Help Me Hank: Used Car Refunds

Heather had all the essentials for summer vacation. Three months with no classes, a cool summer job, and a new to her used car, which her parents actually paid for.

Hank
"When you first saw that car, what did you think? I thought it was really cool."

But one dark night, three days after they paid $1600 for the SUY, it just, well, stopped.

Two teenagers, back road, no lights, dead car.

Heather
"I was shocked at first then I was so angry. Thank god my girlfriend was there to calm me down because I didn't know what I would have done."

What they did do was call a tow truck, which went to the mechanic who called Heather's mom with the bad news.

Heather's Mom
"It needed a whole new engine."

Hank
"A whole new engine?"

Heather's Mom
"I was just shocked."

Heather's mom called and called the car dealer, finally they agreed to take the dead car back. But once it was towed to the lot, end of communications.

Hank
"And what happened?"

Heather's Mom
"No response, no call back, pretended he wasn't there, just was completely unresponsive."

In other words, the dealer had her money and her car.

Hank
"Where did that leave you?"

Heather's Mom
"Um, feeling completely helpless with no place to turn really."

That's when she called Help Me Hank.

Now clearly Heather's car was still under warranty, and state law says dealer can just buy back the car instead of paying for the repairs. But as we told the dealer buy back means you've got to send the money and soon after Heather's mom had a check for $1600.

Hank
"How long after we called did you get the check?"

Heather's Mom
"I think about three minutes."

And here's the rest of the story. They used the cash to buy Heather's another car and Heather's summer vacation was saved.

Heather
"I love it, it's great and it's wheels."

After buying a used car, experts say, call the dealership the first moment you know there's a problem that may be critical in getting your money back. So what battle are you fighting, maybe I can help.