Complaint Review: Universal Auto

My son and I went to Universal Auto to purchase a car a saw a few BMW's on their lot so we went inside to see if we could find out more info on them. 

We spoke to a saleman by the name of James and he gave us the price and ran my son's credit and because my son had just turned 18, James said my son had no credit and would have to put up at least 50% down on a car if we needed financing.  We thanked him and left.

A few weeks later we returned to the dealership and spoke to James about a certain BMW on the lot and I wanted my son to qualify on his own so James ran all the info on a Black 2004 BMW with over 100,000miles on it and gave us a price of $14,500.  I said the price was way too high and if they wanted to negotiate we would be interested.  James said he couldn't come down on price but it included a warranty and he didn't seem like it mattered if we bought the car or not so we left the dealership again.

My son was upset because he fell in love with what would be his first car and kept asking me to talk to James and make a deal.  We called and offered James $12,000 and James turned us down and we told him we would sign a contract right away if he could meet us half-way.  He said $13,500 was his final price and we agreed.  We immediately went back and James referred us to Allen who sat with us and asked me how much I was putting down and what I wanted to try and keep my payments at and we sat and negotiated for a few hours.  We never saw or heard from James from when Allen took over.  I counted out $7500 in cash and he threw in an extra year for the warranty (and whispered that he would get in trouble but he would do it anyway) and my son signed the paperwork on July 23, 2011 and they gave us the keys and congratulated us on our purchase. Paid $15,074.69 for the car - Final sales price (taxes, warranty and all their junk fees).  They had us spin a wheel as everyone that purchases a car does, and we won a free warranty which Allen confirmed making it a total of 3yrs. and then we walked out to the car to drive it home.  Only the key or remote didn't unlock the doors (any of them.) We could not get into the car.   Allen was very accomodating and said he would fix whatever was wrong and said it was just a minor problem yet the car wouldn't start.  The mechanic came and said he would fix it and it was probably the battery which they ended up replacing but the button to unlock/lock the doors still didn't work.  Allen said it was all under extended warranty and not to worry but because it was a weekend, we would have to bring it back during the week and they would have it fixed in tip top shape.  The window tint was bubbling up on the windows and I asked him to remove the tint and they simply removed the tint off of the rear drivers window and not the rest of the car. That looked horrible!  I was quite shocked.

Two days later my son called and said the car broke down and Universal had to tow it back.  They said it still had to do with the battery or alternator was draining the battery so they replaced them and it was working just fine.  They gave us the sheet that said it had been smogged for DMV so we didn't have to do one.  Two days after we got it back the check engine light came on and never went off.  I also called to ask when we would get the unlock/lock button fixed and Allen wasn't as pleasant as the first time.  We were then referred to a guy name Drew who was nice as well but I was confused as to why we were being handed off to different people whenever we had a complaint.  We brought the car in and they looked at the check engine light but never contacted me after my repeated requests to do so in my son's defense.  They stated that I was not the person on the contract so they were not allowed to discuss anything with me.  They told my son he was revving the engine and the light would never turn off as long as he kept revving it while driving.  I called and spoke to Drew and said I wanted the car fixed or else I would seek legal advice and he hung the phone on me. 

I called many times to complain but now the rear passenger window fell into the door and my son called and asked to get it fixed and they told him it would cost $300.  I called back and spoke to Allen because that it who we made the deal with and that is who told me they would fix anything that was wrong.  He then informed me in a agitated voice that the warranty was only for the engine and he never said he would fix anything.  I spoke to Nemo who is the General Manager and he was trying to be helpful but I still have not gotten anything fixed by them. 

It is now 2 1/2months that have gone by and we took it to a personal friend who is a very reputable mechanic and he showed me the brakes and how bad they were and we replaced the rotors and pads immediately which he said were bad way before we bought the car and the sensors had to be replaced.  He gave me them to take over to Universal Auto. He also discovered a power stearing leak, oil leak, transmission leak and coolant leak.  There is NO WAY it could have passed a smog the smog was "fixed", the rear suspension broke, CD player stopped working and sunroof is completely broken and not on the track.  

They state that we should have purchased a warranty that covers everything and I thought that was what we did.  The KBB on the car in "Excellent" condition says as of right now, it it only worth $12,110.  for a car that is like new!  We paid over $15,000 for a lemon and we have asked from day one for our money back so we can get something else or trade us into a car that is in fact "Excellent" condition.  No response or no one especially Allen is very pleasant and we give up begging them for help.  I plan on seeking legal counsel to take my case and possibly see what recourse we have against them.  WE want to be treated fair and because of my son and I being new to used cars, we felt taken advantage of.  They should NEVER sell another car until they make it right with all the ones they have sold that were unsafe and faulty and falling apart.  That is the least they could do.