Print the value of index0
Franklin Pontiac Buick GMC Fraudulent practices, theft, broken promises, and downright liars Franklin Tennessee
I recently went to this dealership and saw a vehicle I had wanted to purchase there. I was immediately greeted by a salesman on the lot and I was told by the salesman the vehicle passed a full safety inspection and checked out fine, and he let me do a quick test drive. I was getting a fairly good deal on the vehicle which I was happy about and did not do a very good job of looking over the vehicle as I mistakenly gave faith to what the salesman told me about the vehicle passing the inspections. I signed the contract papers, which also included a manditory arbitration agreement, which I regret now very much.
Looking back I should have realized if the dealership was forcing its customers to sign this agreement to throw away our rights to pursue them in court if something were to happen, I should have ripped the contract up right there.
I drove the vehicle home and parked it. The next day I try to back out of my driveway and the vehicle will not go in reverse. I also found the rear tires to be completely bald as well as a long list of other major components on the vehicle that did not function. I brought this to the dealerships attention and was basically told tough luck you bought it as is. The rear tires I hadnt noticed were bald because of the wet tire spray they put on so I hadnt looked at them good enough, and the transmission I never got to test in reverse because the salesman asked me to get out of the car so he could park it himself.
I asked them for a copy of the safety inspection they said they ran and was ignored, or told I would receive a call back which would never come. I later got them to admit there was never a safety inspection on the vehicle and they never even looked at it prior to placing it on their lot for sale. All they did was spray the tires with the wet tire gloss.
I asked them for my money back or to repair the vehicle and they refused. They only offered to sell me another vehicle they had on the lot which would cost over TWICE as much. That was the only offer made to me.
The dealer committed fraud by selling me this vehicle. The dealer also never made a buyers guide window sticker for the vehicle and they claim its because they were going to auction it later on so they didnt need to. I know this is a $11,000 FTC violation and is required on all used vehicles placed on the lot for sale regardless of them stating they were going to auction it. It was on the lot displayed for sale, therefore it was a requirement to have the buyers guide.
The dealer listed my vehicle wrong on the sales contract as selling me, strangely enough a van instead of the 2 door sedan car I bought.
The dealer also sold me a theft deterrent warranty for $300 stating they will compensate me in the event the alarm installed on my vehicle failed to prevent the vehicle being stolen. I dont know if this is referring to the factory anti theft device on my vehicle, which is broken and does not work or another alarm they supposedly installed. Either way there is not an alarm on my vehicle and Im sure they cant sell me a warranty on something I dont have.
Prices are also all in the wrong places and are wrong in a bunch of areas on the contract. The dealer doesnt care and just told me tough luck.
A few weeks ago I went into the dealer to complain and asked something be done to help me, and the general manager Marty Luplow agreed to take my car in and look at the transmission to see what they could do for me. He wouldnt give me alternate transportation so I had to call my girlfriend to ride all the way out and pick me up.
A week went by being stuck without a vehicle and no word from the dealer so I called the salesman, general manager and service dept and they either ignored my calls or said they would call me back and never would. I finally was able to get a ride down to the dealer and confronted the general manager who looked surprised to see me. I asked about them looking at the transmission and they said they never looked at it and refused to say why they didnt.
The owner of the dealership, Peggy Cockerham came over and bluntly told me I will either buy a new car from them, or I can take my car and get out or else they are calling the police. I have never been so insulted by this before and did nothing wrong to deserve this treatment. The general manager disappeared in back for a few minutes and then pulled my car around to the front giving me a dirty look after I told them I will take my vehicle and go then.
The next day while driving to work my tire blew out on me after going over a bump, which I knew was going to happen sometime, but it was very fishy for this to happen right after getting it back from the dealer. When I tried to put the spare on, I found that the vehicle had locking lug nuts. There was no key to be found anywhere so I could take the tire off and my vehicle and I were left stranded. I called the dealer back and they said again, you bought the vehicle as is, tough luck, and refused to order a replacement key for me even if I paid. What really gets me is the salesman who I spoke with said to me
"We will tow your car back to the dealership for at our expense for you but only if you buy (said vehicle that cost twice as much)"
So now, I am stuck driving an unsafe vehicle with a spare still on the back. I cannot afford new tires and am still driving with the spare. I cannot afford a new transmission in the vehicle which will cost in the thousands. And I cannot afford the arbitration which will cost $1000 just to file a case, and then I have to pay the mediator $150 to $300 an hour. And since the arbitration company is a business working for the dealership, its not hard to wonder just who they will favor in the outcome.
private
private, Tennessee
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
G
Private,Tennessee,
U.S.A.
I know Im to blame for not looking over the vehicle enough, but...
#3Author of original report
Thu, January 24, 2008
Im not arguing that I made a big mistake by not looking at the vehicle as good as I could of or should have, though Im not as knowledgeable about vehicle as I would like.
I was also not aware you could have a private mechanic inspect the vehicle prior to sale as well. The buyers guide actually recommends you do this and had the dealer included this on the vehicle I would have had this done.
However, I wrongly gave faith to the dealership thinking a GM dealer would be honest to its customers about what they were selling. They knew the vehicle had all these issues and they intentionally sold me the vehicle trying to hide them. I really wish it was something I had in writing, but the reason I bought the vehicle and didnt look it over as good as I should have was that they told me the vehicle passed a full safety inspection. I dont see how they figure a vehicle with bald tires which cant drive in reverse is safe.
Also, the tires on the very outside have tread which is what threw me off which looks like at first glance theyre ok, you would have to get underneath the vehicle to see just how bad they are.
Here are some pictures of the two tires and the one that is not on the vehicle is the one that blew out.
(((3 links redacted)))
Tell me you wouldnt be mislead into thinking the tires are ok when theyre covered with the new tire gloss and while looking at them from the outside edge
And while I did get to test drive the vehicle, the salesman asked me to get out of the vehicle and wait for him in the sales room while he parked it himself when we got back to the dealership. I thought nothing of it at the time, but they knew exactly what they were doing. They didnt want me finding out the vehicle had no reverse, and theres no denying it to be fraud what theyre pulling there.
Im stuck now because of the arbitration agreement and cant afford the outrageous mediator charges. Maybe nobody can help me with whats happened and I will be stuck paying for a car I cant drive and all the while worry how Im going to keep my job and get to work and pay bills, but at least I am letting the word out about just what kind of business this dealership runs to prevent others from making the same mistakes I did by dealing with them.
CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.
John
McKinney,Texas,
U.S.A.
insect what you buy before you buy it
#3Consumer Suggestion
Fri, January 18, 2008
I'm thinking it would be hard to make bald tires look like they have tread on them by spraying armor all on them. I'm also thinking the reverse gear not working is somehting you should notice when you test drive / have the car inspected prior to purchase.
You did, actually, buy it as-is. I would imagine every car dealer requires an arbitration agreement in a car sale, with an obvious reason for it. If you would have refused to sign it, they wouldn't have sold you the car. As a matter of fact, no dealership would have sold you a car. You could have bought from a private seller and avoided the arbitration agreement, but I dont think a private seller would be willing to pay for mechanical problems after the fact either.
If you had traded your vehicle in to the dealership on a new car with a warranty and they found out after the fact that your trade had issues, would you be on the hook for that?....Of course not. It would be their problem. In this care, though, it's yours.
The lesson to be learned is check the car thouroughly for mechanical and cosmetic shortcommings before you pay for it. If you expect problems that pop up down the road to be paid by someone other than you, get a warranty on hte car.