Complaint Review: Bridgecrest formerly known as Drivetime - Nationwide

 Where do I start? I will start by starting here: I purchased a 2009 Chevy HHR from their Downey, Ca dealership in June 2015, I remember being told by the salesman that the vehicle was just brought to the lot from the truck. I financed the vehicle, laid down a down payment, and agreed to pay $198.54 every two weeks for a $9,995.00 vehicle, they also tack on a warranty, and charge you for putting their GPS system on your car( so they can repossess it later if you fail to make payments) Literally a month and a half after driving the vehicle, the front brakes completely failed to the point where a mechanic in Westminster, Ca at a Sears, had to use an acetylene torch to remove the pads and rotors, he put them in a bag and told me I should contact the dealership because two months of driving didn't cause that kind of wear and tear, I did just that and for four months they asked me to fax over the receipt and list of repairs, back and forth I went, faxing, emailing, and calling, being palmed off one person after another and then some, only to be told "your $2,995.00 warranty" doesn't cover brakes. A few months later, in December, the throttle body asembly went out, I called Aevrex, their warranty company, I was sent to an approved vendor in Santa Ana, Ca, the mechanic called Aevrex, he told me they don't cover "throttle body assembly" I was livid, I called Aevrex only for them to tell me the same thing. So, I believe their warranty is an angle to tack on more money and get more money out of you, it's really not worth the paper it's written on...I told them as much and of course, they try their ole salesman tactics of trying to convince you, you need it....hmmmm...ok... Subsequently, just a few months into driving the vehicle, the driver side door handle came off in my hand, the cigarette lighter came completely out of its housing , passenger side window takes some doing and time to roll down, and I can't forget, the rear door doesn't lock, it didn't lock when I drove it off the lot, but they call that a "cosmetic issue" A broken lock, a faulty lock is a "security issue" Anyone who cases the vehicle will be able to access it from the back, get in and take anything they want or steal the car, but somehow that was considers cosmetic Ohhh but I have to call that a blessing because the one set of keys they gave me, a key FOB, it stopped working, in order to open my doors or access the vehicle, I had to crawl in through the back to open the doors, I thought no big deal, I will just get a battery to get the key FOB working but...there was more to it than just that, it had to be replaced and recoded and that cost me $146.00, lol! Wow! But the most recent issue is an engine light is on and the electronic traction control system went out with the indicator light on, I experienced that first hand when I drove a few weeks back on a light rainy evening, going below the speed limit and the vehicle almost crashed.... That's a major safety issue and problem!!!! So....getting on with my story, I decided to make payments on my timeline, paying them at the end of the month, they should consider themselves lucky that I am paying them at all for a piece of crap lemon they sold me!!! They have no problem haranguing and harassing me for a payment, oh by the way, they will harass your friends and references also, they did mine, according to one of my good friends, they used language like, "it would be beneficial that you call us." My friend asked me, was that some sort of veiled threat? Are they going to harrass me now? So...I have been paying them every month, maybe not $198.54 every two weeks but $300 a month, and I went down to the street today where I park my vehicle...and it was gone!!! I called Bridgecrest, they palmed me off on "the redemption department" I had to pay $1,175.00 to get them to start paperwork and relinquish my vehicle back to me not before giving me the number of the repo agent who has their own separate fee, I wanted to take care of that, I called the repo company based in Santa Ana, Ca, you have to make an appointment??? So I asked, I have to wait one more day to get my vehicle out of impound so you can add another daily rate? That just made the woman on the phone very upset, "we don't do that!" So they take my vehicle, impound it....I spoke with Bridgecrest redemption department, five or six different people (remember, I mentioned they palm you off) Basically, the gist of it, pay a said fee so they can get paperwork started and notify the repo agent, I told the redemption department rep that I have a check I can give them over the phone but was told that that would only slow the process because they can't start relinquishing the vehicle until the payment has posted. I couldn't use my card because it's in the repossessed vehicle, so thank god for online banking, I had to transfer money between accounts to pay their fee, I was told going online would expedite the process so I did that...I called them back, they told me the payment had not posted...asked me how I paid? I told them what I did, I said online, they said checking account, I said online, they said checking account until both the rep on the phone and I started screaming at each other, by the way I also got lectured by him about how I pay and how my car was repossessed, he said "he was standing next to the manager when she explained to me the process!" Long story short, it came