Buyer beware

There are many traps and pitfalls waiting for the
innocent consumer.

Buying in good faith, unfortunately, has become a
thing of the past and every care should be taken when
buying the second most expensive item on the shopping
list - that is, the motor car.

The United States brought in the ‘lemon law’ to
protect the consumer against unscrupulous dealers who
will sell just about anything to an unsuspecting
public.

When it applies to cars and motor vehicles it is
supremely important since these vehicles can in some
instances be death traps.

Unfortunately, this law is interpreted in different
ways in different states.

The lemon law forces manufacturers to buy back
‘lemons’ and replace the vehicle or refund the buyer
by way of compensation.

However, as mentioned earlier, not all sellers are
good guys. Did you know that the lemon you sold back
to them can be back on the market in a relatively
short time devoid of its dubious history?

It merely stores it for a short time and then sells
through a ‘dealers only’ auction and the history does
not follow the car.

The next person to purchase it will be opening a
virtual Pandora’s Box of problems.

It really is a case of ‘buyers beware’ whenever you
make purchases but perhaps in the case of cars then
extra care should be taken.

It may be wise to take along a trusted professional
mechanic to check out the vehicle before you make that
all important decision. A little extra cost at this
stage may save your life in future.