WANT a Prius, have a lemon, HELP!

Check with your state's Attorney General's office. We have Lemon Laws here and I know some other states do too. Also consider asking to talk to the District Manager or someone higher up in the Jeep company than the dealership.

In the end you may need to decide what is in the best interest of you and your children.

 

Well, here is some information I found. I highlighted the parts that seem applicable to your case. You will need to check on that last part...the dispute procedure, as it seems like you need to find out if the manufacturer has one certified in your state already. Contacted your DMV would probably be a good place to start.

Goodluck!



Nebraska Lemon Law
Chapter 60, Sections 2701 - 2709

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Wednesday, July 12, 2006
60-2701 Terms, defined.
As used in sections 60-2701 to 60-2709,unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Consumer shall mean the purchaser, other than for purposes of resale, of a motor vehicle normally used for personal, family, household, or business purposes, any person to whom such motor vehicle is transferred for the same purposes during the duration of an express warranty applicable to such motor vehicle, and any other person entitled by the terms of such warranty to enforce the obligations of the warranty;
(2) Motor vehicle shall mean a new motor vehicle as defined in section 60-1401.02 which is sold in this state, excluding self-propelled mobile homes as defined in section 60-301; and
(3) Manufacturer's express warranty shall mean the written warranty, so labeled, of the manufacturer of a new motor vehicle.
Laws 1983, LB 155, § 1; Laws 1989, LB 280, § 10.

60-2702 Motor vehicle not conforming to express warranties; duty to repair.

If a motor vehicle does not conform to all applicable express warranties, and the consumer reports the nonconformity to the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer during the term of such express warranties or during the period of one year following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is the earlier date, the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer shall make such repairs as are necessary to conform the vehicle to such express warranties, notwithstanding the fact that such repairs are made after the expiration of such term or such one-year period.

Laws 1983, LB 155, § 2.

60-2703 Manufacturer's duty to replace vehicle or refund price; when; affirmative defense.

If the manufacturer, its agents, or authorized dealers are unable to conform the motor vehicle to any applicable express warranty by repairing or correcting any defect or condition which substantially impairs the use and market value of the motor vehicle to the consumer after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer shall replace the motor vehicle with a comparable motor vehicle or accept return of the vehicle from the consumer and refund to the consumer the full purchase price including all sales taxes, license fees, and registration fees and any similar governmental charges, less a reasonable allowance for the consumer's use of the vehicle. Refunds shall be made to the consumer and lienholder, if any, as their interests may appear. A reasonable allowance for use shall be that amount directly attributable to use by the consumer and any previous owner prior to his or her first report of the nonconformity to the manufacturer, agent, or dealer and during any subsequent period when the vehicle is not out of service by reason of repair. It shall be an affirmative defense to any claim under sections 60-2701 to 60-2709 (1) that an alleged nonconformity does not substantially impair such use and market value or (2) that a nonconformity is the result of abuse, neglect, or unauthorized modifications or alterations of a motor vehicle by a consumer.

Laws 1983, LB 155, § 3.

60-2704 Attempts to conform motor vehicle to warranties; presumption; term of warranty; how computed.

It shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to conform a motor vehicle to the applicable express warranties, if (1) the same nonconformity has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer, its agents, or authorized dealers within the express warranty term or during the period of one year following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is the earlier date, but such nonconformity continues to exist or (2) the vehicle is out of service by reason of repair for a cumulative total of forty or more days during such term or during such period, whichever is the earlier date. The term of an express warranty, such one-year period, and such forty-day period shall be extended by any period of time during which repair services are not available to the consumer because of a war, invasion, or strike, or fire, flood, or other natural disaster. In no event shall the presumption provided in this section apply against a manufacturer unless the manufacturer has received prior written direct notification by certified mail from or on behalf of the consumer and an opportunity to cure the defect alleged.

Laws 1983, LB 155, § 4.

60-2705 Dispute settlement procedure; effect; director; duties.

The Director of Motor Vehicles shall adopt standards for an informal dispute settlement procedure which substantially comply with the provisions of 16 C.F.R. part 703, in existence as of February 22, 1983. If a manufacturer has established or participates in a dispute settlement procedure certified by the Director of Motor Vehicles within the guidelines of such standards, the provisions of section 60-2703 concerning refunds or replacement shall not apply to any consumer who has not first resorted to such a procedure.
Laws 1983, LB 155, § 5.

60-2706 Statute of limitations.

Any action brought under sections 60-2701 to 60-2709 shall be commenced within (1) one year following the expiration of the express warranty term or (2) two years following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is the earlier date.
Laws 1983, LB 155, § 6.

60-2707 Attorney's fees; when allowed.

In any action brought under sections 60-2701 to 60-2709 the court shall award reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party if the prevailing party is the consumer.

Laws 1983, LB 155, § 7.

60-2708 Sections, how construed.

Nothing in sections 60-2701 to 60-2709 shall in any way limit the rights or remedies which are otherwise available to a consumer under any other law.

Laws 1983, LB 155, § 8.

60-2709 Applicability of sections.

