Following up from my previous post below, I just got off the phone with Don Webster at Wendle Motors and it looks like I’m fucked.

According to him, since the vehicle still had a factory warranty (a whole 3,199 miles left) they sold us the warranty on a “new” vehicle. A “new vehicle” warranty goes from 0 to 60,000 miles.

I argued that the vehicle wasn’t new (it had 32,801 miles on it at time of purchase) but he stated that since it was still under the 3 year/36,000 factory warranty it falls under the “nearly new” category and so the contract is correct.

This really pisses me off! When we purchased the warranty, I wanted to be perfectly clear over what it covered and paraphrased “So its 60,000 miles from the current mileage, making it end at 92,801 and not 60,000 total miles right?” “Yes” he answered. He even pointed to the terms of the agreement which clearly show that… he didn’t however, direct my attention to the “Expiration Mileage” (if he had, I would have known what was up).

He claims now that he never said that and stated that he’s doe this for 11 years (yeah… that makes me feel better).

I wish I had caught this when I purchased the damn thing. There are a lot of papers to sign and I missed it. What do you have to do when you purchase a car, bring a lawyer with you for all the paperwork? With what I was told I was buying and what they actually sold me, I feel as though they did the old “bait and switch” tactic on me.

So here it is… Christmas^tm eve, and I’m staring at a huge repair bill that I thought was covered by the warranty. What do I have to do… return all my children’s gifts so I can afford to pay for it?

Merry fucking Christmas^tm.

** Update ** 12/24/03 10:47 am

I called the warranty company back. The contract they sold us is exactly what Don Webster said it is and we’re screwed.

Unfortunately, I can’t prove what he told us, only what is written down.

I guess my only consolation is that perhaps someone will read this and choose a different dealer for their vehicle purchasing needs.

In my opinion, they lied to me and used slick tactics to get money out of me. Once they had my money, they could care less. This was my second vehicle purchased from Wendle Ford in Spokane, Wa. and it will be my last.