California Lemon Law Blog

Police in Boulder, Colorado have arrested a 45-year-old man running a fraudulent used car business. The man allegedly scammed over $20,000 from consumers. According to 9 News, the dealer turned himself in to police following accusations of selling cars but not delivering them to buyers.

Authorities investigating the case were tipped off to the man’s operation when they received a report from a dealership in Canada. The Canadian party claimed that they paid $65,000.00 for a 2011 BMW but never got the car. The Canadian dealership also alleged that after contacting the man on numerous occasions to demand their money back, they were sent a check that bounced. When the dealership told the wrongdoer they intended to alert the police, he told them doing so would only postpone their refund.

Reports indicate the man was also selling vehicles online including eBay. Police estimate there are a minimum of seven additional victims resulting from doing business with the alleged wrongdoer. In three cases, victims bought cars that were never delivered, and received bounced checks after requesting refunds. Police said they believe there could be more victims affected by the individual’s fraudulent practices.

If you believe you’re the victim of automotive fraud, contact California car dealer fraud attorney Howard D. Silver at (866) 49-LEMON for a free consultation.

Following a large recall earlier in the month by Volkswagen for more than 160,000 of its clean diesel vehicles for a fuel leak, another German car giant is recalling clean diesel cars for a similar reason.

This time it’s luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz, who is recalling 6,872 of its clean diesel vehicles due to a manufacturing flaw in fuel filter seals. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the faulty fuel system may leak onto roadways possibly causing accidents, or if there is a combustion source, a fire.

Recalled vehicles include diesel versions of the 2011 Mercedes Benz E, GL, ML and R Class vehicles and 2012 S Class cars. The recall is in addition to 2,297 2011 E-Class Wagons being recalled for the same reason.

If your car has a problem that can’t be fixed after a reasonable number of repair attempts, you may have purchased a lemon vehicle. To find out about your legal rights and options as a consumer, contact California lemon law lawyer Howard D. Silver at 1-866-49-LEMON for a complimentary consultation. Mr. Silver is a consumer advocate dedicated to helping his clients obtain the vehicle replacement or refund they deserve.

As we’ve written about before, the increase in business being done on the internet has resulted in an increase in criminal activity.

In fact, fraudulent activity online is an insidious worldwide industry.

A Consumer Reports article that culled stats from the FBI, recently reported that customer fraud complaints rose 25 percent in 2010, with a new complaint every 90 minutes. For car related fraud, each hour, someone purchasing a car loses over $1,000.

In response to the criminal activity, the team with Cars.com (as recently reported by Yahoo Autos) offered the following advice:

Don’t be sympathetic: A very common car scam involves fraudulent sellers who present fake sad stories to potential buyers about why a car is priced so low. Those conned either wind up with a lemon or no car.

• Don’t ship: This scam usually entails a seller who asks for a deposit prior to shipping a car to a buyer. Sellers often use elaborate and convincing fake websites to carry out the transaction. And of course, the car never arrives in anyone’s driveway.


• Don’t believe the photos: Similar to the sympathy scam, this one often shows a fake or stolen photo of a car with a drastically marked down price and personal reasons explaining the markdown (whenever a seller brings personal details into a car sale, it’s time to walk).


• Don’t use the wire with unknown sellers: Wire services like Money Gram and Western Union are playgrounds for scam artists, as they don’t have to offer proof of a good exchange for the money and can act anonymously.

If there’s one golden rule to extract from the plethora of scam it’s: if it seems too good to be true, it is! If you’ve been the victim of car fraud, contact Los Angeles used car fraud lawyer Howard D. Silver at 1-866-49-LEMON today.

During the second week in October, certain Hyundai, Kia and Chevrolet vehicles were recalled by their manufacturers.

For Hyundai and Kia, the recalls were for a part supplied by an outside manufacturer. Curt Manufacturing, who provided the wiring harness for the trailers on certain Hyundai Veracruz and Kia Sorento models from 2009 to 2011, recalled that part for 2,398 vehicles, according to a release by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA). The Curt wiring system (marked with the identification number 56024) is used to link the electrical parts with the trailer’s lighting part. The recalled system, according to the company, is not water tight and may allow liquid to enter and damage the inner circuits, which can result in overheating and possibly fires.

On the U.S. front, Chevy called back approximately 6,000 models of its American Classic Corvette due to a problem with the back hinges. General Motors determined that the issue may permit the rear hatch to come loose in the event of an accident. Most of these recalls were from 2011 and 2012 models sold in the United States, while some were sold in Canada as well.

In all cases, consumers are instructed to contact the companies directly for more information. Car recalls take significant time to reach the full consumer base, and many may not know of a particular issue until a problem occurs.

