“It’s been something new every day.”
An Iowa woman is having a self-described “crashout” due to a series of repairs she needed to make to her newly purchased 2019 Subaru Outback. Here’s what she says happened.
TikTok creator Destiny Jade (@destinyjadekakes) posted a video that explains exactly why she’s so upset. To summarize the exposition, essentially, Jade says she just went through a divorce, and that process left her with a 2004 Toyota RAV4, which broke down.
That led her to go out and shop for a used vehicle near where she lives in Iowa City. “I ended up finding this car, which is a 2019 Subaru Outback,” she says. Despite making a $3,000 down payment on the car, she says she came away with a $330 per month payment.
“Immediately after I got it, one of the axles was damaged,” Jade says. “I had to go get it replaced. That was like $450. I get that replaced. I get my car back. The strut starts acting up. What do you mean? They replaced the strut and the axle—mind you, the axle I just had replaced one week before. That was like $650.”
Despite trying to be positive, Jade was not happy to have spent $1,100 on a car she just financed. That positivity went out the window after an ordeal with the car’s tire pressure sensor. She says she purchased the vehicle with the tire pressure light on, and the dealership agreed to make an appointment to replace the faulty sensor for free.
She says the repair went smoothly, but it unfortunately did not last long. In fact, she says the light just came back on shortly before she started recording the video. Hence, the legendary crashout.
To make the situation even more annoying, Jade says she alerted the dealership employee who brought her car out to her after the repair that there was still a strange sound coming from the car and she wanted it addressed free of charge.
His response, according to Jade? He’s just a salesman; she needs to call another department, and “no one wants to pay money these days.”
Motor1 contacted story subjects for comment. We will update this if they respond.
“I hate this,” wrote one person.
“Valid crashout, because I swear dealerships sell barely functioning cars and then gaslight you into thinking it’s normal when it shouldn’t be,” a second person wrote.
“I genuinely hate car buying,” a third person said. “The whole thing feels like a scam.”
Iowa Legal Aid notes the importance of looking at the buyer’s guide sticker on used cars to determine if there’s a warranty, an implied warranty, or no warranty at all. That means the car is being sold “as is,” and any repairs going forward are the responsibility of the new owner.
If a used car is sold with a limited warranty, the dealership may pick up some repair costs, and the buyer will have to pick up the costs of others. Unless a dealer puts promises about future repairs and warranty coverage in writing, it’s not a legal obligation.
And all of that information is particularly important in the state, because, as laid out in this Des Moines Register article, there is no grace period in Iowa when it comes to used car sales. Once you’ve bought the car and taken it off of the lot, you’re responsible for any problems that pop up in the future, unless the dealership intentionally lied during the negotiation process.
Of course, there’s also the lemon law, but the criteria for that is extremely strict, and Jade’s vehicle wouldn’t qualify. So, to avoid the same fate as Jade’s, it’s probably best to get used cars thoroughly inspected by a third-party mechanic before making the final decision.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motor1.com?
– The Motor1.com Team