NHTSA Complaint #10070412 — 2002 MITSUBISHI LANCER

JUNE 17, 2003 TO: PERUZZI MITSUBISHI ATTENTION: [XXX] 165 LINCOLN HWY FAIRLESS HILLS, PA 19030 DEAR [XXX], WE PURCHASED A MITSUBISHI LANCER IN SEPTEMBER 2002 FROM PERUZZI MITSUBISHI, LOCATED AT 165 LINCOLN HWY, FAIRLESS HILLS, PA 19030. AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE THE VEHICLE HAD 2,074 MILES ON IT. WHEN I ASKED, THE SALESMAN TOLD US THAT THE VEHICLE WAS BRAND NEW AND THE MILES WERE FROM USING THE CAR AT THE DEALERSHIP AS A DEMONSTRATION CAR. SINCE THEN THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN BACK TO THE DEALER THREE SEPARATE TIMES FOR SERVICE. IT WAS DRIVEN IN ON ONE OCCASION AND TOWED IN TWICE. THE DATES OF SERVICE ARE AS FOLLOWS 02/25/03, 06/09/03 AND 06/17/03. THE PROBLEM HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE SAME, THE CAR STALLS OUT, THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND IT WILL NOT START AGAIN. THIS VEHICLE HAS STALLED SEVERAL TIMES IN TRAFFIC, CAUSING MY FIANCE TO FEAR DRIVING IT. ALSO, BETWEEN OIL CHANGES (EVERY 3,000 MILES) THE CAR LOOSES BETWEEN ONE AND ONE HALF QUARTS OF OIL. WHEN I ASKED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO CHECK THIS PROBLEM I WAS TOLD, ALL THREE TIMES, THAT THIS IS NORMAL OIL LOSS. TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE THEY HAVE STILL NOT CHECKED FOR OIL LEAKS. ON 6/18/2003, AFTER BEING TOLD BY THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE, I DECIDED TO CHECK INTO THE VEHICLE'S HISTORY. I USED CARFAX.COM AND FOUND SOME VERY DISTURBING NEWS. MY VEHICLE HAS HAD AT LEAST THREE PREVIOUS OWNERS AND IS NOT THE BRAND NEW CAR I WAS LEAD TO BELIEVE. IT STARTED OUT IN PLEASANTVILLE NJ, AND THEN IT WAS REGISTERED IN ARIZONA, WHERE IT WAS SOLD AT AUCTION WITH 1,902 MILES ON IT AND FINALLY ENDED UP AT PERUZZI MITSUBISHI, WHERE WE PURCHASED IT. I FEEL THAT THIS VEHICLE WAS SOLD TO US UNDER FALSE PRETENSES, AND THAT PERUZZI MITSUBISHI IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EITHER REPLACING THE VEHICLE WITH A BRAND NEW ONE OR GIVING US OUR MONEY BACK. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP IN RESOLVING THIS MATTER AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. SINCERELY, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR