West Valley Auto Plaza Come get jerked around!! Whee! West Valley City Utah
Our first experience with West Valley Auto Plaza was in 2005 when our trusty Explorer finally broke down and we were in sudden need of a vehicle. Since my husband had LITERALLY just filed bankruptcy he couldn't get standard financing. Luckily West Valley Auto Plaza had a plan where they put a box on your engine and if you don't pay Bi-Weekly they just shut your car off. Some people can live without good credit, but not very many without a car ;)
Anyways, I was busy and I told my husband to go check the cars out, just keep two criteria in mind: we need a sedan because we had just had a baby, and to make sure to get an automatic transmission. He comes home with a 1998 Cavelier Coupe with a manual transmission. This is the ONLY car they could get him into, apparently. This is with a price tag of $250 a month. Almost as much as I paid for my newer SUV with extended warranties and GAP insurance..... hmmm.
Enter April 2007. My car goes to car heaven. Now our credit is better, so much so that we are shopping around for loans to buy a house. Thus the problem. Even though we only have two or three months left in the contract with the Cavelier tacking on another car payment would push our DTI significantly higher and jepordize Operation-Get-A-House. It turns out, that since we have paid off almost the entire contract for the over-priced Cavelier, and my husband had referred several people who made purchases, West Valley Auto will pay off the rest of the car if we buy our new one through them!!
This is great! And then it all hit me so fast.... Turns out this is only subject to me buying a 2006 model. They only have one. A PT Cruiser, which I've never been too fond of. My husband pointed out however, that what's important is getting a good reliable vehicle. For the same price, they had a nice black pickup on their website. It wasn't a 2006 but since I have a knack for pushing what I want, I figure this is the car I'll go for once we get there.
My husband didn't like it! So, I'm perusing the other cars, and I see that NONE of them have a sticker price on them! I saw another car while they're drawing up paperwork. I asked the guy how much and he said "Not for the price you told me." My husband was wrapping up things on the Cavelier and left me to take the test drive on my own. As I attempted to swing quickly out into the traffic I was met with he weakest engine I've ever handled. "What is this, a 4-cylinder?! I asked." Of course. I took note of the ugly uphosltery and the ugly white color, but my husband I daresay LIKED this car.... so we went forward with the docs.
As I looked at the contract I noticed that they had tacked the payoff amount for the Cavelier into the new price of the PT Cruiser. Shocked, I brought this to my husband's attention. "Well they are paying it off....." "No" I said, they are lending us the payoff..... which we can pay interest on for the next six years!!"
This didn't seem to make a difference to my husband as long as we only had one car payment at a reasonable interest rate, that I was a "shoe-in" for. So I drove it to work that day. On the way, they called to let me know my interest rate was higher, and of course, the payment was higher, getting higher and higher from the original $200 a month I told them. We were now looking at $350 a month.
Well, too late now right? Husband still liked the car. Everyone at work thought it was cute and luxurious. Maybe I could warm up to it, I was proudly showing a co-worker when I noticed the bumper was a different shade of white!! I called them right then and there to ask them if the car had been in an accident. "Not to their knowledge....." RIGHT. My husband services all our vehicles and I let him know right there that I thought we should take it back, but if he felt up to keeping up with this car go for it. We kept it.
The Chassis was shaking so hard at freeway speeds that we took it to a dealership under warranty. They wouldn't do anything, and besides the tires didn't match they were different makes and had different tread. Then we took it to our friend's auto shop. He took me under the lift to show me that EACH tire was indeed different. This I can't even comprehend on a newer vehicle!! He couldn't diagnose the shaking until I bought FOUR new tires for it. You would think that after paying more than $6,000.00 over the high blue-book on this car they could at least put new tires on it! It also has as much if not MORE rust than cars 10, 15, even 20 years older than it. It started bubbling and cracking under the paint within a month, also within a few months the windshield wouldn't pass inspection because some chips I hadn't noticed had cracked across the whole window.
Then it all comes back to the Cavelier. Turns out paying off the original contract is not enough. For some reason they needed to show that we sold them the car as a trade in and we bought it back, or something. WEIRD. Anyways, we have to go back in and sign paperwork before they can release the title. So we drive the 20 miles to get it. Oh, the person we need isn't there. We call, he's there we drive the 20 miles, oh, he left early. No one else can help us, they aren't sure what we're talking about.
Finally, my husband lets me let out a little of the agression that's been building the whole time. I told them, if so and so wasn't there that's not my problem, if no one else can cover him, that's not my problem. I paid for a car and I don't have the title... THAT is my problem. They can mail whatever we need to sign with the title, but the title better get mailed. Okay, they mailed it. We wait and wait and WAIT. No title. My husband called them and they don't have any idea where it could be.
By this time, I'm done. I would've brought that car back demanded a suitable vehicle for my money or threatened lawsuit. I was sick of my husband's complacency, so I told him to get the title. We still don't have it, I've obtained a replacement title form assuming it was really lost in the mail, but I have a feeling this monster will rear its ugly head someday.
