Complaint Review: Texas Auto Online

Texas Auto should NOT be trusted.  My fiasco began online with an EBAY ad for a 2008 Cadillac CTS.  I originally placed a bid, but was contacted by the dealership that I was "IN THE BALLPARK" and maybe we could negotiate an equitable price.  I thought the process was a little odd considering they were advertising on Ebay, but negotiating outside of Ebay.  That should have been my first clue that they were not above board.

After negotiating for several days with the sales person (Matt James), I asked for a copy of the CARFAX report and some pictures of the vehicle (particularly of the tires and any potential problem areas).  I also asked him to disclose any known issues and to provide me with an honest estimation as I was not all that comfortable purchasing a vehicle online.  He assured me that people do this all the time, and that I had 30 days after purchasing the vehicle to return it if it didn't match the description or if there were any problems discovered.

The next issue was dealing with them to provide a clear title.  The person I dealt with (Drew Hanley) didn't seem to be knowledgeable in how to work with a CASH transaction.  The whole process was extremely painful and in working thru the Thanksgiving Holiday there didn't seem to be any continuity and I began to feel less and less confident that I was working with a Professional and ethical dealership. 

After exchanging all the necessary paperwork and my personal funding of the transaction, I made arrangements with the shipping company to deliver the vehicle to my location at my expense ($600). 

Upon delivery of the vehicle 5 days later, I immediately noticed several problems with the vehicle that were 'CONVENIENTLY' omitted from any pictures or description by my salesman.  I texted him via his cell phone that I wasn't happy and needed to know what they were going to do about it.  Later that week, I was contacted by the General Manager of Texas Auto (Tom McMann) and apologized and indicated that he would absolutely resolve any issues that I had with the vehicle.  At the time, I thought he was genuine and honest.  However his continued deflecting, stalling and now non-communication tells me that he has NO INTENTION of resolving the issues.

Here is the list that I provided Tom concerning this vehicle.

1) Clear coat is coming off of the hood.  It's a relative small area but for a $19,000 vehicle this should have and could have been disclosed and taken care of before selling it to me.

2) The right rear wheel, apparently has been damaged and while the 3 other wheels are anodized or painted silver this wheel is peeling and more BLACK than silver.  This paint can not be reproduced in the U.S. as it was originally painted in China and has lead content.  So the obvious fix is to replace it with another wheel.

3) There is NO SPARE TIRE whatsoever.  Who sells a $19,000 vehicle without a spare?  NOT EVEN A SPARE WHEEL...!!

4) The interior of this vehicle STINKS....Like it's been through a flood.  There is a very strong odor of mold or mildew which CANNOT be hidden with air fresheners or dried out even in the DRY ARIZONA SUN.  I've Tried to get used to it but after 2 months I can barely stand to drive the car.  It's EMBARRASSING to have friends get in the car and say....."what stinks???"....besides the fact that anyone with alergies starts sneezing.  If that weren't bad enough........

5) The OUTSIDE of the car wreaks of Gasoline....AND when parked in my garage, I'm extremely concerned that I have to air the garage out before attempting to start it for fear it's going to blow up my house.  Even parked in a parking lot, when you approach the vehicle from the passenger side you can definitely smell a HEAVY gasoline odor. 

AGAIN...After discussing all of these issues on several occassions with the GM (Tom) of Texas Auto, he indicated that I should make an appointment with the local Cadillac dealership and that he would personally provide his Credit Card information to make the necessary repairs.  However after making the initial appointment with Royal Cadillac in Tucson, I called Tom to obtain the CC information that he had promised and told him that there would be an initial, minimum charge of $500 to check everything out.  At that point, Tom said .....HE would..."cancel the appointment with Royal Cadillac and make an appointment with a dealership of HIS choosing" and get back to me in no more than a couple of days".  That has been the last conversation that I have had and it's been over 3 weeks.  I've left him emails, text messages and Voicemails however he has ignored ALL of them.

Initially I thought that Ebay could be contacted, however since I had negotiated outside of the Ebay process it is NOT covered under Ebays protection plan......PRETTY SLICK HUH???

MY ADVICE TO THOSE THINKING OF PURCHASING FROM TEXAS AUTO ..........DON'T!!!. 

These People are OH SO NICE while you're in the process of purchasing of a vehicle, but not the least bit interested in standing behind promises or making good on commitments or the vehicles they sell.