Lemon law

[Ymarrs]

Jurisdiction

New Mexico

On Sept 20th my Husband and I purchased a truck from a private seller. He informed us that the motor on the truck had been rebuilt and that the only issue it had was a minor oil leak located at the oil pan and that it more than likely was just the oil pan gasket. As I drove the truck home it shut off on me 4 times. I tried to call the guy we bought it from but he didn't answer so I sent him a text message informing him of the issue. He told me it was probably just the batteries needed to be charged. Through the process of elimination I discovered that there was no oil in the truck. I put oil in it and the truck drove home just fine. I infomed the seller of the issue and that we were taking it to a mechanic to have it checked. The mechanic informed us that the motor was pouring out oil from the valve gasket and they had to be Replaced we did this costing us $498.00 all thw while keeping the seller informed. The mechanic then told us that the glow plug harness has to be replaced and that more than likely the head gaskets will nees to be replaced as well which will cost us thousands of dollars. The mechanic also infomed us that the motor had not been rebuilt. I contactes the seller with all of this information and all he had to say was "well sorry I don't know what to tell you" my husband is a disabled vet and we live on a tight budget and this person took advantage of him. Does the lemon law apply to us in this case?

 

[Highwayman]

Certainly not. Private party sales are "as is" unless you have documentation to the contrary from the seller.

The time to have a mechanic check the vehicle is BEFORE the sale, not after.

It's too late.

 

[Ymarrs]

Even if we have not recieved the title to the vehicle yet?

 

[army judge]

Even if we have not recieved the title to the vehicle yet?

That will be another mistake, especially if the crook has your money.

 

[Ymarrs]

I haven't given him the full purchase amount I only have him a small amount because I wanted to have it checked. My husband agreed to purchase the vehicle sadly he has some... Issues which should prevent him from making ANY major decision however I am not always able to catch him before he does, thankfully I was able to talk with the guy and put a I guess you cpuld call it a deposit down so that I could have the vehicle checked out. So I guess the purchase is not 100% final because I have not paid the guy in full however he is refusing to refund my deposit and take the truck back. I'm sorry I thought I included this information in my post. I have a lot going on at any given time and must have neglected to ensure this information was included.

 

[adjusterjack]

You're contradicting yourself. First you say you purchased a truck. Then you try to convince yourself that maybe you didn't purchase it, maybe it was just a deposit to take the truck to have it check out.

Did anything in writing change hands when you and your husband gave the deposit? Quote it word for word.

What was the price of the truck?

How much was the deposit?

Answer all of the above questions.

 

[army judge]

I suggest you do nothing.
Give him back the truck, as its no good to you.
You should have tested the truck before forking over the cash.

Or, do nothing, hope he comes and repos the truck.
Give it to him.
Then sue him in small claims, if you're bored.
Frankly, you're throwing good money after bad.
For all the money it would take to repair that old rust bucket, you could buy a new truck.

 

[Ymarrs]

Did anything in writing change hands when you and your husband gave the deposit? Quote it word for word.

What was the price of the truck?

How much was the deposit?

Answer all of the above questions.[/QUOTE]

 

[Disabled Vet]

As a disabled vet myself i always flip out when people use their disability as a EXCUSE... He must not be to bad considering you purchased a 4X4 Diesel Truck. As stated..... What you have written on a piece of paper is your contract. If you have just a bill of sale that states. Your down payment, then a follow up final payment the truck is yours to keep. If your bill of sale states down payment until truck is inspected... Well then you may have a case to bring it back and ask for your down payment back. Remember.... You purchased a USED truck and it's up to YOU the buyer to inspect it..... Please don't use your husband being a disabled vet as a excuse...

 

[army judge]

NM doesn't have a usury law, per se.
However, this might be your way out of the onerous note.

New Mexico Usury Laws
New Mexico does not have a statutory scheme governing usury limitations per se. However, the statutes of the State of New Mexico has established a legal interest rate of 15%. Although there are no usury limitations per se contained within the New Mexico legal scheme, there are serious consequences that flow from a failure of a lender making a personal loan keeping the companion interest rate at 15% or less.

First, if a personal loan agreement is entered into with an interest rate in excess of 15%, generally speaking such a loan will be considered illegal in New Mexico. Although there are no criminal sanctions that necessarily can be imposed in such a situation, there are other sanctions that do follow.

