SOS-236 Consumer's Guide to Buying a Vehicle from a ...

CONSUMER'S GUIDETO BUYINGA

VEHICLEFROM ADEALERSHIP

MICHIGANDEPARTMENTOFSTATE sos

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W henyouareshoppingforyournext vehicle,therearemanythingsyou willwanttothinkaboutcarefully. Justasimportantasmake,modelandcolor,for example,arewarranties,financing,andinsurance.

Thisbrochuredescribeswhatisinvolvedwhen buyingfromaMichiganvehicledealer,including purchasing,financing,insuring,titlingandregistering avehicle.

TheMichiganDepartmentofStatewantsyouto knowyourrightswhenbuyinganeworusedvehicle. Thedepartmentlicensesandregulatesautomobile dealersandrepairshops,informsconsumersoftheir rightsandinvestigatesrelatedcomplaints.

Selectingavehicle

Whenyouselectavehicle,testdriveit.Askthe dealerspecificquestions,suchaswhetherthevehicle haseverbeeninvolvedinanaccidentorhadany majorrepairsdone.

Warranty.Haveaclearunderstandinganda writtencopyofthedealer'swarrantyforyourchosen vehicle.Readitcarefully.Thereisnosuchthingas averbalwarranty.

Newvehiclesnormallycarrywarrantycoverage fromthemanufacturer.Extendedservicecontracts onneworusedvehiclesmaybesoldseparately.

Whenreadingawarranty,askthesequestions:

Howlongisthewarrantyvalid?

Whatisandisnotcovered?

Whatcostswillyoupayifthereisaproblem?

Howwillyouobtainservice?

"AsIs."Don'tassumeavehiclehasawarranty. Infact,mostusedvehiclesarenotunderwarrantyfor anyperiodoftime.Anyvehiclesold"AsIs"carries nowarranty.Youmustpayforanyrepairsneededon avehiclenotcoveredbyawarranty.

Ifyouselectausedvehicle,considerhavingit checkedbyanindependentmechanicbeforeyoubuy. Ifthedealerpromisestomakerepairstogetyouto buythevehicle,makesureyougetthepromisesin writing.Thereisnosuchthingasa"3-daycooloff" periodtoreturnthevehicle.

Federalrulesrequiredealerstoconspicuously displaya"Buyer'sGuide"withwarrantyinformation oneachusedvehicle.Ifthevehicleisunderwarranty, thestickermuststatetheterms.

Financinganewor usedvehicle

Ifyoufinanceaneworusedvehicle,shop aroundforthebestinterestrate.Financingmaybe availablefromthedealership,abank,creditunion orotherlendinginstitution.Beforemakingyour decision,considernotonlythepaymentamount,but alsotheinterestrateandhowmanymonthsitwill taketorepaytheloan.

Thedealerorlendinginstitutionmayencourage youtobuyeitherdisabilityinsuranceorcreditlife insurance.Bewareofdealersorlenderswhoimply thesearerequired.Neitherdisabilitynorcredit lifeinsuranceisrequiredbylaw,andeithermaybe canceledatanytime.

Creditdisabilityinsuranceisapolicythat makesvehicleloanpaymentswhenyouareinjured andunabletowork.

Creditlifeinsuranceisapolicytopayoffa vehicleloanuponyourdeathorpermanentdisability.

Beforeyoubuyeither,considerwhetherthey duplicateyourotherlife,accidentordisability policies.Beawarethatthecostofthesecoverages maybeaddedtotheamountofyourloanandyou couldbepayinginterestonthecostofinsurance.

Theleasingalternative

Leasingavehiclehasbecomeapopular alternativetopurchasingforpeoplewhomay nothavealargedownpaymentordonotwishto ownavehicle.Themonthlyleasepaymentcanbe comparabletoaloanpayment.

Consumersshouldbeawarethatleasing mayinvolvelargecostsforexcessmileage,early termination,orexcesswearandtear.Whenyoulease avehicle,makesureallthetermsoftheleasearein writing,thatyouunderstandthetermsofthelease andthatyouagreewiththeterms.

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Beforeyousigna purchaseagreement

Makesureyoureceiveacopyofthepurchase agreementfromthedealerbeforeyoupayfor anything.Lookitovercarefully.Makesureyou understandeverythingbeforesigningit.Neversigna blankpurchaseagreement.

Getallpromisesandothertermsinwriting.Do notrelyonspokenpromises.Purchaseagreements shouldcontainthefollowinginformation:

thesamepurchasepricequotedbythe salesperson;

alloptions/accessoriesyouwanttobuy;and

thedealer'spolicyonrefundingdeposits.

