Legal Question in Consumer Law in New Jersey

I bought a GM Certfied Warrantied car, that was in fact never certified or warra

I live in NJ.

On Oct 26, 2001 I bought a 1998 Chevy Camaro from a dealer in Michigan that I was told was a GM Certified Pre-Owned vehicle, with a 39,000- mile warranty on it. The car had 29,000 miles on it at the time.

I paid a little over $19,000 after everything.

Now the car has some serious problems with it.

The A/C compressor is frozen, and stalls the car whenever you turn the fan on and makes a burning smell, and the rear end is also leaking oil.

I took it to a local NJ Chevy dealer Monday, and he told me the car has NO WARRANTY.

In fact his computer shows the car NEVER had ANY GM CERTIFICATION done to it, and NEVER had any EXTENDED WARRANTY applied to it EVER.

I ran and got my GM Certified Warranty Validation Certificate, and accompanying pamphlet, only to find it was all filled out EXCEPT for the specific warranty granted, and the expiration date.

Now the dealer I bought the car from is telling me they will not pay for the repairs, and will not give me any warranty, because even if they gave me the standard 3 month/3000 mile warranty that it would have expired by now. And the 39 month/39,000 mile warranty I was told I had, was expired before they even sold me the car.

What do I do now?


Asked on 6/07/02, 5:44 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Glen Chulsky Law Office of Glen H. Chulsky

Re: I bought a GM Certfied Warrantied car, that was in fact never certified or w

It sounds like you are the victim of fraud. This dealer probably also violated the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. This law allows you to recover triple your damages and have your attorney's fees paid for by the dealer. You will need to revoke/reject your acceptance of the vehicle. This is a complicated matter, and you should seek the advice of an attorney who is experienced in this type of case. You can visit my preliminary website at http://www.lawguru.com/users/attorney/yogidog/index.html or call me at 732-545-9292 for more info.

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Answered on 6/07/02, 10:05 pm

Re: I bought a GM Certfied Warrantied car, that was in fact never certified or w

First, were you a resident of Michigan when the vehicle was purchased? If so, the Michigan Consumer Fraud Act (MCL 445.901 et seq) would apply. If you were a NJ resident, you MAY be able to apply the NJ Consumer Fraud Act, but you will likely need to file in Federal Court, not NJ state court, as it is unlikely that this company has sufficient if any contacts with NJ sufficient to use the NJ Long Arm Statute.

Next, what warranty did you expect to get? The problems mentioned may have occured even if the vehicle had been properly inspected and certified. It is my understanding that certified cars get a specific warranty, only available to certified vehicles.

This is NOT a matter that can be properly addressed in an e-mail. It is unlikely that you can address this without the help of an atty, so the question you will eventually need to answer, is it worth the trouble litigating this? It might even be better getting counsel in Michigan to assist you, depending upon the facts.

You can call me if you need further help. Good luck.

Kevin J. Begley

732-525-8200

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Answered on 6/14/02, 7:17 pm


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