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Get a Free (not so) SuperGuarantee on Used Cars

The folks who bring you SuperPages (yellow pages) are now trying to help you buy a used car via their new site EveryCarListed.com . As an inducement, they promise you a free vehicle warranty with every qualified purchase:

The actual guarantee in most cases is for 90 days or 3000 miles, whichever comes first. It also only comes on cars under $60,000 and nine years old or less. But, you will likely have a costly surprise when you try to make your first claim:

*MOUSE PRINT:

“The Warranty is subject to a $100 deductible per service visit and a maximum liability for the life of the Service Contract of the trade in value of the vehicle you purchase or $3,000, whichever is less.” [See terms and conditions.]

Also, the warranty is not bumper to bumper, but only covers certain parts:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Engine, turbocharger, transmission, transfer case, and drive axle

There is a long list of exclusions (if you are lucky enough to find the actual contract), including one you might not expect on a used vehicle:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Particularly for a just-purchased used car, you don’t always know what’s wrong with it until after you drive it awhile. And a part rarely goes from being perfectly fine one day to being dead the next. So might those less obvious defects be excluded? One would hope that the company behind the service contract wouldn’t use that provision or others to weasel out of paying for particular repairs.

So what company backs up this guarantee? Warrantech. Never heard of them? You should have. The Better Business Bureau in Texas where the company is headquartered certain has, and has given the company its lowest rating.

*MOUSE PRINT:

“The majority of Warrantech automobile warranty complaints center on deceptive and ambiguous language in the contract and refusal to pay valid claims. ” See full BBB report.

Sometimes, you get what you pay for. But you really have nothing to lose other than your “peace of mind” in being protected should you have a claim.

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The $45 Dishwasher Deal of a Lifetime

Last week, nine states kicked off their “cash for clunker appliances” programs whereby purchasers of certain new energy efficient major appliances could qualify for hefty state rebates funded by federal stimulus dollars.

No program was more generous than the $250 rebate offered by Massachusetts for dishwashers. Of course, there were a lot of fine print requirements.

*MOUSE PRINT:

— Only certain Energy Star models on the state list qualified;
— Only certain retailers were authorized;
— Only purchases between April 22 – May 5 qualified;
— Only (lucky) consumers who received a numbered “rebate reservation” would get money back;

At the appointed hour of 10am on April 22, the phone lines and the website to obtain “rebate reservations” went live, for about five seconds, if that. Immediately, no one could get through by telephone, and the website crashed. [Hint to other states: Do not ever run a program in the manner that Massachusetts did.]

Despite two hours of frustrating redialing and reloading of webpages, some 26,000 Massachusetts residents obtained rebate forms, and 13,000 more were put on a waiting list. All others were turned away.

MrConsumer lost out despite 70 phone calls and innumerable attempts to load the rebate site. But, he was fortunate to make it to the waiting list, because in a move to quell the collective public outrage, the Governor granted wait list people full access to their rebates immediately.

So what kind of deal did MrConsumer strike for his new $600 Maytag dishwasher pictured above at Home Depot?

*MOUSE PRINT:

By using the fine print of store policies, advertised sales, unadvertised rebates, and free delivery, it became the deal of a lifetime.

Now, with fingers crossed, the dishwasher should only clean dishes…

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1000s of Online Shoppers Sold their Souls to Sneaky Store

We have preached for years that you have to read the fine print in advertising, on product labels, and in contracts or you could get snookered.

Well, some 7,500 online shoppers earlier this month didn’t heed that advice and unwittingly sold their souls to a British computer game seller. How could that happen? The company buried this new clause in their terms and conditions:

*MOUSE PRINT:

“By placing an order via this Web site on the first day of the fourth month of the year 2010 Anno Domini, you agree to grant Us a non transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, your immortal soul. Should We wish to exercise this option, you agree to surrender your immortal soul, and any claim you may have on it, within 5 (five) working days of receiving written notification from gamesation.co.uk or one of its duly authorised minions.”

But, being the consumer-conscious company that they are, Game Station provided a convenient opt-out provision:

*MOUSE PRINT:

“If you a) do not believe you have an immortal soul, b) have already given it to another party, or c) do not wish to grant Us such a license, please click the link below to nullify this sub-clause and proceed with your transaction.”

How many people opted out? A mere 12%. Pretty sad commentary on the number of people who actually read the fine print on websites.

The company, incidentally, is returning all the souls to their rightful owners, since this was an April Fool’s joke.

Thanks to Randy C. for submitting this story idea. You can read more about it here.