When shopping for a used car, the warranty is important. One La Mesa man found that out the hard way when his car broke down several weeks after he bought it from Carmax.
"While I was driving out to the desert I lost power," said Steve Hosmer. "They covered it. They took care of it. Sent it back to me and we didn’t have any more problems for a few more months."
Hosmer bought an CNA Insurance extended warranty with his 2012 Mercedes GL 350, and he was putting it to the test.
"It happened again and again and again," said Hosmer. "Over 2 years the car was in the shop 62 days."
The CNA warranty covered all of the repairs, but it was coming to an end.
"I was actually really concerned because the warranty was running out at the 75,000 mile mark and I knew we’d run out on this trip to Palm Springs," said Hosmer. "We were driving down the freeway when it just seized up and we coasted to the side of the freeway."
The car died just 30 miles under the warranty limit, so Hosmer took it in for repairs. This time CNA Insurance denied the repair and said he hadn't taken care of the car.
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"I couldn’t document one oil change at the exact time it needed an oil change," said Hosmer. "My heart fell through the floor. The bill they were submitting for a claim was a $30,000 engine replacement and there was no way I could pay for that."
The car was useless but the family was still making payments on it.
"We considered putting our house up for sale, what else could we do, just to try and work through the situation," said Hosmer.
Then he reached out to NBC 7 Responds. We got in touch with Carmax who reached out to Hosmer.
"They’re taking the car back and eliminating all that I owed on it," said Hosmer. "I almost cried for joy. It makes a significant difference for us and our family."
Carmax returned the $5,500 deposit and forgave the $15,000 lien.
"I had no hope this would get resolved and it did, thank you for solving this for us and our family," said Hosmer.
In a statement Carmax said:
"Mr. Hosmer’s current concerns appear to be with the extended service plan administered by CNA. CarMax is not a party to the plan and does not participate in any claims decisions.
However, Mr. Hosmer’s concerns are important to us and we have offered to buy back the vehicle by paying off the lien and returning the $5,500 the down payment. We’re glad to have offered this gesture of goodwill and understand that Mr. Hosmer is agreeable to the offer."
NBC 7 Responds also reached out to CNA Insurance. In a statement a spokesperson told NBC 7 that Hosmer's "most recent claim was denied because it did not qualify for coverage, related to the owner's responsibility to properly maintain the vehicle."
