You go to the dealership and buy a new car, and you’re very excited about this purchase. At least, you’re excited until you come out into the driveway the next day and see a small pool of oil underneath the car.
It doesn’t take you long to realize that the car is leaking oil at a slow rate. It wasn’t obvious at the dealership, but it is now that the vehicle has been sitting in one place for the last 24 hours. But should this ever happen with a new vehicle?
Understanding why oil leaks happen
Oil leaks can happen for a lot of different reasons, and they’re fairly common on used cars and older vehicles. Some of the reasons that experts in the automotive industry give for these oil leaks include the following:
- Degraded engine gaskets
- Deteriorated valve cover gaskets
- Worn-out seals
As you can see from these issues, none of them should be present in a brand new vehicle. If your car were 10 years old, you would understand that wear and tear can take a toll and that oil leaks may develop. But your car is just a few days old, and you certainly expect it to run for longer than that before you need to get any of those gaskets or seals replaced.
An oil leak on its own may not feel like a huge issue, but seeing that it’s happening in a brand new car could raise questions about the quality of that vehicle. Do you have a lemon? Are you just going to see a lot of other issues once you get this fixed? If it feels like this is an endless problem or the start of an expensive issue, be sure you understand your legal options.