OtherCosts.Beawarethattherearealways morecostsinvolvedthanjustthepriceonthewindow sticker.

Thedealerisrequiredtochargeyou6percent Michigansalestax.Thedealerisalsorequiredto applyforthevehicle'stitleandmakearrangements foralicenseplate.

Anydealer-installedaccessoriesorservicesyou haveordered,suchasrustproofingorpaintprotectant,mayalsobeaddedtotheprice.Dealerscan chargeadocumentfeeofupto$180.00.

Insuringyourvehicle

Ifyouaretheownerorregistrantofavehicle requiredtoberegisteredinMichigan,thenyou arerequiredbylawtocarryano-faultautomobile insurancepolicy.Requiredcoveragesincludebodily injury/propertydamage(BI/PD),personalinjury protection(PIP),andpropertyprotectioninsurance (PPI).Theserequiredcoveragesdonotpayfor damagetoyourvehiclenordotheycovertheft.If youwantyourinsurancecompanytocoverdamage toyourvehicleortocovertheft,youmaychoose tocarrycollisioncoverageand/orcomprehensive coverage.

Ifyoufinanceaneworusedvehicle,your lendermayrequirethatyoupurchasecomprehensive and/orcollisioncoverage.Ifyoudonothavethese coverages,yourlendermayrequirethatyoupaythe

costofcollateralprotectioncoverage.Thecostof collateralprotectioninsuranceisoftenmuchmore expensivethancollisionandcomprehensivecoverage. Thecostismadepartofyourloanpayment. Collateralprotectioninsuranceprotectsonlythe lender'sinterestinthevehicleandcompensatesthe lenderincaseofdamagetothevehicle.

Completingthesale

Ifyouarepurchasingausedvehicle,thedealer mustshowyouthepreviousowner'stitle.Examineit carefully.Ifthefrontofthetitleindicates"rebuiltsalvage,"youareentitledtoaseparatesalvagedisclosure statementfromthedealer.

Beforeacceptingdelivery,checktomakesureall promisedequipmenthasbeenincluded.Testdrivethe vehicleagaintobesureitisworkingproperly.

Makesureyouhavethefollowing: acopyofthetitle(bothfrontandback,if

buyingausedvehicle);

acopyoftheApplicationforMichiganTitle andRegistration?StatementofVehicleSale (RD-108);

acopyofanywrittenwarrantyonthevehicle oranyservicespurchased(suchasrustproofing orextendedservicecontract);

acopyoftheodometermileagestatement,if buyinganewvehicle;

acopyofthe"Buyer'sGuide"windowsticker, ifbuyingausedvehicle;

anewlicenseplateandregistration,oryour oldplateandatemporaryorpermanent registration,ora15-daytemporaryregistration affixedtotherearwindow;and

acopyofthefinancecontract/leaseagreement.

Thedealerisrequiredbylawtogiveyouacopy ofeverydocumentwhenyousignit.

Afterthesale

Maintainyourvehicleregularlyaccordingtothe owner'smanualtoprolongthelifeofthevehicle.

Ifrepairsareneeded,consultthedepartment's AutoRepairRights&RepairTips,Consumer'sGuide toAutomaticTransmissionService,Consumer's GuidetoBrakeRepairService,Consumer'sGuideto CollisionRepairs,Consumer'sGuidetoEngineReplacementandConsumer'sGuidetoVehicleRestorationbrochurestolearnyourrightsandwhattoexpect fromacompetentrepairshop.

Ifyouhaveacomplaintaboutavehicledealer, contacttheDepartmentofStateatthetelephonenumberlistedbelow.

Additionalbrochurespublishedbythe DepartmentofState:

AutoRepairRights&RepairTips

Consumer'sAutomotiveInformation&ComplaintKit

Consumer'sGuidetoAutomaticTransmissionService

Consumer'sGuidetoBrakeRepairService

Consumer'sGuidetoCollisionRepairs

Consumer'sGuidetoEngineReplacement

Consumer'sGuidetoVehicleLeasing

Consumer'sGuidetoVehicleRestoration

BureauofRegulatoryServices MichiganDepartmentofState

P.O.Box30046 Lansing,MI48909-7546

Telephone:1-888-SOS-MICH (1-888-767-6424)

Fax:(517)373-8791

sos Clickon"OwningaVehicle"

Youshouldreceiveanoriginaltitleinabout30 days.Reviewitforaccuracy.Ifthereareerrors, contactyourlocalSecretaryofStateoffice.

Alwayskeepyourtitleinasafeplace.Donot storethetitleinyourvehicle.

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SOS-236(5/07).25,000;$1,783;$.07 PrintedunderauthorityofP.A.300of1949.

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