Ford, Honda, GM part of settlement that could mean hundreds of dollars for you

If you bought or leased a new car during the early 2000s, you could be due hundreds of dollars, thanks to a class action lawsuit settlement involving most major car makers.

But you have to file by February.

It claims that the makers and the Canadian Automobile Dealer Association kept cheaper cars from being shipped to the United States.

Consumers then allegedly paid more for their cars than they should have, the suit states.

Scott Hardy, with Topclassactions.com , says cars with the higher price tags were bought or leased between January 2001 and April, 30 2003.

You can also file claims at the official site for this class action settlement: http://www.canadianexportantitrust.com/

The number of claims dictates how much money each filer will get.

Hardy says it could be worth hundreds of dollars each.

Topclassactions.com has a list of the details including the manufacturers involved.