When should a new vehicle warranty start?

[1971demon]

Yer jokin right ......maybe I missed it....but there is a reason cars (new) go to auction..the reason is NEVER good...lemon law buy back...accident damage..weather damage (flood...hail)...to name a few...did the dealer disclose the reason ....and the warrantee issue is unusual....now CARFAX has NOTHING to do with any of this...the only one that knows for sure...is the DEALER...and he's not tellin the whole story...(that's not being straight and upfront)

One thing I know for sure.....Any car dealer you go to..DOES NOT HAVE YOUR INTEREST AT HEART....just the opposite..be it the sales team..finance and insurance team..or sevice dept.....THEY WANT EVERY DOLLAR IN YOUR POCKET....don't think so...look @ the mega size of dealers today...they don't build them by leaving money on the table

 

[MJS73]

Yer jokin right ......maybe I missed it....but there is a reason cars (new) go to auction..the reason is NEVER good...lemon law buy back...accident damage..weather damage (flood...hail)...to name a few...did the dealer disclose the reason ....and the warrantee issue is unusual....now CARFAX has NOTHING to do with any of this...the only one that knows for sure...is the DEALER...and he's not tellin the whole story...(that's not being straight and upfront)

Dealers buy cars from auctions all the time. It’s up to a buyer to do their homework and get it inspected. It’s not up to the dealer to say “Oh, you want to buy this car? Let me tell you why you don’t want to buy it.” I’m reasonably sure that in the paperwork somewhere there is an explanation of the warranty. I know in Illinois the vehicle has to have a warranty disclosure. Was it read? The buyer has already stated that they bought a car with damage that he didn’t notice when he bought it.

This type of post appears in these forums occasionally and they always come across as the poor buyer victim…until the rest of the story comes out.

 

[MJS73]

One thing I know for sure.....Any car dealer you go to..DOES NOT HAVE YOUR INTEREST AT HEART....just the opposite..be it the sales team..finance and insurance team..or sevice dept.....THEY WANT EVERY DOLLAR IN YOUR POCKET....don't think so...look @ the mega size of dealers today...they don't build them by leaving money on the table

Alright, you’re actually arguing with yourself now.

 

[1971demon]

Alright, you’re actually arguing with yourself now.

Not arguing with anybody....simply stating facts

 

[1971demon]

Dealers buy cars from auctions all the time. It’s up to a buyer to do their homework and get it inspected. It’s not up to the dealer to say “Oh, you want to buy this car? Let me tell you why you don’t want to buy it.” I’m reasonably sure that in the paperwork somewhere there is an explanation of the warranty. I know in Illinois the vehicle has to have a warranty disclosure. Was it read? The buyer has already stated that they bought a car with damage that he didn’t notice when he bought it.

This type of post appears in these forums occasionally and they always come across as the poor buyer victim…until the rest of the story comes out.

I never insinuated..or mentioned in ANY of my posts..whether dealers bought cars from auctions or not...

 

[MJS73]

I never insinuated..or mentioned in ANY of my posts..whether dealers bought cars from auctions or not...

No, I said that. You OK, man?

 

[1971demon]

I never insinuated..or mentioned in ANY of my posts..whether dealers bought cars from auctions or not...

I'm just at a loss to figure out what yer point is...

 

[1971demon]

I'm just at a loss to figure out what yer point is...

Enough circular logic...lets move on

 

[EJP392]

Complaint was filed today with the AG.

Received a letter back from the AG - dealer denies any wrongdoing, and the AG recommends that I hire an attorney. I guess I am stuck because I'm not paying for an attorney, and yet I still want to know when a warranty should start, officially. Is there a law that says it should start at the date of the Certificate of Origin? Is it legal for the dealer or Stellantis to just pick a date in the past because they don't want to provide a full warranty period? I'll see if any Reddit legal forums can weigh in.

 

[EJP392]

Received a letter back from the AG - dealer denies any wrongdoing, and the AG recommends that I hire an attorney. I guess I am stuck because I'm not paying for an attorney, and yet I still want to know when a warranty should start, officially. Is there a law that says it should start at the date of the Certificate of Origin? Is it legal for the dealer or Stellantis to just pick a date in the past because they don't want to provide a full warranty period? I'll see if any Reddit legal forums can weigh in.

Also, I'd really be interested in any other users here who have purchased a "prior model year" vehicle and had an issue with the warranty start date. This could be a class action.

 

[TheRealStevo]

Received a letter back from the AG - dealer denies any wrongdoing, and the AG recommends that I hire an attorney. I guess I am stuck because I'm not paying for an attorney, and yet I still want to know when a warranty should start, officially. Is there a law that says it should start at the date of the Certificate of Origin? Is it legal for the dealer or Stellantis to just pick a date in the past because they don't want to provide a full warranty period? I'll see if any Reddit legal forums can weigh in.

My understanding is the warranty starts on the in-service date and I believe that is true in every state. The IS date is typically when a new car is sold, a dealer puts a car into loaner or demo status or if a manufacturer uses the car as a test vehicle or executive use vehicle. Things get a little murky with a car sent to auction by a manufacturer. I think that is where your car may fall.

You should be able to get the IS date by contacting another dealer or using one of the online Vin lookup tools. Probably have to pay for premium information but I do not know for sure.

If you would like I can ask my dealer if they can lookup an IS date for me if I give them a VIN. I have purchased 4 new vehicles from them and soon will have a 5th so I have a pretty good relationship with them and they will shoot me straight.

There might some other people on the forum who work at a dealer and may be able to do this as well.

 

[TheRealStevo]

Also, I'd really be interested in any other users here who have purchased a "prior model year" vehicle and had an issue with the warranty start date. This could be a class action.

I have purchased 2 new Dodge vehicles (from 2 different dealers) and a new boat in the past 18 months that were all prior year models. All of them had the warranty start on the day I purchased them so your situation does not appear to be normal business.

 

[1971demon]

I have purchased 2 new Dodge vehicles (from 2 different dealers) and a new boat in the past 18 months that were all prior year models. All of them had the warranty start on the day I purchased them so your situation does not appear to be normal business.

Nothing about the deal seems normal

 

[EJP392]

Had another call to Dodge Customer Care. The rep says the assembly date was 7/18/24, the in-service date was 7/24/24, and the vehicle was sold at auction to an unnamed dealer on 6/26/25, which is the date of the "Certificate of Origin". I told the rep that it doesn't sound right that the vehicle was in service before it was ever sold, and he agreed with me. I offered that perhaps they accidentally entered the wrong year for the in-service date. He explained that the dates were set by the previous owner and would be unable to change the in-service date. I countered that there was no owner prior to the first sale on 6/26/25 other than the manufacturer, so there could not be an in-service date until it was sold. He consulted with his team and was unable to help in any way, provide any information about the auction or escalate to a supervisor. So, apparently Dodge can set the in-service date to any date they wish prior to the actual sale of the vehicle. Whether this ability is dependent upon other factors, such as the hail damage to the vehicle I my case, I can't tell for sure. I haven't found any written law, policy or guidelines for this. It sure seems like they are simply trying to extract as much value out of the vehicle as possible - damn the customer. I'm perfectly fine with them excluding the paint and sheet metal from warranty, but the rest of the vehicle should, in my opinion, be covered starting the date it was first sold. I don't see any way of getting this changed in my case, other than a class action lawsuit, which is highly unlikely to happen. So, I think my original question is answered by, "it depends". Thanks for all the contributions! Merry Christmas, and That's All, Folks!