Because the loan itself will be deemed to be illegal, it will be considered void and unenforceable. By this it is meant that if a borrower defaults on such a loan, that borrower will have a perfect defense to make any additional payments. The borrower simply can contend that the loan agreement was illegal in the first instance. A court of law in New Mexico will not enforce the loan agreement and the borrower really will be off the hook, as they say.

When it comes to interest rates on civil judgments, the laws in New Mexico are rather unique. It is completely up to the discretion of the court as to what the judgment will be in a civil case. What tends to happen is that if the court thinks the defendant may have had a reasonable defense, the interest rate on the judgment will be lower. On the other hand, if the court ends up concluding that the defense was not particularly reasonable, the interest rate on the judgment actually may end up being higher.

There are other statutory provisions governing different types of lending arrangements, lending practices and loans. For example, there are statutory provisions that govern loans made by financial institutions that have been chartered and authorized to do business by the State of New Mexico.

The statutes governing lending practices and related issues can be found codified at New Mexico Chapters Annotated at Chapters 39, 47, 55, and 58.

NEW MEXICO, the legal rate of interest is 15%. Judgment rate is fixed by the Court.

Nothing in this article should be construed as providing you legal advice. If you have any specific questions or concerns after reading this article, you should consult with an attorney. Additionally, we do take all reasonable steps necessary to keep the information and materials up to date and accurate. However, the statutes governing loans and interest rates in New Mexico do change from time to time.

This too:
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Updated: Justices crack down on high-interest usury
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LendingKarma Blog – State Usury Laws – maximum legal interest rates
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Your "note" MIGHT JUST BE your smoking gun!

Talk to a couple lawyers, take the note, don't mention your husband's issues.

I see the owner signed the document.

If both of you didn't countersign it, that MIGHT also be your way out.

 

[army judge]

The clause claiming that bankruptcy can't be used to discharge the debt is nonsense.
Why?
It's clumsily written.
It need not be mentioned.
With a lien, however, the clause could also be useful to a lawyer, YOUR LAWYER..

 

[Ymarrs]

As a disabled vet myself i always flip out when people use their disability as a EXCUSE... He must not be to bad considering you purchased a 4X4 Diesel Truck. As stated..... What you have written on a piece of paper is your contract. If you have just a bill of sale that states. Your down payment, then a follow up final payment the truck is yours to keep. If your bill of sale states down payment until truck is inspected... Well then you may have a case to bring it back and ask for your down payment back. Remember.... You purchased a USED truck and it's up to YOU the buyer to inspect it..... Please don't use your husband being a disabled vet as a excuse...

I would in no way ever use his disability as an excuse. As I choose see it, it is simply an adjustment we have had to make in our lives.
I have uploaded the contract that he was given. These are things I personally never had to deal with. I have always purchased my personal vehicles from a dealer. This would be the very first time I have ever had an issue such as this. I don't know the laws or what to look for and I certainly don't know anything about diesel trucks. In the end this may just be a bad, expensive judgement call I would just like to know if there is anything I can do as the person was not honest about the truck. He finally text me last night and I learned more details as to the extent of what he "forgot to mention". I did test drive it and it ran fine and I didn't see anthing other than a minor oil leak that appeared to be coming from ths oil pan. The seller stated that the motor had been rebuilt 80,000 miles ago and that the oil leak was minor and that the oil pan gasket was all tjat needed to be replaced. It wasn't until we picked it up and drove it about 50 miles down the road that the issues began. I contacted the seller right away and he told me the batteries probably just needes to be charged. After it shutting off on me 4 times I discovered that there was no oil in the truck at all. I put 2 gallons of oil in it and drove it the remaining 30 or so miles home without any problems. I spoke with the seller and informed him I was taking it to a shop to have the oil leak fixed that's when we discovered that the valve cover gasket needes to be replaced. I figured that if that was all and the truck would be fine that I could afford that so I had it done. I then received a call from thw mechanic, he told me that the glow plug harness on one bank has to be replaced and that there arw bubbles coming from where the heads meet the block which means that it could need new head gaskets. The mechanic also informed me that there is no way the motor was ever rebuilt, everything on it is factory. I have kept the seller informed all this time and every time I talk to him I get a different story.