Lazy car dealership refuses to fix malfunctioning vehicle, owner sells it back to them to prove a point: 'Since there's nothing wrong with it you can buy it'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jul 8, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

There is nothing more frustrating than needing someone to fix a problem for you and not being taken seriously. Here, we have a car owner whose vehicle continued to send error codes and malfunction frequently. Obviously, it was a serious enough situation to need to go to the dealership so that it wouldn't get any worse and potentially cause an accident. 

After the first visit, the folks at the dealership insisted that they had fixed the problem. Not long afterwards, the car began sending the same error codes as before. Clearly, it was not fixed, and the owner had the error codes to prove it. What makes this story even more infuriating is that the owner went through this whole process a second time. They took the vehicle to the dealership, the dealership called back to say it was all fixed and ready for pickup, and the car began malfunctioning all over again. 

Keep scrolling below to see how this owner stood up for herself despite the lazy folks she was dealing with!

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    Cheezburger Image 10526735104
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • The owner had an epiphany that if these guys believed her car was in tip-top shape for her to use, then perhaps she should consider selling it back to the dealership to assess whether or not it was in tip-top shape for them. Of course, it was not, and that only further proved the author's point!

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    My SUV was throwing error codes, so we took it to the dealership to have them look at it.
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    They informed us that the computer just needed a reset and everything was good.
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    We didn't believe them, so when we went to pick it up my husband drove it around the parking lot and just as we suspected it was
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    driving awful and now making a horrible noise. So we went back inside and told them they're wrong and to fix it properly.
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  • 06
    Several days later they called us back to say that they figured it out and it was definitely fixed now. Something to do with the transfer
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    case, and a $2,000 bill later we're told it's fixed and we won't have any further issues. Great, I drive it away and I get error codes again.
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    By this point we're beyond frustrated because this vehicle just keeps costing us money and is being nothing but issues for
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    the past year or so. So we take it to the dealership and tell them we'd like to sell it.
    via Apprehensive-Net7642
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    The lady evaluating it asks us if there's anything wrong with it and I inform her that I just picked it up from your service department earlier today and they told us that it works perfectly!
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    She takes the keys and goes out to look at it, comes back in and asks about flashing lights and some weird things. We agree with her and let her in on the story.
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    We walk over to the service desk and inform them that their sales department won't buy it because there's something wrong with
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    it, so why does the service department keep telling us that there's nothing wrong with it? He went so red and immediately went to speak with his manager.
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    Cheezburger Image 10526735360
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 15
    They ended up having to call the vehicle engineers to figure out how to fix it and we only had to pay cost on the part that apparently what would actually fix
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    it. It was something to do with a computer something that needs replacing after the transfer case goes. I
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    can't say for certain if it was finally fixed or not because the day I picked it up I traded it in for a different make.
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    -King_Slacker. Sounds like it might've been a.. Jeep?
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    Lisa85603. Gotta love auto dealers. I had a Highlander Hybrid, if I didn't drive it for
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  • 20
    3-4 days the starting battery would di. Took it to the dealer we bought it from they said there was no problem with the car or the battery.
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  • 21
    We played this game for months until we finally traded it in. Right after we traded it in
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  • 22
    I read about a switch that would supposedly disconnect the starter battery then toggle to reconnect
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    it. I went back to the dealer, asked a salesman to see the old car which was sitting on their lot for sale. No
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    switch, and since the car had been there for a week or so it wouldn't start.
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    The salesman said seems like your car has a problem. I smiled and said not my car, guess it is the dealer's problem.
    via Apprehensive-Net7642

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malicious compliance car cars Car Dealership entitled people karma mildly infuriating workplace malicious compliance entitled people
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