NEWS-06
serious safety issues like defective Takata airbags, but what most people
don`t know is many used cars for sale may have defects that have not been
fixed and it`s legal for dealers to sell them to you unprepared.>
would tell us about used cars for sale with unprepared safety defects.>
ELAINE QUIJANO: We`ve reported extensively on vehicles that have been recalled for serious safety issues like defective Takata airbags, but what most people don`t know is many used cars for sale may have defects that have not been fixed and it`s legal for dealers to sell them to you unrepaired. Anna Werner has been looking into this.
(Begin VT)
ANNA WERNER: We went undercover shopping in New Jersey to see what sales people would tell us about used cars for sale with unrepaired safety defects.
MAN: All of our cars go through high inspection.
ANNA WERNER: Take this BMW X5 at Premier Auto Group that the government says has a defective airbag. Yet manager Naji told us--
NAJI: I don`t think the X5 have this problem.
ANNA WERNER: Same issue for this 2012 Acura TL at Penske Acura. But salesperson Nicole told us--
NICOLE: We`re-- we`re a corporate complex, so we-- we won`t sell anything that`s going to give us a bad reputation.
ANNA WERNER: A salesman at this auto lender`s named Chris admitted his dealership sells cars with the airbag defect but said not to worry.
CHRIS: There`s only like two or three people killed by it but they don`t even know what`s causing it.
ANNA WERNER: That`s wrong. At least eleven people have died due to those airbags. At dealerships around the country we found used cars for sale with recalls for serious safety defects ranging from the airbags to faulty ignitions to rollaway hazards but there is no federal law that requires used car dealers to inform buyers of those recalls.
CLARENCE DITLOW: It leaves the consumer between a rock and a hard place.
ANNA WERNER: Auto safety advocate Clarence Ditlow watched our video.
CLARENCE DITLOW: You should be able to buy a car knowing that all safety recalls have been taken care of.
ANNA WERNER: So we went back to the dealerships where we shopped undercover like the Acura dealership where we asked salesperson Nicole--
Did you know that this car has an open airbag recall?
NICOLE: I did not.
ANNA WERNER: Should that car be out there?
NICOLE: No, it should not if it does.
ANNA WERNER: That dealership later told us it was a mistake, and they had pulled the car from the lot. Other dealers told us they do disclose recalls as part of the sales process. Auto Lenders corporate told us they ".share the vehicle`s Carfax report--which includes.recall information--with all buyers."
Is that enough?
CLARENCE DITLOW: No, it`s not. They`re driving their car off the lot with a safety defect. And by definition, a safety defect presents an unreasonable risk of death, crash, or injury.
ANNA WERNER: And the manager at Premier Auto Group, he said he discloses recalls, too, but then sells the cars.
Do you feel like they`re safe with that recall?
NAJI: They`re not safe, but I mean it`s BMW. You have to go to BMW and ask them how they let these cars stay on the road.
(End VT)
ANNA WERNER: All those dealers told us later that had we gone further in the buying process, they would have disclosed those safety recalls. A major used car dealership association told us a new law won`t solve the problem that it`s auto manufacturers and the government who should take responsibility. You can find out if the car you`re looking at has a safety recall by going to SaferCar.gov and looking up the VIN number.
ELAINE QUIJANO: Important information. Anna Werner, thank you.
When we come back, basketball fans burn jerseys after a top star made a shocking announcement.
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ELAINE QUIJANO: A NASA spacecraft is about to have a close encounter with the biggest planet in our solar system. Juno is speeding toward Jupiter at one hundred sixty-five thousand miles an hour. Later tonight, it will fire its main rocket to slow itself down and slip into orbit so it can study the planet`s composition and, eventually, send back photos.
One of the NBA`s best players delivered a Fourth of July bombshell. Former MVP Kevin Durant said he is leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors, a team already packed with superstars, including Steph Curry. Oklahoma City fans aren`t taking this well. One blew up a Durant jersey; others set them on fire.
It was all about baseball at Fort Bragg last night as the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins played the first professional game at an active military base. Major League Baseball built the ballpark in just a few months. Players signed autographs, there was a military flyover. The Marlins won the Fort Bragg-ing rights with a five-two win.
Our nation is mourning a military hero from another era this Fourth of July. Roscoe Brown, a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, died over the weekend. One of the first African-American pilots, Brown earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and went on to become a professor and community college president. Roscoe Brown was ninety-four.
Next, most teachers would have quit after dodging bullets but that only made this teacher more committed.
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