YADKINVILLE, N.C. — Michelle Craft needed a new car. She did some shopping around and settled on a 2008 Ford Escape from a local dealership.
The car had more than 160,000 miles on it, but it was within her price range.
“I spent $5,000 on that car,” Craft said.
The car seemed to run okay when Craft took it to a mechanic for an oil change. The mechanic called about an hour later with some disturbing news. The frame of the car was in horrible condition. The frame was rusted beyond the point of a simple repair.
“Bad rust, to the point it breaks in pieces,” Craft said. “He said it was dangerous and if someone hit me, it could blow up.”
Craft went back to the oil service shop and took a video of the damage. The mechanic pointed out all the problems and chipped away the rust from the frame.
“The frame was not stable,” Craft said.
The car needed major repairs and probably should have been sold with a salvage title or not sold at all. Craft did not get a complete estimate for repairs, but it was going to cost thousands of dollars.
She reached out to the dealership where she purchased the Ford, but the salesperson and the owner were not being too helpful. Craft said they offered to take the car as a trade but were wanting Craft to pay more money for a different car.
“I didn’t have any more money and this car was bad, to begin with,” Craft said.
After a couple of weeks of seemingly getting nowhere, Craft reached out to News 2.
“I needed a new car,” Craft said. “I knew they were taking advantage of me.”
We contacted the dealership and more importantly, told them we had a video showing the rusted-out frame. The owner agreed to review the contract and see what could be done. A couple of weeks later Craft went back to the dealership and traded in the Ford for a Honda SUV.
“It’s not perfect but it’s much better,” Craft said. “I had to get out of that (Ford) car.”
The exchange didn’t cost Craft any money and most importantly it is safe to drive in.
If you are buying a car, especially a used car that is being sold “as-is”, have a mechanic look at it first just to be safe. It’s also okay to ask for a 30-day warranty in case something goes wrong.
In this case, we were able to help Craft and have her avoid going to small claims court. Even though the car was rusted, and a mechanic said it was dangerous. The car was sold as-is so it’s unclear what the courts would have ruled.