My (Bad) Luck with Used Cars Continues

Six months ago, I helped my oldest daughter buy her first car. She's still in college and doesn't have a lot of money and had even less credit so, despite my apprehension, we ended up buying her a used 2016 Chevy Cruze.

A little background. My history with used cars is long and full of disappointment. My very first car, an 80s Ford Escort that had severe deer damage was the lone exception. Everything from that point forward, not so much. The Dodge Aries I owned right after had the gas tank rust off. The Ford Mustang I had in college had a long list of issues, the wrong head gasket, a bad fuel pump, a carburetor that would stick shut to name a few. I had a Pontiac that had the paint come off it in flakes, a PT Cruiser that would stall out at random for unknown reasons, a Chevy Sebring that had the front tire break off it, a Mitsubishi that blew out a transmission and another (2017) Cruze that, after I bought out my lease, began to burn out oxygen sensors on a regular basis.

We can add my daughter's Cruze (which is also in my name because of her credit) to that list.

Image courtesy of Pixabay

I have already spent money for new tires since the right rear started leaking air about a month after we bought it. To be fair, I don't know if the tire was bad or if it was just the aluminum rims but since I didn't know how many miles the tires had, if they had ever been rotated, etc., I felt it was better to be safe than sorry.

Today, however, was truly unfortunate. Not long after getting the tires (literally the same day), we noticed a puddle under it. I later confirmed it was coolant and, after needing to re-fill the coolant twice, we took it in. Turns out, it has a bad seal and, conveniently, it is a part that is not covered under the 1-year warranty that is supposed to be on the car. My repair estimate was in excess of $600.

I am not the kind of person who is going to take that kind of diagnosis and estimate without a fight. I just gave the car dealer an earful and I'm waiting to see if they are willing to give me a break considering my daughter has driven less than 1,000 miles since buying it. The jury is still out on if they will, but with another daughter who will likely want to buy a car soon too, I can ensure you their answer will be a deciding factor if/when we buy her one and I'll be thinking twice before getting another used car.