Complaint Review: Lyle Pearson Premier Motorcars

I bought a used car which the dealer said they fully check out and fixed all problems before putting on lot. However, the engine and wheel bearing totally failed before I even made it home....I was left standed, about 50 miles west of Value, Oregon, and the dealer refuses to help me in any way as the dealer says, "I sold it with no warranty so as soon as it left the lot it became your problem."

Before buying, I test drove the vehicle and found that the engine light was on, engine ran poorly and was hard starting, and wheels pulled every time brakes were applied. Dealer gave me a CarFax report showing that no prior work nor problems were ever reported or work done on the vehicle.

Dealer said they would fix any engine and wheel problems if I wanted to buy it. They called back and told me that the problems were fixed so I came back and paid cash for the vehicle. Since I was from out of town, I asked for the title but they said that they would have to sent it to me at a later date...even though I paid for it with a credit card and certified bank draft. Been over 4 weeks, and I still do not have a title to it so can not even sell it for junk.

I live in Eastern Oregon a couple hundred miles west of Boise. After shopping in Boise, I left for home but the vehicle stopped running about 50 miles west of Vale, Oregon before I made it home.

A tow truck towed it back to a very knowledgable and extremely reputable mechanic in Vale. First thing he noticed was that the oil level was 1 quart above full......which he later discovered was due to water in the oil.

When he began jacking the vehicle up to look at it better, he noticed that the wheel bearing was completely wore out. He said it was just pure luck that I even made it to Vale without the wheel falling off and passing me up. Thus, I now know what the wheel problem was that I first reported to the dealer and he said he fixed. The Vale mechanic said that he could not understand how anyone could have missed such a bad bearing on anykind of an inspection.

He then asked me if anyone had ever worked on the engine. I told him that the Dealer told me that they replaced the O2 and crankshaft sensors, but eveything else checked out OK. The mechanic told me that the timing was off more than 3 degrees, which certainly was not right. Then the mechanic nformed me that the engine exhaust gaskets were recently replaced, and it appeared to him that the head gasket had been tampered with too. He said that there was no logical reason for the exhaust gaskets to be replaced unless someone had been into the engine. The head gasket was now leaking water into the oil and the engine needs a complete overhaul. (The dealer had told me that no such engine work had been done on the vehicle when I bought it, but after I complained, they finally admitted that they did replace the exhaust gaskets, but nothing else so they say.)

The mechanic estimates that it will cost about $5,000 to repair the vehicle, and the dealer refuses to help in any way.

What makes me the most mad about this is the fact that I bought this rig for my High School child and expressed to the dealer that I wanted a reliable rig as we live in a very isolated region where there could be no one available to help if the rig broke down. I thank God that it broke down with me driving before my child was stranded in the middle of no where!! It is still far below freezing here!!

Oregon buyer
Boise, Idaho
U.S.A.