Complaint Review: Fine line Auto Brokers - Alpharetta Georgia

 I was involved in a rear end collision and my car was totaled. I purchased a 2001 Honda Civic LX sedan from Fineline Auto in Alpharetta on Sunday 10/18/15. I spoke with Karim and his partner, Alex. Karim swore that the car was in good condition, both mechanically and cosmetically. He mentioned that the water pump had been replaced and that there were no overheating issues. His moto was "don't buy junk, don't sell junk," except he sold me junk. I purchased the vehicle because I needed a good reliable car to get me to and from work, doctor appointments, etc. I paid $2,750 for this car, with 187k miles (I guess 200k miles is the new 100k miles). The car was clean interior and exterior had minor wear a tear.

We popped the hood to see a semi clean engine bay, a missing coolant reservoir canister that they rigged with a 5 quart oil container cap and duck tape. Karim said that the car did NOT have insurance so he didn't want us to take it for a long drive, or out of the industrial area side street we were on, so we didn't. I wish we had, because then we would have noticed that the car DOES overheat. The repair of the water pump, if that even happened (Karim and Alex were adamant that they didn't have any service records on hand). They said if anything were to go wrong with the car, break, or what have you, to go see their mechanic Jose near the car wash place on McFarland. After purchasing the car, we drove it to the gas station (it was on empty, typical).

The car needs an alignment, bad, and feels like there is a lot of play in the suspension. The next morning it had an issue with starting, which I chalked up to the cold weather we were experiencing. I checked the coolant, topped it off, in both the radiator AND the reservoir and made sure the hoses were all connected and not leaking. Unfortunately the car began to overheat, I thought maybe it was just a fluctuation with the thermostat because Karim said they have changed out the water pump (and any mechanic knows you replace a thermostat when you replace the water pump). I didn't drive it after that. On day 2, I was going down the highway and at 60-70mph the whole front end would shake. I took the car to Discount Tire to see if they could balance the wheels for me.

To my disbelief, they indicated the tires on the car were DANGEROUSLY low tread life, that they were in the RED zone on the 20ish level scale, that they could not LEGALLY touch them, let alone balance and rotate for me. I purchased 4 brand new tires for $300, ON DAY 2! On day 3 of ownership, I started the car the idle was all over the place, high (1,300rpms) and then dropped down to normal rang (600-700rpms) and I continued on my way. On my lunch break I went to grab something to eat, the car was not on a very long time and regardless it began to overheat. I had to stop 8+ times on my way to my mechanic, to prevent the motor going into the RED zone and warping the head. Unfortunately, after my mechanic took a look at the car he gave me the worst news, the head gasket was blown. He assured me that it was blown BEFORE I purchased the car just 70 hours prior.

I contacted Karim because I made him aware around 2pm on day 3, of the issues. He assured me that he would take help me get it resolved and said to find out for sure what the issue was and we could go from there. He told me to go f*** myself, and to take him to court. Now, I don't know about you, but for someone to get so defensive, about something "they had no knowledge about," isn't very logical. I believe he, and his partner Alex, had 100% full knowledge of the MAJOR issue(s) with the motor in the 2001 Honda Civix LX. PRIOR to selling the vehicle. In addition to that, there is a tear in the driver seat, along the seam, and after closer inspection, the headliner is sagging and held on (at the front and rear windshield) with staples. I cannot believe that people can sell someone a vehicle, knowing there are MAJOR Issues, such as a head gasket, and sleep at night taking their money, leaving them stranded on the road.