Buyers beware: Woman warns others after buying used car filled with vermin, roaches
It's a buyer's beware world when you are buying a used car. No matter what the salesman tells you, you need to check out the car yourself before signing any paperwork or putting any money down.
Tanya Jackson learned that the hard when she bought a 2016 Ford Transit.
She and her boyfriend looked over the van for any problems.
"We drove it around, drives great, it's clean. It had been detailed. We looked underneath it to see if there was rust or anything," Jackson said.
Tanya purchased the van and drove it home.
Her plan was to convert the van into a van she could sleep in if she was on a road trip.
After getting the van home, she noticed a strange smell so they pulled out one of the seats.
Tanya said they discovered dozens of dead roaches.
"You can see them kind of littered around in here, roaches, just little baby ones which are indicative of the fact that they were living in here," Tanya said.
As Tanya tore up the carpet in the van and took off the dash, the dead roaches were everywhere.
"So I pulled this one cup holder, thirty-eight to fortyish because I counted, and they were just sitting there," Tanya added.
The roaches weren't the most startling discovery.
Tanya couldn't believe what she found dead in the door frame near the airbag.
I asked Tanya what she found and she said, "I don't know. I think a hamster or something, it looked sort of that creamy tan or white, and um yeah, its fur and stuff, and its little droppings and things around up in here. It's been dead for a while."
Tanya said before the rodent passed, it did chew at some wires and eat around one of the airbag areas.
Tanya took the van back to the car lot she bought it from, and while they did offer to clean it, she said that was it.
"They said, 'Well they're dead. I don't know why you are so upset about it.'"
Tanya said she was furious but since she bought the van As-Is, there was not anything the car lot had to do.
When you buy a vehicle As-Is, if there are any problems, you are stuck with those problems from the minute you drive off the lot.
Tanya continues converting the van and keeps finding more dead roaches.
When you are buying a used car, here are the Troubleshooter Takeaways:
- No matter what the salesman tells you, take it to your own mechanic to have it checked out
- Don't just look for mechanical problems, it's also important to check under the carpet, cup holders and under the seats for signs of bugs or even moisture damage
- If the deal is As Is, get any promised repairs in writing before you sign any paperwork
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