In the meantime, I've just been making payments in my never-ending pursuit of good credit. I now have very good credit, and lots of dealerships have said they can finance us..... once we get out of the now $9,000 negative equity that has resulted from this nightmare that isn't due to end for another 4 years.
If you want to deal with these people, make sure you pull your blue-books, because they have no stickers on the lot. Don't believe for a second that you are special and they will make you a deal. Be ready to get as down and dirty as these low-lifes are!!
Mercedes
Tooele, Utah
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
michael naretto
west jordan,Utah,
USA
WVAP
#3Consumer Suggestion
Fri, October 02, 2009
When filing a report (1) make it factual (2) make it short and sweet as no one wants to read a book.
WVAP provides a service to sell vehicles to those who have crappy credit. The terms of those deals can be rather draconian but you don't have to sign the d**n contract ya know.
If you get spot delivered just take the vehicle out of state. When they call and say "bring it back" tell them you're 2000 miles away in Florida and to stick it. They will suddenly find you financing. Or if you are still in town, park the car in your garage and have someone else take you back to the dealership. If they say they will call the cops and report it stolen and that may be true but it is going to be pretty funny if you get pulled over and the registration and insurance are both in YOUR NAME.
If you like the terms of your current contract and the dealership wants you to come back to resign anything just tell them, "No thanks. I like the contract we have now." And hang up.
Those little things they put on your engine or where ever that disables the vehicle? Yeah those are easy to bypass and/or remove.
If you have to spend more than an hour in any dealership you are being stupid. The last time I bought a car I said, "you have one hour to get me out of here". And an hour later if the deal isn't done, I walk out the door and go somewhere else who values my time.
Always negotiate price. ALWAYS!!! If you negotiate anything else you are a fool. And if possible get your financing BEFORE you shop. If you finance through the dealership take your contract to the place bank or credit union that you are financed through. Ask to compare the contract you have to the one the bank or credit union has. I am willing to bet money that the interest rates are different. Meaning that the finance company got told a higher rate than you were charged so the dealership gets the difference in their pockets.
Don't let the dealership pull your credit until there is a deal in place. If the first think they want to do is a customer statement, RUN. If you are paying cash then you certainly don't want to let them pull your credit as there is no reason to do so. And definitely don't give the dealership the keys to your trade in. No no. Your keys will suddenly get "lost".
Remember, YOU are in charge. If you're getting dicked around, leave!
Here are two websites that are crucial to anyone who wants to buy a vehicle:
www.carbuyingtips.com
www.edmunds.com
Use them. They will save you a ton of time and frustration. Plus it will properly arm you will the information you will need to take to the dealership.
Cheers!!
Mpierce
2311 e 3300 s,Utah,
U.S.A.
Semi-Happy ending!
#3
Thu, September 17, 2009
Well, the PT Cruiser finally broke down February 2009, leaving me and my four-month-old baby walking on the side of the Freeway in 28 degree weather at 10:00 p.m.
We cashed out our 401k put $3,000 down and still have so much negative equity that my car payment is $450 at 5%. I'm paying $25k on an $18k car, but it's good and sound and I LOVE it!!
All comes back to the Cavelier, right? That still runs, so does our '72 F-250, and there's still good parts on our '91 Explorer. We're thinking if we sold all three we could get one nicer car or truck , not to mention MUCH more space in the driveway..... only we don't have the title to the Cavelier.....
So I give my old friends a call after almost two years. I told the lady that this is her chance. Treat me nice and I will favorably ammend my report. I get transferred to Brandy, who seems to ignore what I've mentioned about my previous bad experiences because she asks why it's taken me so long to come after the title..... she transfers me to someone else. Again, I tell this girl to treat me nice and I'll ammend the report. She prattles on about how she wasn't here when this all happened so it's not her fault and it's not her job but she's such a nice person she'll look into it. She never called me back after promising she would.
At Six P.M. two days later, overflowing and choking on anger and disgust I penned an e-mail to Nick Markosian who at this point I had deemed to be the devil on Earth. However, I do realize that sometimes finding employees who really care about your company and not just their paycheck can be hard to come by, so I thought it was worth a shot.
He never wrote me back, but I assume he must have lit a fire under the kettle those people were sitting in because I got a call at 8 A.M, the next morning from Brandy the finance manager. I called back and as soon as I mentioned my name the receptionist lit up with perky enthusiasm and patched my right through to Brandy who was on the line in under 10 seconds (as opposed to my usual 10 minute wait time.)
She also spoke with a genial vigor that creeped me out with its about face. She told me she had found the title to the Cavelier, in the filing cabinet! (You know, the one they mailed two years ago??) and would I like her to mail it or have it ready to be picked up, whatever I preffered would be acceptable! I had her mail it, and it came next day, certified mail (now there's a novel approach.)
So true to my word, here's my update. I have my title, I have good credit. Despite the long, arduous and infuriating road, it's likely due in no small part to West Valley Auto. I thank Nick for helping me, but I wonder why he doesn't find more competent people? In this economy it wouldn't be that hard. Maybe he also doesn't care about his company as long as it continues to turn a profit....