MECHANICSBURG, Cumberland County — For the third time in the last two months, a customer of a used-car dealership in South-Central PA has filed a formal complaint about a SUV she bought in Cumberland County.
Christine Smith bought a used Nissan Pathfinder from Clear Choice Auto Sales in Mechanicsburg about six months ago, she said. The vehicle was for her teen-age daughter.
Smith told Fox43 she knew the vehicle was used and that things could go wrong, but she wasn’t expecting things to go as wrong as they are now.
“Out of nowhere, the vehicle stopped cold, lost power steering, started smoking,” Smith said. “(My daughter) was able to get off the side of the road, but it was dead.”
Smith said she brought the vehicle to a dealership for repairs, where even more problems were discovered.
“It was missing an emission sticker, that it’s been removed from another vehicle, that it’s been tampered with and the VIN number doesn’t match,” she said, listing the issues that were found.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office says it has received 17 complaints about Clear Choice Auto Sales since Jan. 1st, 2015. It did not say if it has taken any more legal action against it.
That used car dealership is one of several to grab the state’s attention lately.
Agents with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office say five people, who worked for D&M Auto Sales Dealership in York Township, made 67 fraudulent vehicle sales between April, 2014,and November, 2015. Court documents show financing agreements made between some customers and the dealership were altered after being signed, when workers forged the customers' signatures onto additional documents to increase the prices.
The state Attorney General's Office asked a judge to shut down the New Kingstown Auto dealership in Silver Spring Township last month, citing similar issues.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro says the owner of the dealership "knowingly sold cars that would not pass inspections, costing some people thousands of dollars in repairs."
There are laws in place to protect people who are buying cars from fraud and other unfair practices. For example, there is a statewide Lemon Law.
The Automobile Lemon Law applies to new personal vehicles registered in Pennsylvania, when they're leased or purchased.
The law allows the manufacturer three repair attempts for the same problem within a year of buying the vehicle or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first.
You'll need documentation of all of the repairs. If the issue continues, and it impacts the safety or value of the vehicle, people can demand a refund or replacement vehicle.
Meanwhile, there are broader consumer protection laws that, while not specifically tailored to car sales, protect people from illegal sales practices.
The Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices Consumer Protection Law protects people against unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
Many of the charges filed against some of these car dealerships accuse them of violating these trade practices.
Courts can also order restitution if it finds a particular transaction or deal violated the law.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office has a few tips if for anyone looking to buy a used vehicle:
- Inspect the car in daylight and during good weather
- Drive the vehicle before you buy it
- Have a mechanic inspect the car before you buy it
- Look closely a the body of the car for rust or cracks, and make sure all mechanical parts like headlights and windows are working properly.
As for Smith, she says even though her car will not pass inspection and will not have a valid inspection sticker, she's decided to wait on getting any more work done on the car until she weighs all legal options moving forward.
She has already filed a report through the State Attorney General's Office, Smith said.
