Need Help, cause I'm really angry

[skinny7412]

Help !! I bought my kid a used 1996 Explorer (133,931 miles) from a Ford dealer in Battle Creek , MI. There was absolutely no noise or problem until 6 months & 7500 miles later-the transfer case was bad. I had that fixed at a local Aamco place-thought it was a tranny problem.....Several months later I started to have similar problems with the vehicle, only to be told the problem was different front & rear tires, which messed up the auto 4WD. I never changed the tires-they were the same ones I bought the vehicle with. I feel the dealership owes me the cash for the transfer case, as they should have caught this problem. The dealer said 7500 miles was too short a distance to mess uo this transfer case-Aamco said it could. Who's right ?

 

[redneck21]

I'd go with what aamco b/c the deler might just be trying to cover it's ass. That there is no real way to say how long it would take to mess it up but i would think not long. I would say it falls on your shoulders to make sure everything was right more so after the first time you had it replaced b/c u bought the car as is. Not to rube salt in your wounds just my .02.

 

[Turdle]

Whoa-
you bought a 4wd with mismatched tires and didn;t replace them?

I'd say you have the ownership of the problem. Sorry--

 

[steventadams]

Welcome to the forum! That all depends on the tires. With 4x4 you need to run tires of the same diameter on all four corners, otherwise it will put stress on the transfer case. If the tires are just out of the acceptable range (IIRC its about an inch difference between tires) then I would imagine it would take a little bit of time to mess up the transfer case.
Not necessarily an answer to your question, but a little background on what the problem may have been.

 

[skinny7412]

Thanks so far for all your answers. Guess I'll NEVER EVER trust a dealer who said the car is safe & road-ready (after I told him we never had this kind of car). Matter of fact, I'll probably never buy a used car from a dealer again-it's just about as safe to buy a used car off a private party. Any techs responding ?

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

buying a used car from anywhere will give you problems. you coudl get a perfect gym from the ghetto, or from the dealer. it's up to you to make sure it's up to spec before you buy it. hate to say it, but it's true. it does seem that the dealer should've caught it, but at the same time they coudl put it on you as well.

good luck

 

[steventadams]

If they are saying your transfer case is shot because of your tires its most likely because they were different sizes. Lesson learned, always get the car checked out by your trusted mechanic regardless of where youre buying it from.

 

[redneck21]

it's up to you to make sure it's up to spec before you buy it. hate to say it, but it's true.

Is right. It being just a lil off would be hard to tell unless you looked at the # and not a lot of places will look at that when they but look at the other things. Plus tires to a shop would cost next to nothing at all, Im sure if then seen it they would have had a set to match in the back.

 

[alohamonte]

hey

just curious... how much does a 96 X with 130+ on the clock go for at the dealer?

 

[Donner]

This was purchased from a Ford dealer. The dealer should have had this corrected prior to sale. This is legit claim. A Ford dealer cannot do this, that is negligence on their part if they knowingly allowed the tires to remain unchanged and unmatched.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome aboard

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! It's always good to get a second opinion when you purchase a vehicle. Never believe what the seller is telling you. Try to get as many things in writing as possible.

 

[JDraper]

When you say mismatched tires, was it different sizes or just different brands? If they are different sizes, than I'd say you have a claim against the dealer because that will mess up the transfer case, and fairly quickly. If they are the same size but different brands, then that shouldn't have caused the problem.

 

[skinny7412]

Cost

I paid $4400 for it

 

[skinny7412]

The tires were the same "P" & "R" size, but were not matching, as the owners manual says they must ne

 

[sjr033]

skinny7412 welcome. Sorry to hear about your problem. I will never buy a car from any dealer in Battle Creek. I had a bad experience with the ford dealer when I tried to trade my Contour SVT in on a Explorer sport. They tried to change the trade in value when I went back the next day to pick up my truck. The sales man even swore at me when I would not pay him more. So I had to walk away.

 

[Cobraguy]

This should have been caught by three different parties. (1) The dealer should have never sold it with tires that didn't match. He has some liability. (2) AAMCO should have NEVER sent that out the door with mismatched tires. They should have been looking for that when they discovered the bad transfer case. (3) You should have read the owner's manual and caught the bad tires. But that wouldn't help if it had been driven a long time that way. I put the blame on AAMCO for the warranty. It should have left their shop right. The dealer owes you something for the original repair. Good luck with that though. But AAMCO needs to step up here...it left their shop that way and they should have caught it once they discovered the transfer case was bad. Part of a proper repair is figuring out WHY something failed so it doesn't happen again.

 

[Donner]

Ford has an inspection process that was designed to catch that very issue - tire problems. The consumer is not expected to understand the technicalities of transmissions v. tire diameter, it should have been explained to them. If the owner (poster) speaks to anyone, it should first be the state to see how to handle this. But if you're buying a 4x4 or AWD, Cobraguy is correct, the manual is your friend, and not reading it might make you responsible for your own damages.

 

[EasyRhino]

Sorry to hear of your problems.

Buying any used car, from anybody, requires extreme circumspection, IMO. Whoever was driving it last sold it for a reason. Often, the reason is a problem with the car. The owner may be able to pawn it off on an unsuspecting dealer, who does not do a detailed check (for example, driving the car thousands of miles). Note that all older cars are sold 'as is' with no guarantees whatsoever.

Therefore, since it is my money, I do as detailed of a check as I can manage with the given indicators. I find that this effort more than makes up for any after the fact hassling with the seller. For example, if there is access to documented maintenance repair histories, that is the best. Carfax, too. I will do a detailed hand over hand check as a minimum. Also, a search on the net for known problem areas with the model of vehicle. Last, if the car is expensive or has a high chance of an expensive problem, or is an expensive used car, I would have it checked out by a professional mechanic, or possibly myself, if circumstances allow.

I have only bought four previously owned cars in the last 10 years, and only one of those did not turn out to be a keeper, but I was able to sell it for what I had in it. Lesson learned.

Sorry to say, but I think that you will only waste your spirit and frustration trying to get the seller to pay for any repairs on a 12 year old car with 134K miles on it. You probably signed a statement that you were buying the car as is, so the courts will not help you, either.

 

[JDraper]

The tires were the same "P" & "R" size, but were not matching, as the owners manual says they must ne

If the tires are physically the same size..I.E. they are all 275/75-15's but from different manufacturers, than that should not damage the transfer case. They do not have to be from the same manufacturer or have the same tread as long as the overall diameter is the same.