Ugly Duckling AKA Drivetime ripoff cares about sales not about people. Douglasville Georgia
Our nightmare began in August, 2001. We were expecting our 4th child and I had many medical problems that prevented me form working at times. I was on medical leave from my company and went to Ugly Duckling to purchase a minivan for our family.
We went to meet with a sales person and told them our credit was not great but we both had long term positions and really needed a dependable family vehicle. I stressed to the sales person that I would be the primary driver and the children would be with me 90% of the time so I did nt want a peice of junk. We looked at at a 1996 Plymouth Voyager with about 74k miles on it. We drove the vehicle and it "seemed" to be just what we were looking for. The sales person told us that we could bring the car back to him if there were any problems with it under 90 days.
Well maybe he meant 90 seconds because the next week we went back beacuse the brakes were making this terrible sound. We were told that they would look at it but we would have to take care of the cost ourselves. After my husband talked with a manager there, we were told to bring the car back to another machanic off site and he would check them. Well he did not find anything.
We eventully took the car to Pep Boys and paid $176.00 for brake repair. Approximately 3 weeks after we purchased the car, right after we dropped off our 1st payment, we (my spouse, my pregnant self, and 2 of our children) were driving on Windy Hill Road in Marietta when the car just stopped. The engine just quit. Thank GOD we were not hit.
We called "the Duck" and told them to send a tow truck to get the van and get us back to our home. Oh did I mention it was about 80 something degrees and I was about 8 1/2 months pregnant. They told us it was our responsibilty to get the car to them, because it was Saturday, no one could look at it until Monday. We paid for the tow truck, paid for a cab to a nearby friend and our frien took us home. I then paid for a rental for the weekend, and was very upset. They fixed the car on Monday or so I thought but about a week afterwards it happened again.
The day my husband took me and our new son home the car stopped, the day I was taking him to the doctor it stopped and then I stopped dealing with it. Whenever I dropped off a payment I wrote on it "Life sucks with a car that does not work" They harassed me at my job, threatened me but nothing they could say was more threatening than driving that vehicle. I took them their vehicle back and I knew it woudl not improve my credit but it probably saved my life.
There is a bright side, I went to JOHN BLEAKLEY FORD, in Douglasville, Georgia. And met with a wonderful man named Charles Nance. I told him my story and told him my credit was not great and told him that I needed a DEPENDABLE vehicle for my most cherished possessions adn I am proud to say that I purchased a 2002 Dodge Durango SLT, it was a program car and had only 17k miles on it.
DON'T THINK THAT YOU HAVE TO DEPEND ON THE DUCK BECAUSE YOU DON'T THINK YOU CAN GET A NEW VEHICLE.
Dimetra
Powder Springs, Georgia
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
J
Gilbert,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Get Over it already
#3Consumer Suggestion
Fri, July 04, 2003
It really amazes me how dilusional some people can be. I am by no means a fan of Drive Time, nor would I ever be desperate enough to purchase one of their cars. But whoever said that Drive Time has cars that are like 15 years old is fooling themself. Lets just say that someone very close to me works at the Drive Time Financial Corp, and according to them the oldest cars that they have are like a 96 or 97. Ever since "the duck" was bought out by "Drive Time" the company has decided to start selling newer vehicles, thus cutting down on the problems that they have had in the past. Now that doesnt mean that some of these retards that go to buy a car are not going to complain. My only suggestion would be to know exactly what you are getting yourself into. Test drive and look under the hood and do what you gotta do before you sign the papers. You really cant complain if you make the decision to deal with that type of dealership and get yourself into a used a vehicle. The best thing to do would be to buy a NEW car/truck and that will save a lot of hassle....no matter what dealership you go through.
L
Las Vegas,Nevada,
U.S.A.
I haven't heard any thing good about Drive Time aka Ugly Duckling
#3Consumer Suggestion
Tue, July 01, 2003
I've only known about this website for a few weeks, but it has saved a lot of time and trouble. Here in Las Vegas we had Ugly Duckling, now Drive Time. I went by their lot on Boulder Highway and all I saw were cars that should be used in a demolition derby. They were all at least 10 to 15 years old with bald tires and extremely high mileage. When a salesperson approached my husband and I, we got into our car and drove off as quickly as possible. People I worked with told me about Ugly Duckling's tactics to try to scare them into a car and when their payments were late, to threaten them with bodily harm and more. Threats like that are illegal. Dimetra, you should not have had to go through what you did with them. I would have called your attorney general and local news station and reported them. I'm glad you got a better car, and I hope it lasts a long time for you and your four beautiful children.