Complaint Review: Duke Automotive Sales And Leasing

This is a rebuttal to Joe in Tallahassee's comment's. He was correct in stating that we started off on the right foot. I received a sales call just the week of Thanksgiving on a 2005 Toyota 4-runner we had for sale. He responded to our ad because the price was well below retail and that price he could afford. We spoke on several occasions and at my advise he set up an appointment to have the vehicle checked out at the local Toyota dealership, Milton Ruben Toyota. I had the vehicle taken there for him and after they performed a very thorough inspection, which he paid for, he was convinced this was the one he wanted. He told me his wife was sick and if we could meet him half-way he would be glad to pay us for our time. I told him it was standard procedure to collect the fund's before the unit left the premises and he told me he would have his bank overnight the fund's. When we received the check and made sure the fund's were sufficient, it was the day before Thanksgiving and our delivery truck driver was off. I told Joe that it could be the first of the next week and that is when the profanity hit! I tried the best I could to resolve the situation but when someone talks to you using the profanity he was using, which is recorded, it does not help you get things done. I have no wish to help someone who treat's me in this manner and I am sure whoever is reading this will understand. Even after being threatened, we hired a driver to meet him where he wanted! He has stated that the warranty is not worth the paper it is written on, but the one complaint he has is plainly not a warranty issue, which he signed after he saw and inspected the car personally. So he paid a franchise Toyota dealer to inspect it and then he inspected it before he signed his paperwork. Million dollar airplane's fall out of the sky every day, some people just live for conflict. I sold over 250 car's last year and have plenty of Thank You card's from great, satisfied customer's. I guess there is always that ONE! Respectfully submitted, Mike Davis.

Yes I had the same response from MIKE DAVIS. The same "There is no way in Hell" attitude. BEWARE of this shoddy DEALERSHIP.  I just bought a vehicle less than 3 weeks ago, there are major things wrong, they will not assist me. The 3 month warranty is not worth the paper it is written on. How do you know if a warranty is good or not? Well you know if the company HONORS it or not. If this company would fix what they said they would I would not be here telling the world how poor they are.

If you bothered to read Tim Duke's response to that poor couple he swindled, he says that he is happy they pursued justice with him, because he got more business from their grief. Tim was happy that the people that trusted him lost. Wow, way to go Duke Autuomotive.

We recently purchased a car from Tim Duke, and are extremely happy with the after-sales experience. Everyone from the salespeople to the mechanics at the shop have been polite and helpful.

Three months after purchasing the car, it was caught out in a heavy rain and the interior floorboards were flooded the next morning. I took the car in to see if they could help me figure out how this could be happening, and they sent it to the shop. I got it back a few days later, and was told the problem had been fixed. Three days later, more rain and more water on the floorboards.

I took the car back that day, and Tim came out to look at it himself. I have a hard time believing Steve saying that Tim said "There is no way in hell I would refund your money". He wanted to make it right and was in no way defensive or obnoxious. Sure, it was annoying to have this problem, but a tricky one to solve so I had no reason to get pushy (nor did I ever need to).

We researched prices and looked at many cars, and I feel a little bad that in the end, Tim probably took a pretty good hit on the sale of this car after all was said and done. Not only would I recommend them to my friends and family, if I am in need of another used car in the future, they will be my first choice.

Chris
Evans, GA

Believe the victim of this story; I'm positive what they're doing is wrong.
I say this because had I not researched the company to find more info, I would've been in this same situation.

It begins as what can seem as your ideal car. Which includes a test drive (by yourself) in a nice body, ok interior and averagely mile vehicle (not bad for the year /price listing). After which, the sweet deal is given. When you return from your drive, you will walk up the steps open the glass door to find the salesman sitting at their desk conversating amongst themselves inside their well air conditioned building.

You will complete needed info, agree on a price for a down payment (which you may split into half-in my case $3000) and even you don't have the best credit, they will work with you. If there are any concerns you may have involving your test drive or the interior/exterior condition of the vehicle, a negotiation of lower the price of the entire vehicle will come into play. After you leave with high expectations, the next day you will get a call from a sales representative who tells you that the bank will approve you ONLY WITH a higher down payment -$1500-2000 MORE!!!

In my situation my common sense alarm went off immediately, and I replied that the down payment amount that they, (the bank), was asking was half the amount of the car. Fueled with hopes of getting a reliable and dependable car, I mentioned the excitement of finding my dream car for a really good price, but was concerned about the really large down payment the bank was asking-or were they? Shortly after, my relative came across a Rip Off report online from a previous consumer of Duke Automotive with a similar situation to mine. My heart changed instantly and fell out of love with the car like a one time love affair.

When I was contacted the following day with further questions of my decision on purchasing the vehicle, I immediately stated what I'd come to fine as most displeasing as a hopeful buyer-despite the amount I was actually considering. I was told that if I had read a little further down, I would have seen that the judge dismissed the lawsuit against the company. WOW-some comfort.

It's a shame what some people will do for a dollar. I find it very intimidating to go to other pre-owned dealers for concern they will put me in a dream car one day and the same night I will be beside the road in a broken down frightening dream car. I feel had I not used valuable resources with good ol'fashion common sense I would've been sucked into this same web of deceit.


It pays to do your research first!!!

I have bought 2 vehicles from Tim Duke over the past 4 years and have been very happy with my purchases. I am a 39 year old married man and have had many experiences dealing with car salesman. When I first met Tim Duke I expected more of the same but was pleasantly surprised at how my wife and I were treated. Tim took the time to find out what we wanted and what we wanted to pay. It took him over 6 weeks to find the vehicle that would meet our requirements and price range. Tim called me several times a week about vehicles and never pressured me into buying something I did not want.

