Unsafe Car - Wont pass inspection info needed
 

My old man purchased a car in New Jersey back in March 2010. He went to finally get it inspected and stuff the other day and the rear tire decided to pull a move from Back to The Future and fold under itself. Upon further inspection, it appears the entire rear suspension with the exception of the struts and shocks, are completely rusted through.

Here's where you guys can come in and give me some information. We had it checked out by a person who does inspections after this happened. He crawled under, went "ohhhhhhhhhhhhh", and around 45 seconds lated crawled out and said there is no way that the car will pass inspection and its NOT safe to drive on the road. He wrote up a letter saying this so we can use it if need be.

Here's the main issue (and I don't know technical names -- sorry), it looks like most of the bits that hold the tire on are completely rotted through. I mean there are visible holes and its paper thin on most parts.

I attached some pictures for review. My question is can a New Jersey dealership sell an unsafe car? It has been deemed unsafe by a certified inspection person. Only people with knowledge jump in please.

I just came across this:

New Jersey N.J. Rev. Stat. § 39:10-26 Dealers must warrant that vehicles will pass state safety inspection standards.

Can anyone confirm or deny?

it is really hard to see what part of the vehicle it is,but the first picture looks like it might be a tierod end? a picture with more of the surrounding parts would be easier to help identify.

As for the ordinance,id ask scout.

I'll try to grab better pictures tomorrow. I also posted it in the Ask The Law section. Thanks

from what i understand if he bought the car from a dealer in nj, and is trying to get it inspected in nj, the car has to pass inspection if not he can bring it back to the dealer and they have to fix whatever the problem(s) is until it passes

Is that the frame that is rotted in two of those pics? Again, Hard to tell from the picture. If he actually bought something like that from a dealer, And they left it sell, I would highly suggested he contact the dealer ASAP. However, It is partially the buyers fault for not checking the vehicle over completly. " Don't ask, Don't tell " as some would say. I think you already answered your own question, In your second post in this thead, Though.

wow that looks terrible i good luck with that i really want to know what the out come of this is!!

was the car sold "as-is"? More specifically did it say it anywhere in any ads or anything like that prior to purchase?

I think even if a car is sold as-is from a dealer, The laws are completly different then when a private party is selling a car as-is. I remember reading this a while back when trying to gain as much information as possible on private party selling/buying. Although, NJ laws may be different then PA laws aswell.

My dad will be contacting the dealership about it, but I just want to give him as much information as possible.

From my reading, I read that regardless if there is a warranty or sold "as is", the car must be sold safe and must be able to pass mechanical inspection. If the car won't pass and they don't want to fix the car, it must be sold as parts or salvage car.

Most of the pictures are just suspension bits rotted through. There is one bad spot of rust in the pics is a shot of severe unibody rust. But yea, the suspension bits are the worst.

Yeah, my dad is kicking himself over this. He usually checks them out more thoroughly but was in a rush because my mom needed another car.

Thanks again everyone.

yeah this car SHOULD NOT have been sold, much less even put on the lot. if the dealer is dumb enough to buy the car, then put it on the lot, i think your going to have to just get authorities involved immediatly. find out what your options are, maybe even get a lawyer.

you're correct. the car must pass first inspection. You should be able to fight this no prob.

I work at a dealership in PA and I know we check the undercarraiges of all the cars while they are getting our inspection on the lift and if they do not meet the requirements to pass, we either take it to auction or if we bought it for $100-$300 we will just take it to the junkyard and get our money back.

1. Why the hell would you not look a car over before buying? This is something that should have been seen.
2. Do you have a link to said law because I don't feel like googling :-)
3. When you bought the car, was a plate put on it at the dealer?
4. Did it have current inspection when you bought it?
6. You have had the car for 3 months now and are just now getting to inspection? So it was driven without inspection or is it just now expiring?

Just want to make sure I have this right...your dad bought the car in NJ but lives in PA so the car is getting PA tags, etc, right?

I'm pretty sure that in PA if a car is bought at a dealership, it has to pass PA state inspection...the same may be true of NJ, but I don't know.

However, straight from NJ's Motor Vehicle Commission website, it states that:

"To pass a safety inspection, vehicles are expected to be maintained according to the original manufacturer’s specifications, including but not limited to: brakes, suspension, steering, wheel alignment, headlights, taillights, tires, horn, windshield wipers, window and hood operation, glazing, turn signals, mirrors, etc."

http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Inspectio...erstanding.htm

This site may help you out.

Is it a well known dealership, or Joe Blow's Corner Auto Sales? If it's a well known dealer, I'm sure they will take that back or you can fight them like hell. They wouldn't want to tarnish any reputation they may have.

Update:

My dad called up the dealer and told them the situation. They agreed to take the car back and allow the money he paid to be put towards a different car. My dad has to have it towed back (which is like 70 miles away). He's fine with trading it in for something else, but he is still seeking a lawyer to see what the laws are and to see if he can get them to pay for the towing.

The small dealership has been, thus far, really cool about the situation. Hopefully things will work out.

That's good. We just had some dyke come in and complain about her BRAND NEW 2010 Mazda Tribute because the car didn't have a new car smell, there was surface rust on some bolts in the engine bay because we dealer traded it from NJ, and because it didn't have 1 mile on it which she knew at purchase time. We had to take it back so hopefully you guys get your money back 100% because your situation is actaully worthy of it.

yeah, good to see your dad is moving forward and getting some good response from the dealer.

always liked northpenn vw/mazda :). rental mazdas are not so...'zoom-zoom' lol. really like the cx-7. big and comfy. [sorry for the OT]