Complaint Review: Gallegos Auto Inc

  I took my 97 Camaro to Gallegos to sell it for me.  Eventhough the car had 200000 miles on it I had recently taken it on a trip of 3000 miles with absolutely no problems.  The 3800 V6 engine gets 26MPG on the highway and seems to be very powerfull.  I had some electrical issues with the car but those had been repaired by my local mechanic.  The car looked very good with new tires and a new convertible top.

  I signed a release absolving Gallegos of responsibility for damage, physical or mechanical, but not abuse.  I was told there was 24-7 security on the lot and the cars were locked up at night with security by Anthony.  I thought the release was pretty much for scratches and flats, small stuff, since the car would be viewed by customers. Anthony assured me twice that there would be no damage because he was normally their night security. Thhe car sat on the lot for 90+ days.

  I decided that I no longer wanted to allow the car to sit in the hot summer sum unprotected and cause wear to the new convertible top I had professionally installed and I went to pick it up.  Jeff Gallegos refused to give me the keys and said the battery was dead and he would charge it.  I returned the next day with a new battery.  He said to take it back to the store that the battery was fine.  I returned the new battery and decided that the next day I would take jumper cables with me to pick it up. 

  I drove to the lot with the cables and asked Joe (Jeff's brother) for the keys.  He gave them to me and I went to the car.  The door was unlocked and I got inside and turned the key.  It fired and there was a loud rythmic knocking noise cumming from the engine.  I shut it off and looked inside the hood for any tools left behind, nothing seemed irregular.  I got back in and started it up with the knocking and decided to take it home (5blocks) away.  I drove the car home to get it off the lot affraid of yet more damage.  The knocking was so loud that I attracted attention from people walking on the street.

  I called a friend mechanic to have him listen to the engine.  He came over and said that the engine was blown and the only way to do that was to overrev the engine, racing the car.  The oil had been changed and overfilled.  I told Joe that the engine was blown and he denied knowing anything about it.  He said that no one had test driven the car off the lot.  I went in the next day to Gallegos and told Jeff that the engine was blown.  He also denied knowing anything about how the engine was abused.  He said the repair would be cheap and called someone on the phone.  They talked about junk yard 3800 engines.  He hung up and said for me to go home and look on the internet for an engine.  I returned after the weekend with an engine in Phoenix he told me the price was to much and that he had a shop across town that could help me.  I went home and called the Phoenix yard and asked them to call Jeff as a dealer and give him a lower price.  I called the lot two days later and talked to Jeff.  He said that he had been told by the junkyard that he was to order and pay for the engine.  He said that was not his responsibility and he would not pay for the engine.

  I have contacted the better business bureau and have yet to agree to the resolution from Gallegos, they listed the complaint as resolced and I'v contacted them again that the complaint was far from resolved as the car now sits in my driveway and it will cost approximately 2000 dollars to replace the engine with a good used engine.