out of my checking account that was given to them online to make these one time monthly payments which is how I have always paid. So, I retrieved my credit card number from a business debit card to make the payment, first I transferred the money...again...I made the payment with a rep, "he had to break them up into two payments and I had to pay 2 processing fees...hmmmm....ok....." Lol! So, I went back and forth with their department to tell them to then reverse that first, initial payment because I wasn't going to pay them twice, "he told me to take that up with my bank!" They said there was nothing they could do. So I did just that, I called Wells Fargo Bank, I spoke to a banker who told me they totally misinformed me, it's a process known as ACH, the banker told me they had complete control to process and reverse payments since the type was ACH, they proceeded to tell me if the payment does go through it would be considered fraudulent. So besides being deceitful, lying, they also commit fraud here?? I called the redemption department back one more time, I told the rep what my banker told me, the rep told me that totally wasn't true, that they have no control over it, I asked them who does? Lol! He didn't know who did, he put me on hold to talk to his manager who just reiterated to him once again, only my bank could reverse the payment, they have no control?? I said ok, my bank can't prevent or reverse something that hasn't yet gone through or posted to my account, all they can do is fix it when it occurs, if Bridgecrest has no idea, it must be a third party payment processor like Western Union, the rep claimed once it's initiated, they don't see it, I told them my bank doesn't see it either, so who does see it? He couldn't answer my question, a third party must see it right? And the third party is not an independent body, they are paid to do business processing transactions for Bridgecrest, so how can they not know about their payment processing system? Wow.... I was asked why I wasn't making the payments, I explained to the rep, would you pay for a lemon? The breach of contract started before I drove it off the lot! I asked him, would you pay for a vehicle that continue to have that many problems that fast only having the vehicle in a short amount of time? I asked him, what in the hell did you sell me? All he could say was I am sorry, I understand your frustration, and for the last year or so, that's all these people have been saying! They haven't offered any help! They haven't offered to repair my vehicle! They gave me a $25 gift card I believe, and made a one time courtesy payment to my account a while back....but something is going out on this vehicle every other month or so, where does that begin to compensate me for my problems with this vehicle that they repossessed today?? Was this all just coincidence? Was the vehicle held together long enough with cheap parts and bubble gum to get me off the lot and beyond the five day grace period of returning the vehicle? Failed brakes in just two months of personal driving? Electronic throttle body assembled? A rear door that doesn't lock? They just chronologically go out one at a time? I don't buy it! I am not the idiot they take most people for, clearly there were problems with this vehicle and it wasn't inspected before it was given over to me for use and finance. But wait a minute! One of the reps on the phone today in the redemption department told me, "they have a very impressive inspection system, I have seen it myself!" So I am supposed to just take his word for it? Because he saw their inspection system and was impressed by it? A biased Bridgecrest employee? Yeah! Sure man! I believe you because you said the sky is falling, it must be falling! If they did inspect it then it was half a*s, or just a quick comb over, they didn't get under the hood or check the brakes, and come to think of it, if they did inspect it, they would have caught the rear door lock issue, sorry guys that's not cosmetic, it's a major security issue, man in all that impressive inspection, is it possible they overlooked it? All I keep getting is I am sorry, and that's it. The worst part is that I brought it to the attention of the attorney general for the state of California where I reside, they did some correspondence with Bridgecrest, mailed these documents and told me "they considered the case closed." The investigative judicial body of my home state and that's all they could do for me?? They are about as useless as Bridgecrest. Maybe that's why I didn't vote for her in this election:) Please don't go to Bridgecrest! They target the bad credit demographic like myself(hey we can't all be perfect), they sell crap vehicles, they palm you off, they give you the runaround, they sell you a useless warranty that covers virtually nothing! They take your money and repo your car if you can't pay, they sell you vehicles that they don't really inspect, perhaps some do get inspected and have to pass a thorough inspection process, but not mine or I wouldn't be submitting a ripoff report! This dealership is deceitful, dishonest, they lie, and maybe even fraudulent, who knows. Don't be a victim, please read my report, learn from this one, learn from the others not to create more victims, the victory is for Bridgecrest to overhaul and change their practices or pull up stakes and get the hell out of town! This has got to stop! You know why they have been getting by with it, because they can.