Legal Question in Consumer Law in Connecticut

used car rights

Last summer I bought a used subaru from a subaru dealer. It had 50,000 mi and was given a full check of the engine. There were no previous maint records. I also bought an extended warranty through Smartchoice. Last week the car died and an insurance rep stated they would deny my claim due to improper cooling syst maint. Because the car was sold to me at 50,000 and the manuf says to check cooling syst at 30,000, I assumed I was fine until 80,000(50 + 30+). Now it has 70,000. I have a record of as recent as 5,000 mi ago that my new dealer ''checked sytem for leaks'' during the routine oil change. He claims I should go after Smartchoice. I tend to think the selling dealer should have found the problem as he sold it to me well over the rec 30,000 subaru rec miles for cooling check. I am lost--do I have a right to expect this car would still be working? I am lost--thanks for any advice! Do I have a leg to stand on?


Asked on 3/01/03, 11:56 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jules D'Alessandro D'Alessandro & Wright

Re: used car rights

Yes you do have a leg to stand on. However as the warranty is just another name for an insurance policy as is the case in most insurance situations you have to sue them to get a favorable response. Insurance companies as a group are in the business of taking money not paying it. They count on the fact that most people will not go through the trouble of suiing them for payment. Consequently, more times than not the insurance companies make out and essentially rip off the public by conning them into believing they are buying protection but then when you need the protection they tell you to take a hike. Unfortunately most times people do take that hike.

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Answered on 3/01/03, 3:16 pm


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