A Twilight Zone Nightmare

It was a beautiful warm, sunny day when a woman walked into a used car dealership. She went there to purchase a car, but unknowingly, she had stepped into a “Twilight Zone Nightmare.”

Not all things are as they seem. This woman’s not a fool but she does seem to want to accept things at face value. Because of her financial situation she didn’t have a lot of cash for a down payment and had less than perfect credit. This alone placed her in a very vulnerable position. The owner of the car lot and the financial executive assured her they would do all they could to help her. They even guaranteed her that they would get her financed.

The catch comes when they show her the only car she’s qualified for considering her credit and the amount of money she has for a down payment. She explains to them that she needs a dependable car. One that will not continually be in the shop because, one, she can’t afford a lot of repair bills and also because she is on the road a lot and needs to have a car that will not leave her stranded. They assure her over and over that the car is in great condition and she will have nothing to worry about.

They bring out the car, it turns out to be one she had had her eyes on. It looked well cared for, a very nice looking vehicle. She checked the tires, the fluids, started the engine. In short, she did all she was told she should do in checking a car before buying. All seemed in good condition. She bought the car and drove away in a very happy frame of mind. Feeling like she had finally been set free. Free from the grueling public transportation. She was still not aware that she was living in the Twilight Zone Nightmare.

A week, two weeks go by, she makes her first payment and all seems to going well with the car. Third week rolls around and the woman began to hear a disturbing sound being emitted from the vehicle every time she drove it. The sound continues to grow louder and the car begins to act like it wants to die out. She returns the vehicle to the dealer and his mechanic looks at it and replaces a fuse and she is told all is well again. Her confidence that the problem was solved is short lived. The vehicle begins to make the very same sounds. She contacts the dealer again and informs him that the problem has not gone away. She is told to go to “Pep Boys”. She goes there and is told that it sounded like a motor problem and they could not do anything for her. She tells some of her co-workers about her problem and someone gives her the name of his mechanic across town. By this time the vehicle is
undriveable so she has it towed to the mechanic. Several days later, she is told that it is a major mechanical problem that is going to cost her serious money. Once again she calls the dealer and tells them what the mechanic told her. They questioned the diagnosis of the mechanic stating that they had never heard of the mechanic and suggested that she take the vehicle to another mechanic they suggested. Of course since the car was undriveable, it was once again towed back to her. Total cost of both tows and diagnosis left her with a bill of almost $200.

The new mechanic finds that there is a different problem which costs over $400. However, the original problem seemed to still remain. Now she has no more money and the next check is put aside for the car payment, which means she can not get the original problem fixed. She calls the dealer and they try to “help her” by getting yet another mechanic that agrees to do the job for half the price. By this time the woman is quite upset and lets the dealer know this. He finally agrees to mark her March payment as having been paid and she could use the payment to help pay for the repair. We are now talking the end of February, before the car was even registered. Arrangements are made with the mechanic of her choice to repair the car at the end of the month (March). During the interim the vehicle is registered, and seems to be holding up.

On the 21st of March she goes to Wal Mart to pick up some things for the office. On the way out of the parking lot, the car begins to act strange, like it doesn’t want to move, but she figures it is just a little sluggish, it will pick up once she gets going. She pulled out of the parking lot into traffic, stopped at a red light and the car stalled out. No matter how hard she tries the car will not start up again. Finally a kind young man came to her rescue and pushed her back into the Wal Mart parking lot. She called her office for someone to pick her up and upon arriving at the office she called her mechanic. He did not have a towing service so he suggested the company he used. They came and towed her car to her mechanic. After listening to her description of what happened the fuel system was checked and found to be faulty and in need of repair. Problem fixed almost $500 worth. On the 22nd she went and picked up her car and headed back to her office. She drove approximately 2 blocks and made a U-turn. The car died out and just as before would not start. She looked in the rear mirror and saw traffic coming up behind her. The first vehicle came very close to her before veering off to the right into the other lane. This maneuver left the second vehicle without enough time to get out of the way and plowed right into the rear of her vehicle.

Of course the police were contacted along with tow trucks. The vehicle that hit her was completely totaled as well as her own. The good thing was that neither of them were injured. She was left with a $190 citation for driving an unsafe vehicle, which she hopes to have dismissed or decreased in court.

She is still without a vehicle, awaiting the outcome of an insurance investigation. It wasn’t until the accident did she realized that her “Twilight Zone Nightmare” began the day she walked into that used car dealership and agreed to purchase that vehicle. She is sure the nightmare will not end until she is compensated for almost loosing her life.

The next time you walk into a car dealership, being it used or new, do not be so quick to accept everything at face value. If you do not wish to visit the “Twilight Zone Nightmare”.