6th Oct 2011, 10:01

Shouldn't a person be able to assume that your used car dealer and mechanic are aware of the serious problems of the 2.7L engine? We bought a 1999 Intrepid, and the engine blew after only about 600 miles in 2 months. We confronted the dealer and they weren't going to help us. Once we showed them evidence that they filled out a check off form, showing that they checked everything on it (they did eventually fix problems listed on it; they didn't check anything, but still signed the form).

The major selling point for us was the low mileage. We had driven about 200 miles around town, then went out of town (250 miles away) and the engine blew. Per the odometer, it shows that we had only driven a total of 315 miles since we bought car. The dealer said that the odometer was read by a person that has vision problems. Once we pointed that out, they had the car towed here (about 200 miles away) and found a replacement engine and told us to go pay for it ($1600.00) and deliver it their choice of mechanic. We paid for the engine and they paid for labor. They had given me a verbal warranty at time of sale, which I was later told that it was illegal in WI to have a warranty on a used car. This work was paid for "under the table" to the salesman.

We are now having the same problem with the 2nd engine, except we aren't driving it because the ticking is so bad we don't want it to blow again. We have only been able to drive this car a total of about 2 months out of the 5 months that we have owned it. We have spent a small fortune on rental cars. We are living on a very low income and can't afford this. Can I take it to the dealer and demand a refund? We asked for a refund or another car early on, but they said they can't do it.