Real Deal: Car Complaints, Warranties

We all like to complain, right? But sometimes it can do some good.

Each year, thousands of drivers file complaints about their cars with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Now, those complaints are public, and cars are ranked best to worst.

What's more interesting is not what's on the list but why because it affects all of us, no matter what we drive.

Here are the top 5 cars on the 2009 Car Complaint Index, released by the Center for Auto Safety:

Land Rover LR2

Mitsubishi Lancer

Pontiac Solstice

Dodge Avenger

Subaru Impreza

For the rest of the list, visit: http://www.lemonlaw.com/carcomplaintindex.html

What does the list mean? Consumer advocate Jack Gillis, author of the 2009 Car Book, and the efforts of the Center for Auto Safety, provide you with the vehicle complaints on file with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Each year, thousands of Americans call their government to register complaints about their vehicles. The complaint index is based on a ratio of the number of complaints for each vehicle to the sales of that vehicle. The numbers represent relative index scores, not the number of complaints received. The complaint index score considers sales volume and years on the road. Lower index numbers are better.

What are the common problems we are seeing with cars these days in terms of defects and how it the current economy affecting warranty repairs? (As a result of the crippling economy, more and more dealers are closing and the manufacturers are limiting the amount of time they will pay a dealer to work on a vehicle. So, we are seeing many more "can not duplicates" where the dealer is not giving the consumer the time of day...problems with such components as brakes, steering and airbags--the big three from the index this year--are not really getting the attention they need.)

As the big-three continue to suffer and ask for more relief money, dealers continue to shut their doors in our areas, we are getting countless calls from consumers who are having problems obtaining registrations, getting their vehicles inspected and finding dealers who will fulfill repair requests under original or extended manufacturers warranties.

FIRST when buying a car, make sure you keep all your paperwork. With dealers closing, you need to make sure you have all agreements, regarding trade-ins, etc in writing in case a bank contacts you and ask for a loan payment on a vehicle already turned in.

SECOND, make sure you understand the warranty you are purchasing. It is highly recommended that you purchase a vehicle that has a manufacturers warranty and that any extended warranties purchased are backed by the manufacturer. Manufacturers warranties allow you to take the car to any authorized manufacturers dealer in case your dealer closes down. Also, if problems continue under your manufacturers warranty, you may be able to seek recourse under State and/or Federal Laws.

THIRD, make sure when taking your car in for service that you be as specific as possible regarding repairs needed. Dealers that are not closing are still cutting back, letting go of service personnel and not spending nearly the time on repair visits that they used to. Make sure you are as specific as possible in terms of what noise you heard and when you heard it, what sensor light popped on, where you felt that water leak. The more clues you give, the better chance the service personnel have of solving the problem. And if you continue to once again feel like you are getting the run around, either a dealer constantly saying no problem found, or the problem not being fixed properly, you need to look into legal action.

FOURTH, if you feel that your car is giving you problems, you need to take action. When Daewoo was purchased by GM following the manufacturers problems, they acquired all the assets but none of the headaches. They were not responsible for any Daewoo warranty claims. If a bankruptcy hit one of the big three, this could impact hundreds of thousands of people who no longer would have a warranty. If something is wrong with your car, you need to get it addressed now. And if you feel you may have a breach of warranty or lemon law claim, you need to address it with a consumer lawyer as soon as possible to protect yourself. Under State and federal laws, help is free in these situations.