Haims Motors Selling Cars With Severe Safety Issues- I Have Spent Over $3000 On Major Repairs After Driving Less Than 3000 Miles Hollywood Florida
Beware of this dealer! They will rip you off. You think you are getting a deal, but you will pay Thousands of $$$$$ in major rapairs, miss work to have the repairs done, spend hours waiting for a tow truck and potentially lose your life due to them selling vehicles that have never been inspected even for safety issues!
I recently moved to South Florida to recover from some personnal financial issues. One major issue was that I did not have a car. I went to this dealership because they seemed to have a decent selection and I had limited time to find a vehicle. I went with my father because he was going to be helping me pay for the vehicle. Prior to going to Haims Motors, I tried leasing a brand new vehicle. The price for the lease was going to be $175/mo. Since I did not have a car, I was uninsured and had not been insured for some time. I was also new to Florida and as a result, the cost of insurance on the new vehicle was going to be more than double the monthly payment on the car so I had to get a used car.
I was desperate to find a car that I could afford to pay cash for because I needed something that wouldn't require full coverage. Buying a car from Haims Motorcars was the biggest mistake of my life! I was already in a bad financial situation and they just made it worse. Before I pulled off the lot, I noticed that the cigarette lighter wasn't working. My phone was about to die and the first thing I needed to do was charge it. So I said to Jesse, the salesman, that it's probably just a fuse. He said no problem and had me drive him around to the service bay. It was like an episode of 3 Stooges because no one could find the fuse box. We spent about 2 minute looking for it and I was about to look it up on my phone and his manager came over to see what was going on. Jesse starts telling him what we were doing and the manager said Skeket to him. What he didn't know was that my hebrew vocabulary is pretty much limited to Shalom(hello, good bye, and peace) and Sheket (be quiet) which basically meant shut the "F" up. I should have know that if he was telling him to be quiet about a $.50 fuse, that I should have expected much worse and that is exactly what I got.
I work from home so I do not drive very far or even every day for that matter. After having the car for just under 3 months the radiatior needed to be replaced - $900
At the 5 month mark, the ball joint snapped- $610. All I did was pull out of the driveway and I heard a noise that sounded like an explosion. I was stuck in the middle of the street for 3 hours waiting for AAA to pick me up. This was at night then I had to call AAA back again the next day to tow it to the mechanic. This was a serious safety issue. I was lucky that it happened when I pulled out of the driveway. I had been on the turnpike driving 65mph on my way to where the car was parked. If this had happened while I wwas driving, the car would have rolled and I could have been seriously hurt or seriously hurt other people on the road.
At just under 6 months, the transmission went - $1200. Flash flooding in South Florida had AAA backed up for 8 hours. Called for a tow at 4 and they didn't arrive until midnight. ANother 8 hours of my life that I can't get back.
$2800 and counting...I have only had the car for 6 months. While that may seem like a long time, in reality, I have only drivien about 3000 miles. I called the dealer and he asked me what I wanted him to do. He said the car was a trade-in that they don't inspect. He said all they check is the oil level. I don't believe for one second that they don't look it over to see if they can get more money for it. They were fully aware that there was something wrong with the suspension and they allowed me to drive off the lot in an unsafe vehicle. Not only could I have been injured, but I could have injured someone else on the road. Just because I can't afford to pay a lot for a car doesn't mean that you can put a cheap pricetag on my Life. Keep in mind how many kids buy their first car and drive off the lot. They are inexperienced drivers and they are driving in dangerous vehicles because Haims Motorcars is after a buck.
When I told him how much I was quoted for the transmission, he said he thought that sounded high and he was going to call one of his mechanics at home to find out how much he thought it was should cost and he would call me back. Before I could even finish asking if he was going to ask my phone number...he had already hung up. He never intended to call me back.
Please don't make the same mistake I made. The BBB is 100% correct. F-for Failure! I was too desperate to get a car and had too limited time to investigate this dealer. If I had known what I knew before, I never would have even steped foot on their lot. They give slimy car salesmen new meaning. The trade in value is less than what I have paid in repairs. Stay away from Haims Motorcars if you value your life and wallet.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
NewToSoFla
Florida,It's Not Just About The BBB Rating
#3Author of original report
Tue, January 14, 2014
Perhaps I put too much emphasis on the BBB since this seems to be the only thing you got out of my complaint. I am fully aware that their rating system can be perceived as illegitmate. I'm not saying that the guy down the street that has a good rating is better just because he has an "A" rating. Let's not forget that if they actually do scrub the complaints from the businesses that actualy pay them, then the 39 BBB complaints to date against Haims are in fact real. The businesses who are endowed with an "A" rating probably did pay for them with their membership dues. That just adds support to the "F" they have earned. Maybe Haims should consider joining the BBB then to get rid of some of the negatives against them since membership has its priveleges according to your thought process. There are other reviews from around the web indicating that Haims Motors deliberately sells unsafe vehicles. It's not just the BBB. I'm not the only one complaining about this issue.
As for buying an older vehicle that has high mileage, I appreciate you and Haims Motors putting a price on my life and the lives of other people on the road. Just because I can't afford to buy a newer car with less miles doesn't mean that I don't deserve to drive off the lot in something safe. It's not about the extra maintenance on a high mileage vehicle, it's abut knowingly putting someone's safety at risk. When you buy a used vehicle, you are always buying someone else's problems, but who would be taking care of my family if the ball joint had snapped while I was driving and I ended up in the hospital?
I'll also point out that although the car is older and has high mileage, there was a recall on the ball joint of the car and had already been replaced under the recall. So even though the vehicle is older and has higher mileage, the ball joint that snapped was significantly newer and had less miles on it than the actual vehicle. In no way would that issue fall under normal wear and tear based on the number of miles they have actually been on the vehicle.
Jim
Florida,What Do You Expect
#3Consumer Comment
Tue, January 14, 2014
You bought an old, tired worn out car with high mileage. All the problems you reported here were time related...the prime evidence of a tired old car. The reason they have the "F" phony "rating" from the BBB is because they have not PURCHASED an "A" rating. The BBB is a scam. They are NOT part of any governmental body. They SELL their "PHONY RATINGS" to anyone who is willing to pay the price. If this place was to "join" in the BBB fraud by PAYING for their "membership" and "phony rating", you could absolutely guarantee they would get an "A" phony rating. The BBB is a scam.