If your vehicle is still broken after a reasonable number of repair attempts contact Santa Monica lemon law lawyer Howard D. Silver at 1-866-49-LEMON today. As a consumer advocate, Mr. Silver can explain your legal rights and options.

Stories of used car buyers being scammed by bogus sellers using online classified ads as a vehicle for fraud are common these days. As we’ve discussed on recent blogs, it’s important to meet sellers in person and avoid unverified online sellers. However, a recent news report by KSL in Utah, reminds us that meeting a seller in person in no way guarantees authenticity or honesty.

For example, the KSL article is about an individual who was scammed $500 after meeting the seller of the vehicle in person and taking a test drive. Further, both the buyer and his father said the seller seemed honest. However, when the buyer said he did not have with him the full amount of money needed to make the deal, the seller insisted there were other buyers waiting, and convinced the buyer to make a $500 down payment on the vehicle and meet later at the seller’s house to complete the deal. Unfortunately, left with a phony Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and fake personal information, the meeting at the seller’s home did not take place and the buyer was out $500.00. The Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce told KSL that the fraudulent seller has most likely victimized other individuals.

If you’ve been the victim of a fraudulent car sale, contact California used car fraud attorney Howard D. Silver for assistance. Call 1-866-49-LEMON for a complimentary case review.

October started shaky for German automotive titan Volkswagen (VW), who recalled 168,275 VW and Audi (whose under the VW manufacturing umbrella) vehicles during the first week of the month. The recall was due to a faulty part in the fuel injection structure that may be prone to fuel leaks, which in turn can cause fires, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The VW models affected are 2009 - 2012 Jettas , 2010 - 2012 Golfs and 2010 – 2012 Audi A3s. All of the recalled vehicles are equipped with a 2.0 liter diesel engine (about 20 percent of VW cars in the U.S. have diesel engines, according to the company). The diesel engines can harbor cracking caused by vibration in the fuel injection system that may lead to fires, according to NHSTA. Records show that the federal agency started looking into the issue in March of 2010.

VW told NHTSA that it is not aware of any fires, crashes, or injuries resulting from the defect. The company is instructing customers to contact its customer service department, which will schedule and provide a free repair of the problem.

If you believe your car has significant problems that cannot be fixed, contact Los Angeles lemon car lawyer Howard D. Silver. Call 1-866-49-LEMON for a free consultation today.

The latest in a series of scams targeting automobile buyers online was reported by Kelley Blue Book (KBB), a widely respected source on used and new car prices. The company cautions that a number of dishonest individuals and companies are targeting car buyers with a scam that hijacks the Kelley name and promotes fake deals via the internet.

This scam usually involves a “buyer protection program” or comparable false deal. The fraudulent individuals and companies typically trick car buyers into paying a fake seller via a Pay Pal account or the like for a service that does not exist. As part of a KBB report, the company cites FBI figures stating that approximately $1,000 each hour is lost by car buyers due to rackets like these.

Always triple check a seller’s information before buying. Do extensive web research and background checks before purchasing any service. Also, when you are buying a car, be especially vigilant when shopping online. If you can, meet the seller in person to inspect the car for yourself and get a read on the situation. If it seems too good to be true, or if something about the seller seems suspicious, that’s a perfect cue to step away from the deal. If you’ve lost money as the result of a deceptive business scam, contact Los Angeles deceptive business practices attorney Howard D. Silver at 1-866-49-LEMON to learn more about how to protect yourself.

Following two earlier recalls that we wrote about earlier this month, German car giant BMW is once again in the news for another recall according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

According to the NHSTA, unlike the previous recalls that totaled almost 250,000 cars, BMW is recalling a comparatively lesser amount of 328i (all wheel drive vehicles) and 335i (sport sedans) from 2011 due to a potential hazard involving the front drive shaft bolts. The approximately 190 cars included in the recall were made from February 8 to July 29, 2011.

The company told the NHTSA it determined the bolts were loose on the vehicles in question while they were being built at the plant. The cause was an alleged glitch in the assembly process. The NHTSA said that the issue, if left unattended, could at the very least cause rattling in the vehicle’s front area. In a worst case scenario, the loose bolts might cause the drive shaft to become disengaged from the front wheels, resulting in a breakdown or wreck. The NHTSA and BMW are instructing consumers to stop using the vehicles immediately and contact the company directly for free repair instructions.

Regardless of the size of an automobile recall, when it comes to consumer safety, the proper precautions must be taken. If your car has a safety defect that has cannot be repaired after a reasonable number of attempts, contact Southern California lemon law attorney Howard D. Silver for a complimentary case review. Call 1-866-49-LEMON to speak with Howard today.