??? It better run 9s.

No, 11's. But I also get 23 mpg. Between the times when it blows up.

 

[Justin Teague]

I have a car that's capable of 11's, and that's nothing to sneeze at. I'm not sure if I can pull the 23 mpg, though. I probably could, but I am tuned super rich to keep my cylinder temps down (prevent detonation). </hijack>

Mark, don't let these things get you down. My honest suggestion would be to stay away from Mercedes, 66,000 miles or not. I know 120,XXX miles sounds like alot, but I am driving a Toyota 4Runner with 236,000 miles and I still haven't had a problem with it. Don't take it from me about Mercedes, do some research and you will find that they are consistently at the bottom of the list for reliability. I didn't start buying Toyota's for no reason. I was a Chevy loving, muscle car guy until it was time for me to pay for my own car.

 

[Doug Lee]

At least you have a source of income. Save your pennies as much as possible and, unless you are a good mechanic, never pay less than $3K for a car, or $1K for a pickup.

That snake that sold you the car probably knew how backed up the system is, that's why he didn't seem worried about your complaint. He must have figured you would get tired of waiting and give up. I don't know if you read the papers, but you might start watching the legal notices and see if his name pops up. If it does, keep notes on what you see. It could help build up a record of misconduct on his part.

I recommend you surprise this guy. Get written documentation from all the mechanics you've had work on the car. See if the mechanics are willing to testfy on your behalf. Be sure to show up for your hearing. Not only be on time, be early. Be there before he gets there. Let him walk in and see you with your family and your LAWYER and your evidence. Don't let the ******* get away with it! My bet is the guy won''t show, and if he doesn't show, that will work in your favor. Also, you might consider taking him to small claims court for the repairs. You might not get any money out of that, but you could help to establish a legal track record on the guy for the next time he screws someone.

I could recommend some other things to do, but this isn't the place.

Maybe you could take a tip from an old TV show, The Rockford Files. Jim Rockford, a former conman and PI, pulled a scam on someone who scammed a friend of his. At the end of the epsiode, when the law was about to nail the bad guy, Jim told him, "You might as well cheer up, it's only going to get worse!" I'm not saying you should scam the guy or do anything else illegal, just stay focused and nail his....