I was so impressed with Tim that 2 years after buying my first vehicle I went back and bought a truck for myself. I walked in told him what I wanted and he went and found it. I also have sent family and friends to him and they have always commented on how well they were treated. I do understand that things can happen and it is unfortunate that Steve had this experience but I am sure Tim did everything he could to make it right.

Duke Automotive Sales & Leasing, Inc has been in business for 3 generations and over 50 years. We are a Carfax Certifed dealer. We provide a 90 day/ 4500 mile warranty on every car sold that quailifies- has to have less than 125000 miles. We are in the business of selling quaility certified previously owned automobiles. We have the cleanest, lowest mileage cars in the C.S.R.A.. We only sell Carfax Certified cars. There are no sales people on comission. We will give you our best price, highest possible trade in for your car, and the lowest interest rate that the customer quailifies for. Without the run around or the BS.

Duke automotive is an upstanding member of the BBB reliability program. We stirve for excellent customer service. Or reputation is on the line with ever transaction, and we will do everything in our power to make your car buying experience a pleasurable one! We will never use stong arm tactics, or pressure anyone into doing something that the do not want to do. Duke automotive welcomes inspections from third parties technicians to ensure the customer is satisfied with the automobile before the sell. Our goal is to have 100% satisfaction from start to finish!

I have read the report filed by Steve, and I do know this person. He did file a lawsuit in the court of law, and his complaint is not valid- that is the real reason why Steve and his family lost their case. I tried repeatedly to assist this family in anyway that I could. Steve is not a reasonable person, his complaint is simply not true. My company has never sold engines to cars on Ebay or any place else. However, we have purchased thousands of parts via the internet.

Carfax is not bogus as this report claims. Carfax certified cars are backed by a Carfax $5000 gaurantee. Carfax reports are the industry leaders in the automotive background reporting business. I want to make perfectly clear that Steve and his family had a 90 day/ 4500 mile warranty on this Camry. This family choose NOT to have the warranty company inspect/ validate their claim. Nor would they allow me, or anyone of my ASE certified technicians to inspect this automobile. However, I did call the previous original owner who did state that the engine on this Camry was never changed out as Steve has stated.

I also called the service director for the Toyota dealership that had serviced this car since it was new, and again I got the same information- this car never had an engine replaced by this dealer. So, the only conclusion we could come to was that Steve was incorrect in his opinion. In court, Steve's wife produced a receipt from our local Toyota dealer stating that the engines serial number was different from the cars serial number; however, I was never permitted to inspect this car to validate this claim. If infact the engine was changed, the servicing dealer, the previous owner, and Duke automotive absolutely had no prior knowledge of this happening.

I tried to reason with Steve and his family, but they were convinced that Duke automotive changed out this engine and replaced it with one from a Toyota Celica with over 200000 miles. We have never put an engine in a car that had 200000 miles on it, nor have we ever changed out a low mileage engine for a high mileage engine to sell on Ebay or any place else. We have never sold an engine ever!! And, an engine from a different year model Toyota Celica would not work in this year Camry, the car's computer would prevent this car from running properly. Steve had come to our car lot and inspected this car before his wife came in on a Saturday to finalize the deal.

Steve said he had some indepth car repair knowledge, and he spoke very intelligently about the overall mechanics and workings about this Camry. He also stated that he had peviously had some technician experience, so I believe he is very knowledgeable about this Camrys overall condition before he made the deal. He checked the car twice from top to bottom. Our own service facility inspected this car, and we believe that this car was in very good condition for the year model. Having said that, Steve could have exercised his warranty rights and had his engine repaired/ repalced free of charge. Instead Steve and his family choose to file suit against my company- the first and only time we have ever had to answer a law suit in the court of law EVER!

Duke automotive won this lawsuit on the based on the facts and the findings of the judge and the court of law. We won because we were right, and Steve and his family were wrong. The judge took approx. 2 weeks to pass judgement in this case. I assume they checked the facts were provided by Duke automotive, as well as, Steve's facts and passed judgement on the evidence. It is our sole intention to try to satisfy Steve and his family, but they are the type of people that no one can please. I know I have tried. Instead, Steve and his family are trying to spoil the excellent reputation the Duke family has built over 50 years by participating in internet websites such as this one.

We have received 2 inquiries from potential customers about Steve's report, and I am proud to say both of these people were convinced that we did the right thing- they both bought cars. So, Steve and his family have actually helped my business by filling this report, not hurt us. Which I believe is Steve's intention. He has even sent my threatening emails stating that he was going to expose my business. I bet he never thought he would actually be helping us. I wish we could have come to an amicable solution for both parties. We are honest, reasonable people who truly cares about our customers, and the cars they buy. We would never intentionally hurt anyone. Our business code of ethics are solid, and Steve and his family could never do anything to change that.

If you are a potential customer researching Duke automotive please visit our website at dukeautomotive.com, email me at timduke53@hotmail.com or call me directly at 706-868-8868. I will be happy to answer any of your questions personally. Thank you for reading my rebuttal.

Tim Duke
President
Duke Automotive Sales & Leasing, Inc. and
Tim Duke Automotive Repair and Tire Center, Inc.

Used car dealers buy most of their cars at auction or from new car dealers who offer them trade ins. You did buy the car as-is but in many states there is a 15 day
implied warranty. There is every possibility that Duke did not do the engine swap and did not know about it. The "101 point inspection " may not have included researching engine numbers.