Legal Question in Consumer Law in Michigan

Auto Warranty

I purchased an extended warranty on a used vehicle.. the warranty was for 5years or 100,000 miles... I paid $2,500 for the warranty upon purchasing the vehicle... I tried to use the warranty at local dealership and was told that the warranty wouldn't be accepted and I'd have to pay for any reapir charges and try and be reimbursed at a later date by the Warranty company.. after getting home I called the company to get a taped recored message that basically said the company had gone out of bussiness and their guranteer would settle any claims.. I called the local dealership that I purchased the vehicle from and a salesman there told me that this Warranty company had gone out of bussiness because the top people had run off to the Cayman Islands with the money and they were not honoring any of the warranties sold and there was nothing they could do and basically I'm out of $2,500 and the $450 I spent on repairs and my truck no longer has a warranty..Do i have any legal recourse here... the name of the Warranty company is Smart Choice.


Asked on 2/12/04, 7:09 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Keith Wuotinen

Re: Auto Warranty

You may have some remedy against the dealership that sold you the warranty, depending on how it was represented to you. Also, I believe that the insurer for Smart Choice and/or Smart Choice itself may be in bankruptcy court-- where you should be able to file a claim. However there is a deadline to file a Notice of Claim, so you may wish to do this sooner than later.

As far as the dealership that sold the extended service contract/warranty, with the amount of money involved, you may wish to sue them in small claims court (limit is $3000 in Michigan).

Unfortunately, with the amount of money at stake, I would not be able to help you (due to the cost of hiring me vs. the amount you stand to recover).

Hope this helps!

KW

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Answered on 2/12/04, 8:38 pm


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