Texas Lemon Law Blog
Buying a new vehicle is statistically the second largest purchase that most consumers partake in their lifetime, behind purchasing a new home. Often times, the negotiation process itself is stressful enough. To avoid owning a lemon vehicle that will inconvenience and acquiring a headache down the road, it is important to be mindful of the following red flags… In the vehicle manufacturing business, there will be a small percentage of defects. Your goal is to avoid owning a lemon car in that small percentage; because taking a new Ford vehicle in the service center for warranty work is not the ideal situation to be in.
1) If the vehicle already has high mileages on it. A new car should not have over 300 miles on it. High mileage vehicles mean that other potential buyers test drove the vehicle and passed up on it, for a reason.
2) If the vehicle has visual defects or dings. Decline the vehicle and pick another vehicle from the lot, or go to a different dealership — even if the salesperson (who wants you to buy the vehicle to earn a commission so he/she can quickly work on another deal with another consumer) promises you that the dealership will repair it before they hand it to you.
3) Check the floorboard, cushions, under the hood for potential water damage or flooded vehicles. If your car has been submerged under water because it was sitting in a Hurricane disaster area (ie: hurricane Katrina in 2005) and is later transported to a different state to be sold to you, then you need to run away fast. Pull the seat belts out all the way and check for water damage on the cloth of the seat belt.
4) If the VIN numbers on components or parts of the vehicle does not match, then that is a sign that your vehicle has been subject to repair for various problems or defects from the time of manufacturing, to the time it reaches the car lot.