This may have been asked an answered, but I couldn’t find it. A week ago yesterday my fiance bought me a 93 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. I looked at it quick and just told him that it looked like an okay enough car to me, he looked at it 3 times before handing over the money to the previous owner, but he apparently missed some key things. He had me take it to a mechanic today to have an oil change and to have the front lug studs looked at because a few of the lug nuts were missing and he wanted to make sure the studs were okay before new lug nuts were put on it… anyway… according to the mechanic the cat has been taken off, which is needed to pass inspection next year, the front breaks are at less than 25%, it needs new rear drum breaks, the tires are dry and cracking on the inside, and its supposed to be all time 4 wheel drive, but there is no 4×4 drive shaft. The guy we bought it from told my fiance that the breaks were new, and so were the tires, that the A/C works, which it doesn’t, not really a big deal though, and that the 4 wheel works, which it obviously doesn’t. I tried to tell my fiance the first time I got behind the wheel that it didn’t, but he told me that it had to because the guy told him that it did… and yes, my fiance is one of those overly trusting people. The mechanic told me I should have my fiance return it. I told him that I didn’t think I could because it was a private sale. He told me that it doesn’t matter, that the lemon law applies to a private sale car that cost more than $1000, and that he’s had to fight it for customers before in court and won. We spent $1400. I’ve looked high and low on the internet, but everything I find tells me something different. Does anyone know of a clause in the Lemon Law that allows for private party sales, or of a good website where I can find real info? Even the DMV website confused me. Thanks in advance for the help.
Thanks… I didn’t think it applied to used, private party cars. And yes, the bill of sale does say as is. I know I should have had him have a mechanic look at it prior, but like I said, he’s overly trusting… I on the other hand am not.
Peter Griffin… I agree 100% with your Chrysler comment. I told him that it was an “okay looking” car, but I had told him in the past no more Chrysler. He had a 95 Neon that the computer went in 3 times in 2 years and a 97 Intrepid that there was oil in one day, and none the next, with no spots on the drive. I really wanted another Ford. I had a 91 Ranger that had 250,000 miles on it when I sold it, and a 93 Taurus that had 299,503 miles on it when I took it off the road due to the bottom rotting out, engine is still great (another cheap car like your Honda, I paid $600 for it).
Thanks again to everyone. I thought I was right, its nice to know I am. 
ElGrande… I don’t know why everyone got thumbs down, as far as I’m concerned, they’re all right. It was the mechanic that the Lemon Law applies to cars that cost over $1000, but you’re right, there would be way too many filings if it did. Like I said somewhere up there I wanted to take it to a mechanic before hand, I always want to take my cars to mechanics before hand, but he doens’t like to, for whatever reason. Maybe he’ll learn his lesson. This is the second time it happened to him. He bought a 00 Sportage in January that got a vacuum leak in it the day after he brought it home, and the 2 front callipers basically fell apart a week later.
I didn’t necessarily want to return it, it’ll still be fun to go mudding with til the inspection exprires next year, I just wanted to know if the Lemon Law actually applied to private party sales, cause I had never heard of it. Like everyone has said, I thought private party sales were “as is”.
