Joshua Schipper says his car is too dangerous to drive.
He bought his 2006 Toyota Prius in 2009 with a salvage title at 35,000 miles and later passed it on to his teenage daughter.
But then a problem arose.
The brakes don’t stop the car, at least not right away.
The ABS light is on and emits a beeping sound.
“I gave my daughter this car so she can go back and forth to school, take care of her brother and the other kids and make sure everyone gets back and forth from school and I can’t have them use the car because it’s not safe to drive anymore," Schipper said.
Schipper explained to us his car was also recalled.
But when he took it to the Toyota dealership in Stockton to be repaired, he was turned down.
So what does the Stockton Toyota dealership say?
Number one, the car has not been recalled.
We confirmed that with the Prius VIN number which can be checked on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.
But, the car does fall under the company’s extended Warranty Enhancement Program.
So does Shipper’s car qualify?
After contacting Toyota, the company told us “titles labeled as Salvaged, Scrapped or Dismantled are not covered with the exception of applicable emissions warranties and safety recalls.”
So Schipper is out of luck.
“If you made something unsafe you should take care of it," Schipper said.
So let’s say you have a salvage title under a government recall.
Is the manufacturer obligated to fix it?
Well, yes and no.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “vehicles with salvaged titles are not excluded from recall campaigns.” However, there may be cases where the safety recall is quote “not applicable to the salvaged vehicle and the manufacturer would not have an obligation to remedy the vehicle.”
Bottom line, buyer beware.
Salvaged vehicles could be a good deal, but in the recall department, you could be stuck paying for the repair yourself.
