When is a Rubicon not a Rubicon?

LibertyFever · **Posted:** Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:46 am

When is a Rubicon not a Rubicon? When you buy it from a shady car dealership :evil:

There's a thread going on on another Jeep forum about a fellow who bought an 05 LJ Rubicon.
http://nsjc.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=29366&page=1

It was advertised as a Rubicon, the VIN says its a Rubicon and there's a Rubicon sticker on the hood so it's a Rubicon right?
After making the purchase he looked under it to discover a stock Dana30 & 35 axle, no lockers. Now right away you have to say that the buyer apparently didn't look that closely at the vehicle and maybe forgot to test the lockers on the test drive. I'm not going to beat him up on that fact. However the dealership (a Hyundai dealership) refuses to acknowledge the problem and refuses a refund. Surely they must have tested the lockers.

If you read through the seven pages of responses you'll learn that the locker selection switches are present but simply go nowhere. Apparently this particular dealership buys and sells auction vehicles. Somebody along the way swapped out the Rubicon axles for cheaper ones and pocketed the difference.

Lawyers are now involved.

One a side note, I once saw a Rubicon Sport TJ for sale on-line. Somebody got the bright idea to buy a Rubicon sticker and slap it on their 4 cyl TJ :ROTFL:

At least on paper they didn't try to sell it as a Rubicon.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:51 am

Wow

What some people will do to make or save a buck :cry:

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:18 pm

didn't read the thread, but wondering if he confirmed what transfer case it has? I'd be checking that for sure too. Between the T-case and axles, someone probably pocketed about $2k selling them and swapping in the incorrect parts. Sad.

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:55 pm

A Hyundai dealership probably thought 'Rubicon' referred to the hood sticker

oddball · **Posted:** Thu Jan 21, 2010 8:21 pm

That would suck.

durangotang · **Posted:** Thu Jan 21, 2010 8:30 pm

Unfortunately, I think this guy is scroo'd... a dealership is only required to ensuire that a VIN matches, all title deviations are disclosed, and that said vehicle is compliant with Gov't safety regulations (airbags intact and whatnot). Buyer wanted a Rubicon, VIN and "as is" paperwork says he bought a Rubicon, dealer sold him what he wanted ... that's all the law is concerned with. The dealership can also claim that HE was the one who switched the axles... then it's just he said-she said with the paperwork backing the delership.

LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME regardless... I hope those 44's snap out on the trail for whoever swapped them :goink:

LibertyFever · **Posted:** Thu Jan 21, 2010 9:33 pm

durangotang wrote:

Unfortunately, I think this guy is scroo'd... a dealership is only required to ensuire that a VIN matches, all title deviations are disclosed, and that said vehicle is compliant with Gov't safety regulations (airbags intact and whatnot). Buyer wanted a Rubicon, VIN and "as is" paperwork says he bought a Rubicon, dealer sold him what he wanted ... that's all the law is concerned with. The dealership can also claim that HE was the one who switched the axles... then it's just he said-she said with the paperwork backing the delership.

LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME regardless... I hope those 44's snap out on the trail for whoever swapped them :goink:

Y'know you're probably right, the dealership will likely win that argument in court but in the court of public opinion they will lose. Word of mouth has already spread about this dealership and they will lose sales.

One good point mentioned has been the warranty. Surely there must be at least a 30 day warranty on the sale of a used vehicle unless there's a hidden clause in the fine print. The buyer should take the vehicle back to the dealership to get the "lockers" fixed

Just how do you fix something that isn't there?