5827 replies to this topic

[Pedro Cerrano]

Yes it was the Toyota one. Bought a used car there recently they — literally — lied to my face. Fun stuff

 

Bad gets worse

 

Never EVER buy a car from these people.  EEEEEVER

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Bad gets worse

Never EVER buy a car from these people. EEEEEVER

Spill the beans. Dont have to name names but people should know exactly how shady car dealerships can be

[JeremyStrain]

Bad gets worse

 

Never EVER buy a car from these people.  EEEEEVER

It's gotten really bad over the past year or two. Like back to things in the 80's with the stereotypes. All about jacking prices up. Like everything these greedy companies trying to absolutely rip every dollar they can from us.

 

For a while it was, we won't make money on the new stuff, lets get our money on the financing. We'll make money on trades and the used sales. Now it's lets make money on EVERYTHING!!!

[Pedro Cerrano]

Ok.  Here is the story -- I tried to condense it as much as possible, but it's still rather lengthy.

 

I purchased the car in mid December 2023.  With it, I received a warranty package from a company called Zurich.  It was really the perfect car for me -- I did some research, it was a fair price, got good financing etc.  Before the papers were signed the main manager in the used car office told me "by the way, the back up camera display doesn't work, it's fine, just wait 30 days and bring it back here and we can fix it for free under the warranty"  RIGHT AWAY my BS detector went off and I was THIS close to walking away.  I didn't because a) I did like this car, b) I had already been at the dealership for hours and was at the 1-yard line (all the financing paperwork etc was done) and c) my current car, with 190k miles, was basically about to blow up -- I needed a car

 

So I bought the car.  And everything that follows is bad....

 

About two weeks after I bought the car, things started to happen.  The low tire pressure lights came on, the "maintenance needed" light came on, the keyless entry stopped working.  I have a tire inflator so I would, once or twice, refill the tire(s) and go along my merry way.  Then one day I woke up and went outside and the front left tire was completely deflated.  I filled it up and immediately drove to the dealership to try to get some answers.

 

I arrive, and the same guy that sold me the car greets me with the same smile.  I inform him of what was going on and he tells me that he can't help me because the guy who manages the repair shop is on vacation.  I proceed to ask "well, does the repair shop just stop working when the manager isn't in town?"  "Who is the manager's immediate subordinate?" etc etc.  I am not raising my voice but I clearly sound agitated. 

 

At this point, the used car manager, the same guy who told me to "bring the car back in 30 days" comes out of his office and gets an attitude.  "You can't just drive in here, you need to call" "If the tires were bad why didn't you call, driving on them sounds dangerous" etc 

 

I explain that I was intending to wait the 30 days as he told me, bring the car in, get the screen fixed and the other stuff but, when the front tire was completely deflated, decided to drive up and see what was going on.

 

"We can't help you."

 

As some of you know I am an attorney -- I know very little about lemon laws but I know auto contracts and I know that, prior to 30 days, you can fairily easily get out of a car contract.  I explain this.  Suddenly they're able to take the car into the stop and check everything out.  I wait an hour or so, car comes back out "the tires were fine, no leaks" "Oh, ok, well why do they keep deflating" "Not sure but we put new ones on" "What about the check engine light" "You needed oil, we replaced that"

 

So, they sold me a car with bad tires and old oil.  Lovely.

 

I say, thanks, I'll be back in 30 days to get the screen fixed.

 

"We can't do that.  This is a Toyota service shop, you need to go to an Acura dealer and they will fix it under the warranty"

 

At this point I am so dumbfounded I leave.  The guy literally lied to my face when I bought the car.

 

BORED YET?

 

Two days ago, I am driving along and I hear a loud HISS.  My tire pressure light comes on and the front left tire is completely flat.  Hole in the sidewall.  I call GEICO, they send a tow truck (there was no spare in the car they sold me) and I go to the local repair shop.  I give him my warranty info and he says they will contact them about covering the damage.

 

Obviously they don't (cover tires).

 

I go to pick the car up, pay the money owed and the manager at the shop tells me "by the way, our mechanic when he was driving the car to make sure the tire was good heard a noise from the right front side.  He thinks something in the suspension is about to blow up"  Lovely.  "Will the warranty cover that?"  "Probably, I'd call them if I were you"

 

I call the warranty company this morning.  The guy on the line tells me that my plan was opened on the day I bought the car and then canceled 3 days later?  WTF?  I ask the guy what to do next and he tells me "Call the dealership and talk to the finance guy about what happened, if they made a mistake they can reactivate your plan and your plan SHOULD cover the suspension issue and we can pay $40/day for a rental.

 

I've called Antwerpen 3 times today, and have left 3 voice mails -- haven't received a call back.  

 

PS, not for nothing, but I've also called 4 Acura dealerships about replacing the screen and none of them have called me back.

 

IN SUM:

 

Times I was definitely lied to:

 

-We can fix the screen after 30 days

-The tires were fine

-We can't help you because the repair shop manager is out of town

-We called the warranty company and your plan doesn't cover tires (this is definitely a lie by the dude at the repair shop because, as I explained, according to the warranty company, I no longer have an active plan

 

Times I might have been lied to:

-They told me I had a warranty and apparently I don't.  No idea what happened here, could be a harmless error, but I can't get the guy on the phone to save my life.

 

-I'm not fully convinced something in the suspension is "about to blow up" -- the repair shop guy could just as easily be a liar as the dealership

 

-I'm also not fully convinced this warranty company will cover ANYTHING if I "reactivate" the policy.  Something about a "pre-existing condition" sounds about right.

 

 

Anyway, that's basically the story.  My biggest mistake was buying the car when most of my instincts told me to walk away and then also not trying to get the contract rescinded once I went back to the dealership the first time.

 

This is Antwerpen in Clarksville.  I have no idea if other places are this bad.  I've bought two other cars in my lifetime without a hitch so I am guessing they're just not ethical business people.

 

Do not do business with them.

 

Go O's.

[Nigel Tufnel]

Any chance that the suspension issues are causing the tires to rub against the body, and that's what's causing the tire deflation (I know nothing about cars, btw).

[Pedro Cerrano]

Any chance that the suspension issues are causing the tires to rub against the body, and that's what's causing the tire deflation (I know nothing about cars, btw).

 

There's a good chance I know less about cars than you do lol.

 

No idea.

[Mackus]

Post your review on Google? They are certainly unethical and lazy, but they folded when you threatened them earlier, maybe a bad review will get them to act. Tell them you'll take it down if they make you whole (then don't).

Sorry for your troubles. Trust that instinct next time. It sucks needing to buy a car under duress, but it's usually cheaper in the long run to find a stopgap (rental?) for a short time and have time to be comfortable with your see decision.

[russsnyder]

That's a disturbing story.

I haven't purchased very many cars from dealerships in my lifetime, howwever, I don't know of one that would have sent the car on the road with defective equipment. I recall one dealership asking me to bring a pristine car back during the next week so that it could be detailed. I made the purchase on a Saturday.

It's unbelievable that when you showed up with your car they told you that you should have called first. What piss poor service from people who are barely human beings.

While I am truly sorry you are having to deal with this BS, I appreciate your posting the story. I can assure you I won't step foot in that dealership.