So 2 weeks ago I purchased a 2008 Mazda 6i from a used car dealer. Everything seemed fine with it, and the price was pretty good, so we went with it. It had just been inspected right before it was sold to us.
Last week my dad noticed that the front passenger side tire was a different brand than the rest, and it seemed to be sitting weird. He took the car to the dealer with me and argued that having different brand tires on the same axel is unsafe and that they should switch the tires. The dealer said that there's nothing wrong with it as long as the size of the tire is the same, and they can't put new tires on every used car they sell. After some arguing, the dealer was so confident that the car was safe that he said "if you get it in writing from Mazda that this car is unsafe to drive, I'll buy the car back from you." We just decided to leave it since there were technically no problems driving the car so far.
However, a few days ago the CEL came on, and I took the car to Mazda to get it checked out. They said the CEL ran two codes, which were a faulty transmission (covered under warranty) and faulty EVAP pump (not covered, $500). They ordered a transmission and it hasn't come in yet. The guy said the EVAP pump doesn't affect anything aside from emissions, which would cause a failed inspection, so we didn't have that replaced since we still had one year to go til inspection.
Then, today, when we went to Sam's Club to get the front two tires replaced, the mechanics called us over and told us that the right passenger side tire (the non-matching one) was a directional tire and was put on the WRONG WAY. Also, the rear tires were down to 4/32nds, which would fail inspection and renders the car unsafe to drive. He said that Sam's Club can't issue any legal statement on the safety of the car, but Mazda can. We told them to put the original tires back on the way they were and are going to go get the car fully inspected by Mazda on Monday.
So, my question is, how much exactly do you think we can get out of this if I get a written statement from Mazda saying the car is unsafe to drive? The car has been driven about 1000 miles in the past 2 weeks since the purchase (the mechanic said 1000 miles should barely do anything to wear the tires, so it was likely they were at 4/32nds already). I plan to (hopefully) get the written statement from Mazda, and then go to the dealer and pretend I don't have anything against them and just ask for them to put in writing that they'll buy the car back if Mazda deems it unsafe, and then go from there.
So, do you think:
1. I'll get nothing. They sold the car and I can't do anything about it. They don't even have to follow their written agreement to buy the car back.
2. I can get them to at least pay for new tires.
3. I can get them to buy the car back and take my business elsewhere.
4. I can actually sue them for selling me a car that's unsafe and possibly illegal to drive, or get a settlement for more than the value of the car.
I dunno. The car is actually fine to drive in my opinion, and I don't mind paying for new tires on a used car, but I want to see what my maximum benefit from this situation is.