Used-car sales spawns possible fraud trend
Sep 17, 2012, 7:26 AM | Updated: 7:26 am
PHOENIX — As new car sales continue their slow growth, more used vehicles are ending up on the market and being snapped up by consumers, but some sellers aren’t honest.
“With this economy there is a lot of opportunity for people to flip cars,” said Dave Riccio, of 92.3 KTAR’s ‘Bumper to Bumper’ car-talk show. “They buy a car that needs a lot of work and then do some quick fixes to resell.”
As the owner of Tri-City Transmission in Tempe, Riccio has seen his share of tricks people pull in order to sell cars with mechanical issues to unsuspecting consumers.
“For the consumer, it’s heartbreak because you saved $5,000 to buy this used car and you’re looking at the transmission guy, who’s telling you that you have to spend another $2,500,” he said.
Riccio said in the past, people would roll back the odometer to make a sale. Today, crooked dealers or private sellers will put black tape on the “check engine” light or cut the wires.
They can also, “put thicker oil in the engine to stop knocking or special fluid in the transmission to get it to run,” he said.
Riccio said buyers should have a mechanic look a car over before paying, even if they have a CarFax.