Sections 60-2701 to 60-2709 shall apply to motor vehicles beginning with the manufacturer's 1984 model year.

Laws 1983, LB 155, § 9.

 

How sad. You may end up taking the dealer and their agent (I.E. guy who really ruined the car) to court. If you're lucky, they'll settle. You probably won't get your entire purchase price back.

Don't let them trade you for another Jeep.

If all else fails, you can get it running as well as you can...then use it as a trade in for a Prius. You'll lose some money, but you'll end up with a superior car that actually works.

BTW....whose idea was it to buy the Jeep in the first place?

And it's good you have all of the paperwork for all of the times it's been in the shop. Continue to document everything. Like an appointment book or a diary. Document every phone call or meeting with transcripts to the best of your recollection of both sides of the conversation. If you can, get electrical guys "testimony" in writing, on letterhead if possible. Make sure it's dated and has his first and last name. You can bury them in paper, because you can be sure they're not documenting you like you're documenting them. The judge will be impressed if it comes to that.

At the very least they're going to owe you $4,000 for the difference between what the Jeep cost and it's tradein for the Prius. That you can sue them for in small claims.

 

It seems that as of right now, the dealership has done everything they are responsible to do.

You brought in a perfectly good jeep for an after market add on.

The add on was installed.

The add on installation seemingly was done with errors.

You brought it back and "They fixed that for now."

The radio failed after 1 month. You don't say, but logic tells me that you took it in and the dealer fixed that too.

At this point you have a perfectly good working Jeep 2006 that burns probably 17 or 18 mpg. You owe 24k, and it's worth 20k.. Welcome to America and the great debt experience.

You also have a disgruntled audio guy that is feeding you a line of BS. If he "Wasn't getting paid" do you think he'd keep showing up to do work for them? He's not part of the picture between you, the dealer and Jeep corporate. He's just feeding your growing distain for the vehicle and the dealer.

You have a trip to the east coast planned, but the fuel cost on that must be staggering when figured at 17mpg. It must be a lot less when figured at 48. I also imagine day to day operating costs on that thing are not so much fun. Insurance is high, cost of gas is high, the mental stress is high... Joy of ownership is diminished... Fading memories of that new Jeep buying experience... Awwww the smell, oh how rugged this bad boy is.. Did you get the big V8.. Wow the power.. It has 4x4.. We could take it on a gravel road (although we never will).. We could go camping with the kids in this thing.. The freedom... Awwwww.. "Should we buy it honey?", "Yes Dear"...

Don't worry, that whole "New Prius thing" only lasts so long too. At some point, you won't be able to put more than a few hundred pounds of fertilizer or blocks in the back and you'll miss your F250 you sold for the Prius. After a couple months, it's just a commuter car that has a ding in the door from some idiot who won't leave you a note and take responisbility for his actions either.

I seriously smell buyers remorse on the jeep in this post. That may be real, but it's not up to Jeep or the dealer to bail you out from a bad choice to buy that thing. Sounds like they are fixing the problems with the Jeep, that's all they are obligated to do. Don't cling to the list of problems hoping they will somehow be your escape hatch from a bad decision to buy a jeep.

Keep track of your problems and fixes. If your after market gizmo is not working, you take the jeep back to the dealer, the dealer calls up the guy who installed it and has him come fix it for them for free... they give it back to you for free and everyone tries again. That's it... No bailout of your purchase decision, no free Prius exchange after 6 months.

Don't worry, you'll find plenty of people on here that will tell you how much money Jeep has and how much the dealer has and that alone is reason they should bail you out. It sounds good to hear, so this is the place to soak that in.

 

sounds to me like the aftermarket parts are the issue here and you won't be able to prove that the actual vehicle is the problem. the installer will fix them of course, but jeep is not responsible for damage caused directly by botched aftermarket parts installations.

$4000 depreciation is not uncommon in 6 months for a vehicle like that. you could try to sell privately but honestly, $20k sounds like a decent trade for something with so many problems. you notice the lemon law for your state includes a minus-some-dollar-amount-for-consumer-use bit in there, so even using that will get you less than what you owe, i'd be willing to bet.

if you really want the prius, or any car that isn't that jeep you're driving, i think you're in for a battle.

 

Many years ago I had a Jeep CJ-5. I wanted 4WD and could afford nothing better. It was a piece of trash from day one until I sold it, 13 years later. It broke down and stranded me. Parts took weeks to arrive. It was completely unreliable.

Considering that you want a reliable car, and that you make long highway trips where gas cost is significant, I'd recommend trading off the Jeep. You may be able to get more for it than the Toyota dealer will give you. Paradoxically, considering their poor quality, Jeeps hold their value well. But a dealer will always offer less, and if that dealer does not want a used jeep, he will offer even less yet.

Sell the jeep privately. Buy a Prius, but not the most expensive package. You don't need leather, and an after-market GPS (if you want one) is cheaper than the built-in NAV. Get the "safety" package: the lowest one that includes VSC and all the (side) air bags.

If you cannot afford a new one, try to find a used one. Or just buy a used late-model Civic or Corolla: safe, economical, and most important for you: reliable.